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).