Interpretation of Zen in Jack Kerouac’s Literary Works

Abstract

The creation of literary works is inseparable from the historical and cultural background of its correspondent times and the author’s personal beliefs and thoughts. Starting from his or her works and relying on the author’ s personal information to do an analysis, the reader can get more information about the thoughts, emotions, spiritual beliefs and values of specific characters in a certain era, which is also the basic elements that a successful work should have. It is also the connotation and extension of the work. Taking the American writer Jack Kerouac as an example, this paper analyzes his works and discusses the Zen thought and culture contains and reflected in his works for a better interpretation of his works and understanding the function of “Zen”in the United States in his time.