In 1956,
Howl and
other Poems was published and the Interstate
Highway Act was signed into Law. These two seemingly unrelated events accurately display the divergent aspects American culture was taking in 1956 and is still undergoing. The part of society symbolized by the Interstate Highway Act embraced rationality and the efficient consolidation of power which would breed a uniform and stable world. The part of society symbolized by Howl, found themselves caught in a society consumed with standardization and the monotonous aspirations of post war economic gluttony. In order to reacted to this
standardization, the Beats took to the road in order to subvert this rationality which had infiltrated
American culture. The new highways constructed under the Eisenhower administration provided the means for their
freedom and independence. This disturbing fact allows the modern day critic to view the rebels of the Beat Generation
as a group of frustrated Americans whose only means to escape the government was the road that was paved by that
same bureaucracy. This realization forces us to consider whether or not rebellion in modern times has been compromised
due to our complete dependence on the government. Is the only rebellion left one that reenforces government ideology
and is forever stuck in its paternal gaze due to our utter helplessness and childlike dependence?