(Untitled)

[transatlant]

The main ideology that resounds through On the Road is a zest for motion. Sal and Dean do not question the purpose of their journey, or even whether there is a purpose at all. Instead they wander compulsively and go racing towards the sunset based on instinct alone. This reflects the instibility of their lives and social positions; Sal is a writer

Comments

[lila_poet]

soon as I get out of here and you get out of there
we are going on a road trip.

on the road style.
for sure.

[boxingsbeengood]

they sound like douchebags to me.

who wouldn't rally against the wealth they don't have, the society they don't fit into, and the culture they can't find a place in?

that's somewhat heroic at first, but several years later it's just pathetic. too cowardly to find maturity and too lacking in intellectual curiosity to find any change within themselves; those aren't honorable qualities. it's a lot easier to be against everything than it is to be for something

[transatlant]

you're so smart, mind if i somehow use that in my assignment?

[boxingsbeengood]

it's all yours.

it took you two paragraphs to condense an entire book so well that i was able to get that out of it...that's pretty impressive. if your teacher doesn't give you a good mark on the paper, let's put a curse on her

[transatlant]

oh man even if you do think that abou ton the road, you should read it. it's amazing. and cheering.

[shirewolfe]

Sal running back to auntie for financial funding made it even harder for me to build up any respect for him as a character. He's such a little boy. And Dean. Well, he's just a jerk. I don't care how passionate he is about living.

Sorry, I'm just a little frustrated with reading books with so many irresponsible characters.

At least Sal did try to step up a few times in the book and could reflect on the events with some sort of realization in hindsight. He pretty much failed though. He was too in love with Dean and the west and the road and digging things to figure out where he was going. Disappointment, given his idolization of a beatnik nomadic lifestyle, seemed to me to be inevitable.