Is such a vision of individuality healthy or hurtful? kerouac 39 s vision of individuality relies on a person 39 s willingness to separate from the conventional lifestyle of the culture. In the novel, sal often wishes he could become part of another culture and race, a true separation, yet whether or not sal would be able to remain an individual while becoming part of another group is not discussed in the book. One could also question whether sal was truly being an individual through much of the book, since his goal, as he stated it, was to follow dean and carlo around to be a part of the fun they were having. Towards the end of the novel, kerouac seems to be suggesting that separating himself from dean and the beat lifestyle had become necessary in order to retain his own notions of self. In the novel, what does it mean to be beat, and how does this concept change over the course of the novel? at the beginning of the novel, sal describes a person as beat who is mad, mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles.

By this definition, someone who is beat is a person who lives in the moment, always attempting to experience life at its fullest. This change is best characterized by the persons sal finds himself surrounded by in a detroit movie theater, a place he and dean stop to sleep because they cannot afford a room. These people he describes as trash, persons who have been discarded by society, an image sal himself comes to identify with. Kerouac 39 s notion of time seems to be that of an entity that is constantly moving and constantly taking others with it. As he sees his friends growing smaller in the rear window of a car as he leaves them, he laments not being able to be a part of their lives permanently.

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Sal and dean discuss it throughout the novel and believe that each of their journeys is going to bring them closer to this it. What is it ? do dean and sal ever find it ? dean 39 s and sal 39 s notion of it is best summed up by dean as he watches a jazz musician preform. He no longer cares for the conventions of society because when he has it, he is able to live outside those conventions. He no longer cares about things like money, family, or shelter and the other necessities of life.

Arguably, the closest dean and sal come to finding it is during their trip to mexico. During this trip they have literally taken themselves out of the american landscape and immersed themselves in a new culture. They head to mexico city, a place that could truly be a beat haven for them, but they find they cannot live in it for very long after all. What is the novel 39 s vision of the american dream in relation to 1950s america and today? the novel 39 s vision of the american dream as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is interpreted as meaning that one is constantly moving through the american landscape. Adventure and exploration are the tenets of this dream, though through the novel sal and dean often find there are fewer and fewer places to explore. Kerouac 39 s characters speak harshly to those who find happiness in consumerism and the conventional life of family and job.

Kerouac also could see the american landscape, particularly the old frontiers of the american west, quickly turning into tourist attractions. This transformation has continued into the present day, and kerouac 39 s novel promotes traveling to get to know a culture rather than being a tourist who never changes. Are sal and dean justified in the ways they treat women? for those who see conventional middle class life as a burden to be challenged by a bohemian lifestyle, the way dean and sal treat the women in their lives might seem necessary. Yet, in the novel, sal begins to see the toll such a lifestyle can take on one 39 s loved ones.

During their last journey, both dean and sal have sentimental moments when relating to children, and they begin to see that ideas of family might be more important than they realize. The novel suggests that family ties are a natural part of human life, beyond mere convention. Sal and dean are constantly torn between the love they feel for women and family and the freedom they desire.

Nevertheless, treating women who are not going to become family seems to be a different matter, and here the conflict is about basic respect and equality versus individual aggrandizement. In that sense, the male beatnik treatment of women is part of the larger beatnik lifestyle of disrespect for the lives and property of others. Is sal 39 s interpretation of african american culture fair? kerouac 39 s novel has been criticized for being a glorification of a caricatured african american culture. Sal sees this culture as one that does not have to deal with the pressures of white middle class conformity precisely because of the marginalization of african americans in his experience. Through the novel, sal often does not see the burden of this marginalization on african americans. What does law enforcement represent in the novel? law enforcement officers are truly the bad guys. During the multiple traffic stops that dean and sal have to talk and beg their way out of, law enforcement officers are not seen as the guardians of society but as a force that is attempting to control society and take away an individual 39 s freedom.

On The Road Jack Kerouac Essay Topic Text

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