[deleted] OP t1_iycgsbc wrote on November 30, 2022 at 11:03 AM

Reply to comment by GenoPax in As a non-American, reading On The Road, felt like a snapshot of postwar youthful Boomer mentality. by [deleted]

Oh for sure, I think I found it interesting because in the time Kerouac wrote his book it was a time of great abundance, rationing had ended, there was a huge freedom and wealth served on a platter.

Sal and his friends took it to an excess, and the book was very popular because of it, because it chimed with the population.

This isn't a pop at boomers, I think it's just that this book would not be anywhere near is popular or relevant to young people today as it was then.

GenoPax t1_iydxjt8 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 6:04 PM

Yeah, I agree with most of what you said. But remember those were the children of wealthier upper middle class, but most people were poor. They didn't have cars, much less nice things to frivolously spend on, like trips. Trips. The unprecedented wealth that the majority of the population of western countries have has never been experienced by people the past.