George Rosen，in his article The Revolt of Youth:Some Historical
Comparisons，wrote，
“The disaffection of groups of young people with their
society is … not a specific phenomenon of the twentieth century. Other times and places have
produced rebellious youth，social dropouts and alienated generations (86).”
When we look at such disaffected groups in history，we find that
wanderlust，the restless desire and pleasure of travel，has figured
significantly in the characterization of each. From the Middle Ages we
have records of wandering students and church clerics moving from town
to town，university to university，and of course，from tavern to tavern.
The German Sturn und Drang (Storm and Stress) groups of the late 18th
century，which included Goethe as a member，were a restless，radical and
noisy bunch of students protesting against the predominant “rule of
reason" rationalism of the day，and enthusiastically sought out other
believers in other towns.
What do you suppose happens when youth combines with
wanderlust and the sturm und drang of their own times? Rosen also
remarked that in the US，“each generation has produced distinctive young
rebels-the bohemians before and after World WarⅠ，the radicals of the
thirties and forties, the beatniks and hipsters of the fifties，and the hippies
and romantic anarcho-marxists of the sixties (86)." Moving away from
something，toward something ‘better '，most of those disaffected groups
have taken to the road，to connect with like-minded others，or just to see
where and what the road might bring them. …Or，to satisfy that age-old
overtone of youth: restlessness.
Do goals，or what Aristotle termed the telos，concern such travelers
“on the road"? In many cultures throughout history there have been
countless reasons why such people embark on a journey-perhaps as
many reasons as there are travelers. If the travel leads toward a quest，
we are encouraged to regard such a journey with at least a modicum of
myth and hero reference，given the long and rich history of quests in
literature，ballad and legend.
The Grail and Kicks : Gothic Roads, Beat Roads
beeiu-v15p33-40.pdf
(111.69KB)
