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Glite Dictionary
Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac

10 6.3
An American writer who helped lead the Beat Generation and wrote On the Road
  • proper noun
  • /dʒæk ˈkɛroʊæk/
: Jack Kerouac
  • The novel 'On the Road' cemented Jack Kerouac's status as an influential American writer.

Examples

  • The novel 'On the Road' cemented Jack Kerouac's status as an influential American writer.

  • Did you read Jack Kerouac's famous novel 'On the Road'?

  • Literature classes often discuss the impact of Jack Kerouac on modern prose styles.

  • Many consider Jack Kerouac to be the voice of a generation changed by postwar America.

  • Many consider Jack Kerouac a pioneer of modern American literature.

  • Literature classes often discuss the impact of Jack Kerouac on modern prose styles.

  • Many consider Jack Kerouac to be the voice of a generation changed by postwar America.

Surface Forms

Jack Kerouac main

Morphology

Jack + Kerouac

This is a personal name whose referent (an American writer, Beat Generation figure) is arbitrary and not compositionally derived from the parts; knowing the words 'Jack' and 'Kerouac' does not indicate occupation or biographical details. Proper names are cross-linguistically non-compositional and therefore B1 learners who only know the constituents would not be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Jack Kerouac was an American writer known for long road trips and a fast, free way of writing. He typed much of 'On the Road' on a long roll of paper and wrote about travel and jazz, so his name now often stands for the wild, wandering spirit of the 'Beat Generation'.