-Jack was born Jean Louis Kirouac on March

12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. His parents were French-Canadian and natives of Quebec. He spoke only French until the age of six, when he first learned English. At the age of four his nine year old brother, Gerard, died from rheumatic fever. The death of his brother profoundly affected Jack. He would later go on to write a novel entitled Visions of Gerard.

Jack was athletic from a young age and when

he was in high school he ran the 100-meter hurdles. Jack was also an all-star running back. Jacks football skills earned him scholarships from Boston College, Columbia University and Notre Dame. After attending the Horace Mann School for one year, he matriculated to Columbia University While at Columbia he argued constantly with his head coach, Lou Little, who benched Jack after he cracked his tibia. He began writing at Columbia for the

Jacks apartment in Queens:

Jack dropped out of

college after he was benched, due to his fellow students critical attitude toward him. After dropping out he moved to NYCs UWS (Ozone Park) with his girlfriend Edie Parker. Upon moving to NYC he met his beat generation friends, including Allen

The Beginning of the End: Jack eventually left NYC and joined the United
States Merchant Marine in 1942. In 1943 Jack left the Merchant Marine and joined the United States Navy. During WWII Jack was discharged from the military on psychiatric grounds. The official diagnosis was dementia praecox and an indifferent character.

On March 30, 1943 Jack went to the Navy

infirmary complaining of a headache. He asked for aspirin, but was instead diagnosed with Dementia Praecox. When asked about his adjustment to the military Jack said I just cant stand it; I like to be by myself The doctor also noted that:
Jack was fired from the Merchant Marine for

bucking everybody (to oppose authority). His first sexual experience was when he was 14 with a 32 year old woman, which upset Jack to

The doctor noted that Jack smoked a pack and

a half a day and was a spree drinker. Jack had a very clean and neat appearance. He was inclined to exaggerate. He was emotionally not depressed. Jack imagines in his mind whole symphonies; he can hear every note He can also see printed pages of words. He had an excellent memory and held his attention easily. Jack was not a religious man. Physician notes that Jack does not like regulations.

Quote from Jack: My diagnosis is dementia

praecox, but as far as Im concerned I am nervous; I get nervous in an emotional way, but Im not nervous enough to get a discharge. I dont hear voices talking to me from no where, but I have a photographic picture before my eyes; when I go to sleep and I hear music playing. I know I shouldnt have told the psychiatrist that, but I wanted to be frank. Quote from Jacks father: Jack has been boiling for a long time. He has always been reclusive, stubborn, head strong, resentful of authority, unstable, unreliable and undependable.

After 5 weeks of being observed by doctors, Jack was transferred to the United States Naval Hospital in Bethesda, M.D. Upon transfer to Bethesda, the admission note said that Jack exhibited the following symptoms:
1. Exhibited vague, disconnected thoughts 2. Rambled on in a grandiose, philosophical manner 3. Displayed auditory hallucinations 4. Displayed visual hallucinations 5. Made references to suicide

The physicians who admitted Jack at Bethesda noted that he was very quiet and cooperative and did not display any of the symptoms they had been told to look for.

6. Generally apathetic and cold

 Jack was interviewed

and said that He enjoyed being around others, but most times wanted to be by himself. Jack told the doctor that he believed his personality changed when he left for Columbia University. In the interview Jack also told the doctor that, though he had no drug habits, he did go

Doctors never

noticed hallucinations again (auditory or visual) He explained to doctors that his auditory hallucinations were actually echoes from previous conversations that he would remember and then replay in his head.

Jack was also given a number of psychological

tests while at Bethesda. These tests include:

He was underwent an E.E.G Impression, which showed transient square-wave discharges from symmetrical frontal regions (Psychomotor Epilepsy). Psychomotor epilepsy is also known as temporal lobe epilepsy which is epilepsy characterized by partial rather than generalized seizures that typically originate in the temporal lobe and are marked by impairment of consciousness, automatisms, unusual changes in behavior, and hallucinations. Which could account for some of his behavior.
After this, physicians agree to change his original dementia

 1944: Kerouac is arrested as a material witness in

the murder of David Carr. Jack is found to have helped dispose of evidence. His father refuses to make bail so he promises to marry Edie Parker if she will post bail. They divorce 1 year later. Moves back in with his parents and writes his most famous novel On the Road. He becomes a sports reporter for The Lowell Sun, temporarily works in construction, then becomes a waiter, joins the Merchant Marine again and also joins the US Navy twice. He writes constantly and tears sheets of tracing paper into a 120-foot long roll that he feeds into his typewriter, thus he can type continuously without interruption.

Jack has a hard time finding buyers for his

manuscripts because of the content of his stories. He writes graphic descriptions of druguse, sexual relationships, homosexual behavior and alcohol abuse. In late 1951, his second wife, Joan, leaves him and gives birth to his only child (Jan Kerouac) though he refuses to acknowledge her until blood tests confirm it nine years later. After Joan leaves him, he falls into a deep depression and begins to experiment heavily with drugs and alcohol. In 1969 the voice of a generation dies from an internal hemorrhage caused by cirrhosis. This comes from a lifetime of alcohol abuse.

Based on his behavior both in and out of the

military, the diagnosis of his military physicians and my own research, I have gone with the diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder. Evidence:
Tendency to lead a solitary lifestyle (asocial) Secretive and reclusive (brood for hours on end) Generally apathetic Few close relationships (outside of Beat Poets

where he felt comfortable) Indifferent to praise/criticism Took little pleasure in things other than writing Indifferent to social norms and conventions (graphic writing)

I saw that my life

was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.