Last Chapters

Chapters 5-6 (part 4) and Part 5

These last chapters were interesting. I think it was because Dean and Sal settled down a little bit in Mexico. One thing that I noticed about Dean was, as always he was looking at how carefree the people in Mexico seemed to be. He says that they do not seem to be suspecting anything and do not pay attention to the fact that Dean and Sal are there, yet they seem to always know what they are doing. He also seemed to have found people who are most similar to him. He says "Nobody's ever alone in this country"(276). Which is one thing that Dean had payed attention to throughout the book. He seems to be a very people oriented type of person who likes the idea of everyone being together and keeping each other company. Sal also says that "his eyes were red-streaked and mad and also subdued and tender - he had found people like himself" (276). I also noticed that for once when they are leaving Mexico and encounter the group of Indians that are selling rock crystals that Dean does not seem to be as self absorbed. He notices a young Indian girl who is sitting on a ledge and then begins to wonder if the ledge is all she will ever know. He says "Geez I wish there were something I could give her. Think of it, Being born and living on this ledge- this ledge representing all you know of life" (297). I thought that it was interesting that he would consider something like that. He looks at someone else's problem and feels that they should be able to travel around the US like he did too which is unusual for Dean's character. But later on Dean is back to his old self again when he leaves Sal while Sal is sick. He leaves just to sort out his relationship with Camille and Ines and sets out for NY and then goes to San Francisco again. What is interesting about Sal throughout this is that he says that he just realized how cruel of a person Dean could be, after spending all that time with him traveling across the US, but he still thinks about Dean alot, which is really emphasized at the end of part 5, "I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of Old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty" (305).

Overall I think that the last chapters were a pretty good way of ending the book. Altho reading that Sal finally found a girl he could spend time with and then plans on moving out to San Francisco again is not entirely reassuring because I feel that he may continue his need to travel back and forth, but with Laura instead of Dean.

Moving Towards the West (again.....)

Ch. 1-4 Part 4

These chapters were way more interesting than the past group of chapters that I have read. I think for the first time we see Sal resisting the company of Dean. When Sal leaves his Aunt's appartment to head towards the west (again...ugh) and leaves Dean there, He seems a bit unhappy that he will no longer be with Dean anymore. Dean also seems pretty affected by this. Sal even tells Dean "All I hope, Dean, is someday we'll be able to live on the same street with our families and get to be a couple of oldtimers together"(253). And at the end of this chapter he also says that now that Dean will no longer be accompanying him that he has a long way to go. But when he reaches Denver Colorado, he gets the news from Tim Gray's friend that Dean bought a car and is heading out west with him, he seems to have a really negative reaction to this. Almost as if he feels that now Dean has just become a burden. He goes into detail and seems to be having these wild predictions about what would happen if Dean followed him out here. He describes Dean as pursuing him "like the Shrouded Traveler on the plain, bearing down on me"(259). This really shows that Sal is getting tired of Dean. I think now he just wants to take care of his own problems and not have to deal with Dean's as well. He feels that Dean will cause great destruction and describes what he envisions, "I saw his old jalopy chariot with thousands of sparking flames shooting out from it; I saw the path it burned over the road; it even made its own road and went over the corn, through cities, destroying bridges, drying rivers"(259). Sal seems to not be taking this news too well at all.

Altho once he joins with Dean again he realizes that he has a connection with him. He continues to travel to Mexico along with Stan and Dean and I noticed that all of these people seem to be running away from their families (or seem to be lacking family contact). Dean's father has spent a long time in prison and Stan is trying to avoid his control freak grandfather. So they all have family troubles. Sal also says something interesting when he says "I was having a wonderful time and the whole world opened up before me because I had no dreams"(258). It seems that at this point he kind of realizes that whatever he is trying to attain, it is impossible. He starts feeling better about himself when he realizes that he has no dreams and no specific goals that he is trying to reach. I think he should have gained that type of mindset in the first place (i guess kind of like Dean who seems to just go where life takes him and just tries to have a good time.....but then Sal would become too mentally unstable like Dean...). Sal also seems to have this fascination with anything outside the "white" american culture. Saying that everything changes when they reach the Mexican border. He always seems interested in ethnic groups and culture in society and feels like they live better lives than he does. Its very interesting. Also his writing does not seem like one big long rant, maybe it is because the chapters are getting more interesting.

Predicable and Unsatisfying Chapters

Chapters 7-11 I thought were kind of predictable and unsatisfying. Usually after reading a section of chapters I am able to come to new conclusions about Sal and Dean and their journey. This time I think the things i noticed were not as key to their character, but more just observations of the advancement of plot in general. I feel like I have gained a good sense of who Dean and Sal are as characters so now as the reader, I just sit back and watch as they continue their journeys. Altho it seems as if the journey is just being dragged out way to long at this point. One thing that I did think was interesting tho was the fact that Sal refers to Dean more as his brother. When they are running away from the mother who gets annoyed by Dean, Sal says "He won't do it again. I'll watch him; he's my brother and listens to me."(220) It is also interesting here because Sal seems to now seem himself as slightly superior to Dean and suggesting that he now takes charge of what Dean does. Also the complicated relationship between Dean, Marylou, Camille and the new girl that Dean meets in New York is kind of interesting to look at. As soon as he sees Ines, He decides that he wants to marry her, while Camille has a second baby and Ines has her first baby, all through this Dean has no money. So his life becomes a bit more complicated, and because of this, they (predictably) do not make it to Italy as Sal wanted. I also noticed a large emphasis on Jazz music. When Dean and Sal are looking for a good time as they drive the Cadillac through Illinois they always follow a small Jazz band around from club to club. They observe as a young 16 year old musician follows them and hopes to play along with them, but the Jazz band wont let. I think they like the presumably spontaneous lifestyle that the people in the Jazz group live. It is also interesting that Dean takes advantage of the person's Cadillac and does not treat it as carefully as he should. He speeds on the highway and drives dangerously with it. He feels that once he has this car and is on the open road that he has the ultimate freedom.

I found these most recent chapters to be unsatisfying. I had thought that by this point, Sal or Dean would have discovered a certain purpose or changed in a dynamic way. Instead, each character remains primarily static throughout this novel, even up to this point. I feel that Kerouac is purposefully choosing to reveal only certain aspects about each of the characters and their direction. Although Sal Paradise is constantly moving and acting, I yet know very little about his motivations or who he truly is. Bits and pieces are revealed about him throughout this section, however each one is unsatisfactory to define him as a person. When Sal suddenly envisions his mother, he feels a sense of rejection, "'You are no good, inclined to drunkenness and routs and final disgraceful robbery of the fruits of my 'umble labors in the hashery. Oh son! did you not ever go on your knees and pray for deliverance for all of your sins?"' (173). Sal himself must be unsatisfied with his lifestyle yet cannot procure a change by himself. This may be the result of his lack of cameraderie that he displaces onto his entire race. He feels that "white people" are more burdened by social inadequacy than every other race, "I wish I were a denver mexican, or even a poor, overworked Jap. Anything but a 'white man.' All of my life I had white ambitions; that was why I'd abandoned a good woman like Terry in San Joaquin" (180). Sal fails to recognize that his flaws are due to personal imperfections and not of his race. Furthermore, Sal and Dean acknowledge that all truth, especially about them, leads to pain, "All truths in one painful lump leading to nightmares and pain" (185). The only conclusion that I can draw from this brief characterization of each of these individuals is that they are terrible and lost people. This suspicion is confirmed later in the novel. '"[Sal and Dean] you have no regard for anybody buy yourself and you damned kicks. All you think about is what's hanging between your legs and how much money or fun ou can get out of people and then you just throw them aside"' (194). I believe that this is an accurate characterization, that is applicable throughout the novel. To summarize, all of their relationships have been fleeting except the one between them. Both characters search for something that cannot be found while acting terribly throughout the process, both towards themselves and others.

There were a few things that stood out to me in these sections of reading. For example in the reading Sal's narration has changed. He is now beginning to become more contemplative. The way I interpreted his change of description in landscape is because as his frame of mind changes the way he describes the landscapes change as well. For example, the scene in which Sal asks what the Mississippi is he is beginning to think of it in more of a physical sense. While driving through the South the landscape parallels Sal's frame of mind, mysterious, dark and threatening. At this point I feel that the road is the only place for Sal and Dean. It is now the only place where they can belong. Dean is a misfit in a sense of his actions and a Sal is a misfit in terms of his thoughts. The road that they have been traveling on is not a reality, and there is a sense of disbelief. The other thing that stood out to me was when Sal wishes that he was black. He feels like the culture in which he has been brought up in which plays into his race, is completely delusional and he does not agree with everything he has been raised off of. This puts Sal in a very bad place. He is having a very bad identity crisis and he begins to feel as though the way he was raised was a complete lie. 

pages 156 -212

I thought these chapters were a change of opinion for many characters. We find out that Dean is not liked by all the people in the gang, especially the girls. For instance Marylou pretty much runs away from him, and Camille kicks him out. Also Galatea dislikes Dean and unlike the others shes not afraid of him. She openly calls him out. She tells him that he is stupid and he should be more concerned with the important things in life instead of just trying to have a good time. When she says this the reader sees the first time in which Dean is upset and not the king of things. I also think that Sal is very stupid because he seems to get annoyed with Dean often yet he always goes back to him. I think the plan to go to Italy is going to fail miserably. In addition for the first time i feel that Sal thinks that maybe he is moving to quickly. At the end of chapter 4 in part 3 he says "with frantic dean i was rushing through the world without a chance to see it" 206. I think this shows Sal's development as a character. He realizes Dean is not the great man he thought he was. He understands that maybe he should stop and appreciate things every once in a while. This way he might be able to find what he's actually looking for. Sal needs to settle down.

Traveling in Circles

Chapters 8-11, Since I am reading chapters on different nights, i will just keep adding comments to this blog post instead of creating new ones. Sorry this one is so long :( I had a lot to say

From what I have read in Chapters 8-11 I have to say that I am getting a little bit tired of hearing Sal talk about his journey. It is not that it isnt interesting, but I thought it to be a bit repetitive. Not only does he seem to keep traveling from New York to San Francisco and then back to New York again, but he also encounters very similar situations. When he is traveling to Washington DC he picks up a hitchhiker who is a young boy that promises them money from an aunt that he plans on meeting up with, in chapter 8 a similar type of hitchhiker is picked up by Dean and Sal but this time he actually comes through with the money. It just seems like Sal is never satisfied and I feel like he is just traveling in circles, trying and hoping to gain a different experience each time. As someone mentioned on an earlier post, it will be interesting to see how Kerouac ends this book. Will Sal ever gain what he is looking for? Will he ever be satisfied? He even says "what I accomplished by coming to Frisco I dont know"(178). He seems way to unsure of what he wants. Its rather frustrating to me. It seems like Sal and Dean find that the road is the only place where they belong. They are both outcasts, searching for something or running away from something. I really think that they are both running away from their families. Sal goes on to have this vision of a proprietess which he thinks is his mother from 18th century England. He also contemplates more about an alternate life that he may have been living. So he seems to want to constantly re invent his life and be able to live other lives, which is what he thinks he accomplishes by re doing his journeys. This vision he sees also shows the mother's disapprovement of Sal, so he seems mainly afraid of not being accepted by his parents. The proprietess even calls him a "lost boy" and then tells him to depart. I also found that Sal is starting to notice (at least with Marylou) feelings of women more. He notices as her and Dean become less close together and says 'Marylou was watching Dean as she had watched him clear across the country and back, out of the corner or her eye-with a sullen, sad air, as though she wanted to cut off his head and hide it in her closet, an envious rueful love of him so amazingly himself, all raging and sniffy crazy-wayed, a smile of tender dotage but also sinister envy that frightened me about her."(163) I thought it was very strange how Sal described Marylou's feelings towards Dean. She is beginning to sense that he is a very selfish person and that he is with her "just for kicks" which Dean says in chapter 4, "Ah it's all right, its just kicks. We only live once. We're having a good time."(125). Also Dean's selfishness is seen when he leaves Marylou and Sal to find a hotel in "Frisco" and then does not even bother to check up on them. Sal makes note of this and then decides it is time for them to part, and he does not care that they will not be able to travel together.