Minor characters indeed! I hope this blog does not sound

more like a rant.  I really had a difficult time with this week's blog on the

beat movement.  I understand Kerouac and his analogy that the American Hobo

could represent Americans love of freedom and personal choice.  The founding

fathers, mountain men, forty-niners, and adventurous people often chose the open

road for their great adventure but the establishment pulled them back into their

predicable routines.  I found both of the women's stories rather dated. I know

at the time it must have been shocking but I didn't find the story of Bonnie

Frazer and her trip to Mexico and her seeking pleasure on a crowded bus going to

Veracruz even slightly interesting.  I did relate with her about how the woman

always takes the baby responsibility.  ""Ah bitter, I was not about to accept

with grace my maidenly burdened-by-baby responsibility at this particular time"

(Frazer 2995).

             Johnson's story about her moving away "the meaning of her theft of

herself from her parents was clear to all."(Johnson 3000).  I thought that

comparison very unique.  She goes on to say that she wanted sexually freedom.  I

think this would have banned her writings from many public libraries at the time

but now with Fifty Shades of Grey in any library today it seems rather tame. I

know that the beat movement was the vanguard of the Hippie Movement but I find that I would not like to read any of Timothy O'Leary's writings either.