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.

Dean

Dean is changing and is changing Sal along with him. They are both are maturing together, while partying hard as ever. Carlo sees Dean as a madmen, for being extremely hyper at all times. Also we as the readers see more of the road, adn more travellin done by the "gang". Now Sal just randomly chooses to take a trip west, which is surprising due to his commitments at hiome, proving that his realshinship with Dean is stronger than ever, and Sall is still a follower. Sal may the narrator, but Dean is the protagonist.

What they're running from...

Sal had dreams of death. Sal dreams that before he reached heaven, or paradise, death, or the Shrouded Traveler, caught him. I feel that Sal is running away from death, that he's trying to live the moment as if there was no tomorrow, excusing his promiscuity and irresponsibility. He and his gang of 'beats' are all running away from the reality of their mortality, they act irresponsibly and think that they are invincible, that consequences are always avoidable. At this point of the book, I feel that these people are getting annoying because they are always so spontaneous and promiscuous, they cannot settle down they always have to be moving or, as the book title reads, On the Road.
Ed kept referring to his dream, that he believed to be his "ghost walking on the sidewalk" (130). His reference to death, and the spookiness of the dream reminded us of Sal's conclusion of his own dream, that it "is only death: death will overtake us before heaven." I feel that this foreshadows Sal's future in the novel, that he will never be able to reach his paradise, because death, or the lack of life, will take it away from him. This might foreshadow the possibility that Sal will never be able to find happiness because of the death of something or someone hinders him.

unnecessary traveling

Some of the traveling they do on the road is totally unnecessary. An example of this is that they have t go to the tip of Florida to get to New Orleans, instead of directly driving from New York to New Orleans. Once at New Orleans, thy decide to settle down, even though it interferes with their travels. This shows that the characters have no direct goal or path in life and they just go to wherever life leads them to. This unplanned idea leads to consequences, such as the speeding ticket Dunkel got for them, and the people that continually reappear in the novel. An example of these reappearing people if Carlo Marx. Carlo always has to talk to Dean about some business matters, even though it does not seem that they have any business together; if they have one, it is one sided with Carlo's work. Overall, the insecurity and unplanned goals lead the characters to wander in life, live in the present, and meet old friends that reappear.

Suspense for Nothing?

One of the most important aspects I took away from the reading was something I found in the chapter beginnings, in bold, and other passages throughout the chapters. The chapter beginnings in bold clearly have the purpose of standing out. I realized from chapter 4 that in most chapters Sal builds up this suspense I feel is not at all for the reader, but for himself. He says (in bold), "Now it was time,"(123), which would intrigue anyone. Though the readers do want this mystery and suspense, Sal himself needs it the most. He builds up this ideal in his head that every trip will bring about something great, when he never finds anything he is satisfied with. He continues, "Now it was time for the Western threesome to find new living quarters in Manhattan proper." To me this is a let down because there is new about what is going to happen; just another place to live for a small amount of time. It is his fault he is unhappy with life because he dramatizes everything and even admits to it throughout the book. Repeatedly, Sal exposes his flaw of a need for drama, an obsession with Dean, and changing attitude about life, yet does not seem to realize it or change anything about it. Again he says, "It was there in the morning,"(149), but nothing other than his good friends are there and this "it" he speaks of makes it seem like there is finally something worthwhile. His need for the drama in life attaches him to Dean, and keeps him to this "follower" and even "pushover" stereotype I derive from the reading. He ends chapter 7 by saying, "we were off again for California,(155)". Sal cant avoid the "again," because he knows they are going back to do the same thing they did the last time: lose money and leave empty handed. The "again" is necessary, but Sal eludes its significance by dropping it in the middle of the sentence. To me, there is no suspense from this statement and I therefore do not expect much from their trip.

I think that even though they are all running from something, it seems that they do have a constant in their lives. Dean, if not the rest of Sal's friends, seem to reappear no matter where they wander. Another thing is that they all seem to stick to the same cities, revisiting the same places over and over again, almost as if they think that they're going to find something different every time they revisit. It's also interesting that they seem to have apartments or housing in a lot of major cities, such as NYC and Denver. They don't seem to venture into small towns, rather staying in or near mostly large and well known cities, such as LA, San Francisco, New York City, etc. In ch. 4, Sal mentions that Ed had the same thought about life as Dean, and that makes me wonder if that all of Sal and Dean's friends are really all trying to be Dean, just like Sal, but in different ways.

Dean and Sal

In these chapters there is a stronger relationship between Dean and Sal. Sal tells Dean about this strange dream that he has involving a mysterious Arabian figure that follows him across a "desert of life" and was trying to catch them before the reached Heaven. He says that "this is only death: death will overtake us before heaven."(124) He explains to Dean that he thinks it means that all we long for is death since that is the closest to the "lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb."(124) Dean responds to this by telling him that he wants no part in this and says that all of us are never in life again, Sal then agrees with him. Which shows that he sees Dean as a role model. Sal obviously wants to follow Dean and now that he has met up with him, again his obsession with him has become more apparent. He says "Dean had every right to die the sweet deaths of complete love of his Marylou. I didn't want to interfere, I just wanted to follow."(132). This shows how Sal is more of an observer of the group. He does not interfere with people's relationships but watches them carefully in hopes that one day he could establish a stable relationship with a girl. It is also interesting how Dean and Sal share this common interest in taking to the road and being constantly on the move. They both look to life on the road as a way to escape from their normal lives. Sal keeps describing the road as being "pure" and "holy". If he is never in one place then he is always able to start over if he does not maintain tight connections with the people that he meets. He is able to constantly re invent and live his life, so by always being on the road he is able to " re-live" his life and erase any mistakes he might have made in the past. Sal seems a bit more positive in these chapters as well, he does not seem to be complaining about the situation that he put himself in and says "But why think about that when all the golden land's ahead of you and all the kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?"(135) This is a change in views because he seems to take on Dean's perspective of this journey, which is to take life as it comes and not worry about anything (Dean states in the beginning of chapter 6 that they are "Not really worried about anything" since they are all in this together, he likes the idea of the group experiencing this journey together).

In these past few chapters it has become clearer that the one main thing that Dean and Sal have in common is their desire to be constantly moving on the road. They both would like to leave their "confusion and nonsense" behind. Dean and Sal are pretty much attempting to run away from everything they do not like about themselves, although what they do not realize yet is that this is not possible. They will only be able to find themselves and move on once they confront their problems instead of running away from them. What I find interesting is how literally the characters interpret the expression "move on", and how they believe they can actually LITERALLY run away from their problems. Once the characters realize that they cannot run away from their problems and must either confront them or change themselves for the better, they will be able to grow and understand who they are and how to actually solve their problems. Sal enjoys the fact that the road is straightforward and "pure", unlike anything else in life (according to him). The desperate desire to be constantly moving is what keeps Dean and Sal so closely binded together. I feel personally that Sal is able to acknowledge the sadness he feels in his life, but never seems to want to analyze the facts that have actually caused his sadness. 

Misery on the Road and Selfishness

When I first started reading this book I thought that his adventure could be comparable to Chris McCandless'. However it does not seem like Sal is trying to cut himself off from society, it seems more like he is looking to find the perfect life, he wants to be able to find a wife who wants to spend time with him and be able to stay in one location with a steady job and homelife. This is unlike Chris because Chris thought that human company was not entirely necessary for happiness. Sal seems almost too dependent on human contact, this is apparent because the most descriptive parts of this book are the interactions between him and people he meets and is friends with. I also noticed within the assigned chapters, that there was some more selfishness that was noticeable. Ed marries Galatea in hopes that she will be able to supply money while they are on the road, but when he decides that the relationship is not working out, he leaves her at a motel in Tucson. She then tries to contact him and know about his whereabouts but he shows no interest. Sal still seems like he is using people in order to advance his journey. He meets a girl on the bus who he made out with and took food from on his ride to Indiannapolis. Sal never mentions the name of this girl, but he describes her and says "She bought my meals; my sandwiches were all gone. In exchange i told her long stories."(104) It seemed to me that he was just using this girl as a way to survive and gain food for his journey back to New York. I also think that he used her as a bit of a distraction from the "miserable" life which he felt he was living. I noticed that he complained from time to time about the situation he had been living in and even begins to lose who he is. He says "you know you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind, and naked, and with the visage of a gruesome grieving ghost you go shuddering through nightmare life. I stumbled haggardly out of the station; I had no more control."(106) Here he really emphasizes on how unhappy he is. He also goes on to ask himself "Where Dean? Where everybody? Where life? I had my home to go to, my place to lay my head down and figure the losses and figure the gain that i knew was in there somewhere too."(107). Not only are the questions posed weirdly with missing words/punctuation which further emphasizes that Sal seems to be losing it a bit, but the reader also gains a sense that through this constant moving around Sal is starting to forget how normal life was and is starting to become disoriented. He is moving around too often.

Kerouac skips more than a year between parts 1 and 2, and begins part 2 when Dean meets with Sal again at in Virginia and they decide to go on the road again. I find it interesting that Sal only travels when Dean is there to make him. Sal even says that the bug that causes him to go on the road. This shows how Sal is simply a follower. He admits that he has no reason to go along with Dean. He is even reluctant to follow Dean's lifestyle because he talks of settling down with a wife rather than having "franticness" in his life. However, Sal is hypocritical is saying this because he still has a spontaneous, impulsive lifestyle. His rather abrupt relationship with Terry also goes against his idea of having a wife.

I think that it's fitting how the title of the book is On The Road because Sal seems unable to stay in one place for more than a few weeks. He is always moving around, and he goes all over the country searching for something. Perhaps he is running from something, maybe his responsibility, or what would be his responsibilities, if he settles down in one place with a wife and child. I think that Sal so desperately wants to be Dean, to act like Dean, that he's afraid that if he settles down he might never be able to be like Dean, a role-model-ish kind of person. It's also intersting that even though he says that he liked Terry, and loved her, he found another girl on the bus on the way back to New York, and he claimed he liked her, but left her unmentioned. Sal at first did not seem like a womanizer, but since he is trying to be like Dean, that he is trying, though that does not seem to be his personality, to almost force himself to be like Dean.

The road? or the city?

The book is called on the road but Sal does not describe the road at all. Irony? An example of this is that Sal skims through his bus adventures, barely touching in the landscape around him. The same thing happens when Sal drives with dean, as dean's talking and their discussion take most of the page. Sal makes driving sound like its not a skill at all and takes no effort by not mentioning the surrounding landscape. The book also focuses on the adventures of Sal in the city and what happens to him there, but it does not focus on the road itself. One could say that the name comes from the wandering of Sal from city to city. I would agree to that, but Sal does not describe what happens between his time in the two cities. The only time when Sal describes what happens during his travels is in the beginning of the novel where Sal is talking to his fellow hitchhikers in a truck where everyone got a ride. (The farmer's truck) At that time he was gong to Denver to see Dean.Dean however, talks about his travels much more. An instance of that is that Dean explained to Sal about the little kid throwing rocks at people's windshield. He said that one day a person will be hit by the rock and crash and die. Sal, on the other had would not mention it in the novel if Dean did not mention it. Also Sal does not have any soliloquies in the story as he does not describe times when he is alone. There always has to be a friend or another person which he talks, and that makes most of the content of the story. This is another example of how Dean and Sal are character foils, as mentioned by someone else.

After reading chapter 14, I noticed Sal's extensive use of hyperbole in his narration. Earlier in the book, he describes three different people as having "the one greatest laugh in the world" (63). He says this of Remi, Remi's neighbor, and the farmer at the bar in Nebraska. In chapter 14, he says, "I was wearier than I'd been for years and years," (104), which is clearly an overstatement. I think Kerouac uses these overstatements to show Sal's tendency to exaggerate and to generalize. His generalizations and assumptions, for example when he assumed Terry was a hustler, can get him into trouble, but he does not realize this about himself.

These recent few chapters continue to reveal aspects about the character of Sal. It was my impression that as he works at the barracks, he feels that he is the one who is imprisoned. He cannot bear to arrest anyone because he sees himself within them. Contemporary society makes Sal feel like he is trapped. Additionally, Sal inherently tries to sabotage any chance that he will attain happiness, as is evident in his paranoia directed towards Terry. This is a more deeply troubled individual than I had previously thought

The past few chapters have been extremely interesting from an analytical standpoint. Sal states that he must leave San Francisco or else he will go crazy. What I picked up on was that by this comment Sal made it showed that his constant movement becomes somewhat of a tactic of survival for him. It seems as though Sal craves the movement and feeds off of it. Stylistically I have also noticed that the sentences and paragraphs are a lot shorter in the Mill City section. They are more narrative and less descriptive, which I found made it a lot easier to read.

Remi

I don't know if it's just me, but I find the character of Remi really funny. I was laughing when, "in order to reduce the cost of living," the started stealing from the base. It was also great when they missed the quail from 3 feet away. I felt bad when he lost all his money gambling. I also feel that Sal is getting farther away from Dean by becoming a cop. Although he doesn't take his job totally seriously

Having read the last three chapters, I made a conclusion about Sal in the very beginning that I wanted to contemplate the rest of the reading. We discussed in class the influence Dean has on him, and what he is running away from, but instead I think I may have found a flaw about him. It seems to me that he does not give himself enough credit, or just doesn't have the determination. He doesn't think highly of himself and completely disregarded his duties as a cop. I look forward to seeing how he gets by in the next chapters and if he will still need his aunt for money.

Sal is just another hitchhiker person that leeches off others that help. An example of this is that Sal followed Terry and he leeched of her, using her to find a job and as a romantic interest. Additionally, he is traveling all over the country with no definite location to go. His friends all help him while he does not return his help or their favor. In this way he abuses his friends and those around him, but he respects Dean a great deal.

I usually love characters who don't focus solely on being successful in the American sense - having a big house, a nice car, and a great job - and Sal is no exception. Sure, Sal wouldn't mind being rich, but that isn't his main goal in life. And I know Sal is based off of Kerouac, but I still appreciate how he relates so well to Kerouac.

I just read the last chapters assigned and really enjoyed them. What drew my attention was our class discussion related to the book. I especially noticed the importance of listening when Dean and Major are having a discussion and Sal is listening without them knowing. I also like the comparison Julia made about the two books. I think they are very much related, both intriguing. Sal interests me, I look forward to seeing his personal growth throughout the book.

heyy i'm here....so far i have really enjoyed the book. I have found that it is fast pace enough for me to not stop reading. This personal and internal struggle that sal goes through is similar to that of Chris McCandless's but the difference is it doesnt really take shape or direction yet. Sal just lets it take him wherever he desires at the time. I was somewhat confused at first concerning some of the less important characters, but then read it as a train of thoughts. it then made more sense

I thought that these two most recent chapters were the most revealing in the novel so far. Sal is constantly moving until these two chapters. Narration is entirely to communicate the plot of the novel and the physical feelings of hunger and fatigue of the narrator. When these chapters arrive, we glimpse a feeling of melancholy that is existant in every "beat" within this novel. When Sal questions the woman with Carlo Marx, she says that all that she wants to do is "wait tables and get along." The sadness that results is both the first time that narration is used to communicate serious emotions, implicating that her sentiments are also those of Sal. While he may wish to just "get along," all of Sal's actions contradict this lifestyle as is evident in the fight adjacent to the opera (representing a clash between order and chaos) and his life on the road in the first place. It was my impression that Sal feels hopeless about his lifestyle, yet he is unable to break the cycle of endless wandering and searching for a better existence?

Hey this is Tiffany, sorry i was mid posting a blog yesterday but then I never sent it, anyway the book was confusing at first but now i really like it because its kind of taking an adventure across the country similar to Chris McCandless

I'm liking the book so far, but the really long sentences were a little annoying

I'm here too. I'm enjoying the book so far. I think it's really interesting and I like that.. he doesn't waste his time, that everything goes very quickly when he's writing it.

Comments!

Hey guys!

I'm glad that you are here and you seem to enjoying the book so far! Please realize a few things... this blog is a public piece of writing- meaning EVERYONE can see it! So.. use your judgement! Make sure that the comments that you make are comments that you want to have associated with you! Believe it or not, I've had teachers and students from Japan, England, France, and all over the US comment on my class blogs.

Also! You should be placing your commentary under my original post. There will be an option for you to post to comment. Those of you who have posted, no worries, but for those of you who haven't posted yet, please make sure you follow these directions!

I'm here! I like the book so far, it's pretty easy to read and I like how Sal is so honest and tells it like it is.

I'm here!
So far I like the book. It reminds me a little of Into the Wild, the whole journey aspect, but one of my favorite parts of the book so far is when Sal and Gene both knew Big Slim. The connection between the three of them is very cool.

On the Road

The book grabs the reader's interest by beginning the plot early on. Why are the chapters staggered around such as chapter 2 is in the middle of the book?

Jeremy is in. it's pretty interesting

the book started out a little slow for me but its getting better and i am starting to like it more and more

im here!!!

1st posssst

im heree

im attempting read but my dad is having people over for the jets game and something good just happened so i have like 7 boys and dads jumping up and down..its okay so far

On the Road

Hi Everyone! I hope that you are having a great weekend and that you have thought a little bit more about the importance of the roads we choose to travel. That being said, please just post a comment here on your reading of Kerouac's On the Road. What do you think so far?