The beat culture of the 1950s to 1960s certainly created a huge impact on how the US culture has progressed through the years. During this time, as the world tries to embrace a new sense of defining how the material world becomes the central force the defines survival in the new world, the beat culture tends to go against such thoughts and ideas.
In the US, the goal is to preserve what is purely American, which includes respect for the Native Americans from whom they have inherited their culture and background. The story by Calum Cumming tries to capture such a struggle between the traditional American culture and the modernization of society.
Through the eyes of the loving couple Louise Lisa, an American, and Jim, a Scotsman, Cumming tries to bring to life the thoughts and idealisms of the beat culture. In the story, the differentiation of the battle between those who believe in the traditional grounds of morality against the growing ideals of liberalization has been presented as background to the love of between Lisa and Jim.
To present the different thoughts of nations regarding the said ideals certainly create a definitive pattern of the indication of what Cumming wants to impart to his readers. From Scotland to the West Coast of America, and Mexico, featuring different cultures around the globe during the 1950s towards the 1960s, the author of the story was able to create a relatable picture for his readers. Aiming to highlight some of the most important impacts of the beat culture towards the thinking and ideals of the society, Cummings presented complications in relationships because of the contradicting believes of individuals-depending on what thoughts they support.
Through the eyes of the loving couple Louise Lisa, an American, and Jim, a Scotsman, Somehow, these complications in relationships have been presented in the story as a mirror of the complications and conflicts that members of the society are dealing with at the time. With other supporting the ideals of traditional morality- which respects the need to highlight the importance of spirituality over materialism; and others supporting liberalism, people are often conflicted between each other.
In the story, Cumming intended to introduce his readers with a romance that is challenged by society’s impending changes. While the characters, Lisa and Jim, fell in love with the beat culture, their relationship became the vessel the author used to determine how human connections were affected by the changes happening in the modern societies. As if being pulled away from what they believed in, people were then introduced to a more materialistic concept of surviving life. In many points, the author tried to outline how such changes in thought have shaped American society to what it is today.
Although the story itself is founded on a romantic narrative, it does introduce numerous focal points that provide a distinct mirror of the changing society. How the changes affect human individuals and their relationships with their loved once have also been presented as a vital result of such social adjustments.
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