O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The most significant moment in the film is when Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar encounter the Blind Seer, and he tells of their future.

"You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek...Though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall ye follow them, even unto your salvation."

O Brother, Where Art Thou? defines road trip with salvation. The Blind Seer directly comes out, and tells the trio (and the audience) the purpose and outcome of their trip. Their journey goes on to fulfill this fortune with the baptism scene, saving Tommy from being hung, being pardoned by Pappy at the campaign dinner, and the flooding of the valley. All of these scenes enforce the idea that the men are traveling for salvation.

Do you think there is any connection between Ulysses' lie about stealing money from an armored car and George Nelson (the bank robber)?

O Brother, Where art thou?

I thought the significant scene of the film was when three of them sneaked into the campaign dinner and performed as three old man. It shows the three of them working together and realizing the changes they have obtained through the companionship in this journey. It is this scene audience's overwhelming support of their music, shows that they have changed from running from the law to becoming accepted by the society. Also, Everett realized he has reached his 'treasure' of becoming 'bona fide' to his wife. The road trip served as an adventure for these men to move away from the past and bond together through the hardships they encountered.

Why is this film called, "O Brother, Where art thou?" Does it refers to the bonding of these three mans eventually becoming brothers to each other and that they worry for each other?

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

"I am a man of constant sorrow, I've seen trouble all my days."

I think this line is significant to the movie because this road trip is about finding forgiveness in the wake of trouble. Along with what Hayley said, the movie is about redemption and salvation and this song expresses that sentiment. The men realize that they have crimes in their past but they hope to find through acts like baptism and this trip that they can redeem themselves.

Another line that stands out in the song is when they mention they haven't been able to find any pleasures on earth. They realize that any of the infractions that they committed was based off of greed and did not fulfill any of their needs.

The trip is not only about finding "treasures" but it was mostly about these men finding atonement within society and themselves. I believe this movie is trying to say that road trips are sometimes about finding that you can be better and that you can have better. As long as you have the desire to want to be better, you can put your past away and move onto your present and future.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

I felt the film was defining a road trip as redemption or salvation, a way to rectify or wash away their past sins and transgressions, so to speak. The scene where Delmar is baptized helps to illustrate this idea.

Pete: Well I'll be a sonofabitch. Delmar's been saved.

Delmar: Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed.

Another scene that helps to illustrate this idea is when the valley is flooded right before Tommy, Pete, Delmar, and Everett are to be hanged. (Earlier in the movie Tommy describes the devil as "white, as white as you folks, with empty eyes and a big hollow voice. He likes to travel around with a mean old hound." --which is Sheriff Cooley) So, the flooding of the valley saves the men from the devil himself, and literally washes away their past.

Both of these scenes use the image of water to symbolize the rinsing away of their past life, purifying and baptizing them into their new life. This imagery helps to reinforce my definition of their road trip.

Question: George Clooney's character is Ulysses Everett McGill. Throughout the movie, Pete and Delmar refer to him as Everett, and not Ulysses. Why is this? Is it significant?

O Brother, Where Art Thou

I thought that the scene where Everett admits that there is no buried treasure was significant. Before this, Everett, Pete, and Delmar are looking for their freedom and for this treasure. Everett admits that his true purpose was to get his wife back, and with nothing to lose, Everett sets out on the adventure. If he loses his wife and children, then he would have nothing left. Although Pete and Delmar seem to have been deceived by Everett, they still follow him, which shows that this movie is also about companionship. They stick together even though Everett has gotten them into big trouble. As Pete mentioned, he was going to be set free in two weeks, but now that they've broken out of the prison house, he'll be stuck there until he is eighty-four years old. They almost get hanged, but in the end, Everett achieves his goal.

Zombieland

I thought the scene in the movie that supported this definition of a road trip was when Tallahase, Columbus, Little Rock, and Wichita are in Billy Mays' house playing Monopoly. Monopoly is a game that families often play together, and this scene shows that they are bonding, especially because this is the moment when Tallahase reveals what it is that he is really running from - the loss of his son. This shows that in this movie, a major component of a road trip is the relationship that grows between characters as they face conflict together. The farther they go and the more that they deal with, the more they learn about each other and the closer they become, until at the end Columbus recognizes that this is the closest thing he has ever had to a family. I think this scene is important because it is the first time that we get a glimpse of these characters as a type of family.

In the very end of the movie, I thought that Tallahase was going to sacrafice himself to save the others, because as Columbus points out earlier in the movie: "Once you take a man's son away from him, he has nothing left to lose." Why do you think Tallahase lived in the end? What does this say about this movie's definition of a road trip?

Zombieland

The most significant moment to me was when Wichita pulled over the Hummer so Columbus could get out and take the truck to find "whoever he was looking for" as Wichita put it. Columbus decides, however to get back in the car and finish the journey with Wichita, Little Rock and Tallahassee. This is the moment when Columbus realizes that there is more to life than being alone and shutting yourself in. He took a chance and got out of his comfort zone and realized that maybe he could be a happy social person. He wants to stay and be with Wichita wherever she goes, so he continues on the road trip. For Columbus, Wichita gives him hope and faith that he can survive this Zombieland and become a changed person. Even when Wichita convinces him to take off his seatbelt, he says something like "Wow it is kind of freeing". Columbus realizes at this moment that he never really was close with his family and I think he kind of regrets it. He makes a decision when he gets back in and shuts the Hummer door that this will be his new "family" and even later in the movie he says that these people were the closest he ever got to what he really wanted. This scene really puts emphasis on the road trip giving Columbus companionship, hope and change in his personality and outlook on life.

Question: Why does Wichita have such trust issues? Wouldn't she feel more protected with 2 guys there to help her survive, rather than feel threatened by them?

Zombieland

" I could tell she knew what I was feeling, we all are orphans in Zombieland." - Columbus

I believe this line was a significant moment in Zombieland because for Columbus this road trip was to find if his parents were still alive in this zombie apocalypse. Along the way he finds out that his hometown was taken over by zombies causing him to choose to stay with the group instead of looking for his parents. He recognizes along with Wichita, Little Rock, and Tallahassee that although they may be "orphans" and not have their families that through this road trip they became a family. No longer could Columbus play it safe and follow his rules but he needed to get over his phobias and let his life play its course on this road.

My question is why does Tallahassee reveal the death of his son to the group?

Zombieland

The scene where Columbus says, "It had to be a clown. No, it had to be a clown, and it had to be Wichita for me to finally understand that some rules are made to be broken." (Rule #17: Don't be a hero.) Columbus is faced with his biggest fear, which stands between him and Wichita. Not only is Wichita the girl he desires, but she has become an integral part of the "cool, functional family" he has longed to be a member of. Although he created this list of rules to stay alive, before meeting the other characters, how alive was he? He was a loner with IBS, pride and dignity were long gone, and he avoided people. The road trip gave him a chance to connect with people and to find what he always wanted, a girl to love and a functional family. But, in order to keep these things, he's going to have to break old habits, face his fears, and break his own rules. At that point in his life, it was time for him to either nut up or shut up.

Question: What was the purpose of using hometown nicknames?

Zombieland

I thought the most significant part of the movie was when they were on the road switching drivers from time to time. I thought here, they learned a lot about each others and showed each other their true selves as they trust each others more and more. I feel like this movie defines "road trip" as way to gain knowledge about your companions and share different experiences with them.

Why didn't Columbus go and check if his family was still alive or not?

Zombieland

I feel like the whole movie is significant for Columbus, as he seems to be searching for a "family that he never had." But the most significant moment for me was at the very end when Columbus finally has the guts to kiss Wichita. It's at that moment that Columbus narrates to the audience that despite not having a family growing up, he now feels like he has a family that consists of himself, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock after all they went through at Pacific Playland (a place where they thought no zombies existed). In terms of travel and road tripping, I think this movie kind of fades away from what we have been discussing in class because the other movies and readings seem to have no set plan as to where they are going. However, in Zombieland, Columbus lays out the so-called "rules" for the road in the beginning (i.e. fasten your seat belt, double tap and don't try to be a hero), and abides by them up until the last scene when he tries to become the hero and impress the girl.

Do you think that having "rules for the road," although not stringent like Columbus', is necessary to have a better road trip?

Thelma and Louise

The moment when Louise is talking to Jimmy was significant to me. He asks her if she thinks she's the only one with dreams that didn't work out, and she says, "… I think its time to just let go of the old mistakes; just chalk it up to bad timing. I think it's time to let go."

While they are specifically talking about their relationship together, I think this is a great example that can be applied to their entire road trip. Their road trip is a way to let go of their mistakes and escape those dreams that didn't work out.

If they hadn't been on the run, would Louise have married Jimmy, or would she still feel the need to let go of old mistakes and move on?

Thelma & Louise

One of the most significant scenes in the movie is when Thelma says, "I feel really awake. I don't recall ever feeling this awake. You know? Everything looks different now. You feel like that? You feel like you got something to live for?" For Thelma and Louise, a road trip is defined as a way to put distance between them and their life back home. Their life back home made them feel sedated, unable to express themselves. I believe they were tired of settling. Traveling together gave them a chance to take back control of their lives and "for once just really let their hair down." And because of this, they felt more awake and alive.

If someone tells you they have been convicted of armed robbery, why would you leave $6700 laying on top of the bed table?

Thelma and Louise

I don't have a specific part of the movie that has not been addressed yet; however, I did notice how both their transformations from femininity to masculinity can be seen but the way they dressed. Louise and Thelma start the road trip with typical girlwear such as dresses. They slowly start dressing more rugged as they get in trouble with the law. They start to take on a more masculine role by wearing jeans, sleeveless jean jackets, etc. What probably completed the transformation was when Thelma put on that trucker hat after they blew up the 18 wheeler. This movie shows how the road trip can lead to identity change based on the events that occur on the road.

Why did the cop show such trust and affection for the outlaws?

Thelma and Louise

In my opinion, the part that is most significant, is when Thelma robs the store. She is finally breaking out of her shell for the first time after being in a controlling relationship, and does something she is in control of for once. She realizes the trouble that Louise is in, and will do anything to help her one true best friend. You can tell that the significance of the roadtrip for Thelma is to finally do something for herself instead of listening to her husband, seen from the very beginning of the movie, but I don't think she does anything to break out of her shell until this point in the movie. After this point, it's clear her loyalty is to Louise and getting them both out of the lives they've been living.

Was the decision they made at the end of the movie the best one? Would they have been able to get out of the trouble they were in? How did everyone feel about the ending?

Thelma and Louise

For me, the scene that showed what this road trip has been for Thelma and Louise was towards the end of the movie, when they are driving in the desert after the police chase (the 1st one). Then Thelma says to Louise: "I guess I went a little crazy, huh?" and Louise responds "No, you've always been a little crazy, this is just the first time you've had a chance to express yourself." This moment shows the transformation that the road trip has been for Thelma. She started off as a trapped housewife, at times unsure of herself and following Louise's lead. As events in the movie progressed, Thelma became more of a leader, taking charge of situations that Louise could not, and forgetting about the expectations that society has about how a woman should act. In this movie, a road trip has the ability to bring out qualities that are hidden deep inside someone by taking away limitations and providing inspiration on the open road.

Question: Why did that one detective care so much about what happened to Thelma and Louise, when the rest of the men in this movie (except for Louise's boyfriend - I can't remember his name) were portrayed in such a chauvinistic light? Why was he different?

Thelma and Louise

I think the scene where Thelma and Louise found out that they were robbed by "Brad Pitt" at the hotel was significant. Here, Thelma and Louise switched role. Louise is usually the head-strong, determined, and courageous one while Thelma is the weak and dependent one. At this scene, the two switched role. Thelma stepped up and became the leader for the moment in time and helped Louise get herself back together.

I feel like this movie defines "road trip" as companionship. This companionship helps Thelma and Louise grow stronger together while finding out more and more about each other as they are escaping to Mexico.

Why did they call Daryl knowing that there might be a chance that the police were there?

Thelma and Louise

The scene when Louise first says she's going to Mexico was significant in the movie. I think the scene shows their purpose for their travels although the movie did not start out this way. Their trip becomes an escape from the crime Louise has committed and an escape from their old way of life. They realize that it is too late for them to turn back, so they run and avoid being caught. They know that they have lost everything they had, so they continue to commit crimes without anything to lose. Their only option of escape is to keep moving. As the movie progresses, I think that they gain the freedom to express themselves, and in order to keep their freedom, they avoid getting caught even until the end.

What would have happened if they just turned themselves in?

Easy Rider Moment

The moment where we see Fonda and Hopper get on their motorcycles is where the definition of road trip is defined in this movie. A road trip is a very American idea in this movie, and in everything else we've read this semester; traveling the open road, and "finding America." Riding motorcycles on road trips seems to be a very American idea, and even the clothes Fonda wears and the bike he rides flaunts the stars and stripes.

Is it possible for the idea of a road trip to be un-American?

Easy Rider

I think that the scene where Billy and Wyatt meet the rancher and go have a meal with him, describes travel or a roatrip. This is because traveling is about new experiences and meeting new people and just learning something new. They then travel and pick up a hitch hiker where they proceed to go to his so called "commune." This is pretty much hippy central and life is a struggle. This type of travel is not something I would feel comfortable with but, I think it would be kind of cool in a way that you can experience new things and learn how different people are from you.

Easy Rider

I thought the scene at the beginning of the movie when Wyatt discards his wrist watch helps to illustrate the attitude or spirit of their road trip (rebellious, carefree). And then later Wyatt says to the rancher, "You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud." I think this is what Wyatt and Billy are searching for on their road trip, personal freedom. They are doing their own thing on their own time, free from time constraints and social conventions.

Question: What did Captain America mean when he said, "We blew it."?

When Wyatt, Billy and George were talking in the woods before they were beaten up in their sleep, Billy and George were talking, and George said "What you represent to them is freedom," and I think that is what the movie is trying to say about the road trip. In this movie, Wyatt and Billy do what they want to do, while on their way to New Orleans. They do drugs and they even "participate" in a parade and get arrested for doing it without a permit.

Question: What did Wyatt mean by "we blew it" at the end? From what aspect is he saying that? Financially? Spiritually?

Easy Rider

"Got my own world to live through and I ain't gunna copy you"
This line is in a song that plays when they're riding their motorcycles.

This line describes the boys perfectly. They take smoke and take drugs throughout the movie to get away to their own world. They see the world in a different light when they're high. They do what they choose to do and when they want to do it. They don't live for anyone else or to abide by anyone else's rules. They just ride on their motorcycles picking up who ever they want and see the country. Even the place, Mardi Gras, that they ended up in is a place where people go to escape.

Why did those men come and beat them up when they were asleep?

Easy Rider Moment

"This used to be a hell of a good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it."

I believe this line is a good example of what the road trip meant for Wyatt, Billy, and later George. This line occurs after the three men attempt to eat at a small diner in Louisiana. However, they were met with scorn from the local men who chased them from the diner.

This was what their road trip was about, exploring what was occurring across this country. Along their road to freedom, they find the new social and physical landscape of America and can take those experiences (good or bad) towards their road of freedom. They have changed because their country changed.

Question: Why was the end of the movie so violent?

Easy Rider

I thought that the song "Born To Be Wild" represented how the movie showed the concept of road trip. The first lines really stood out to me and include:
"Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure"
When the song was played, the movie was showing Wyatt and Billy on their motorcycles on the road. It seemed like they were riding carefree and enjoying themselves. They seemed to be looking for a way of life, running into interesting encounters. Their journey was indeed adventurous, stopping at small local towns, smoking and getting high, and even getting themselves thrown into jail.

During the 1960s, were drugs used as a way of escaping the burdens of life?

I Know a Man, Creeley

"the darkness surrounds us, what can we do against it"

This was the moment in the poem when I actually understood some kind of meaning behind the poem. The darkness represents conflict to the narrator - something that he and John must deal with or get away from. The narrator is clearly worried about this darkness, but it seems that John is possibly annoyed with his rambling, and just wants him to pay attention to the road.

What is the darkness that surrounds them? How will buying a "goddamn big car" help them to escape this darkness?

"I Know a Man" - Robert Creeley

I don't feel this poem has one significant moment. However, the poem as a whole is significant because of the way it is written. I find it ironic that he titled the poem, "I Know a Man," yet he doesn't even state his "friend's" name. This poem is unique because there seem to be two different things happening at once. First, you have the man speaking to "John," about something that is really out of their control at the moment (buying a car). Then, you have the passenger who essentially snaps the driver back to the present and tells him to focus on the road before they crash. Perhaps this means that the driver is living in a surreal world, while the passenger is a dull individual who lives life as it comes to him.

I do agree with Kathy about the nervous wreck part, and wonder what makes him keep talking all the time. Is it perhaps because if he always talks, he never has to face or answer a tough question? And how come he didn't just go ahead and tell us the name of his good friend from the start?

"I Know a Man" by Creeley

There was not a part of the poem that was more significant than others. I feel like the whole poem itself is significant. The title "I Know a Man" was ironic. "Knowing" something or someone is personal, but the whole tone and feel of the poem is far from that. Another irony can be seen when he stated "why not, buy a goddamn big car" in the 3rd stanza and "look out where yr going" in the 4th stanza. The first statement give a feel of spontaneity and outrageousness while the latter gives a feeling of restraint. Creeley in a way can be compared to Kerouac. Although they are want to be spontaneous, courageous, and random, they in someway have restraints and boundaries.

Why did Creely used "sd" and "yr" instead of just simply saying "said" or "you are"? Is there a significant meaning to this?

Alive by Joy Harjo

"Alive. This music rocks me. I drive the interstate, watch faces come and go on either side. I am free to be sung to; I am free to sing. This woman can cross any line."

When I read this part of the poem, I could almost feel the author coming to life again.  The author gains a new appreciation for life (or is reconnecting with her life).  She has an emotional response from the music, and she sees people coming and going when maybe she never took the time to notice.  It seems as though she has become an open vessel that has no worldly boundaries, ready to give and receive. Perhaps in this instance, a road trip is a way to reconnect with oneself.

Robert Creeley's, "I Know a Man"

I chose this poem because I felt that it had a unique tone. It sounds like the speaker is a bit of a nervous, stammering wreck. The speaker is very vague and that type of vagueness gives us nothing to hold onto as readers. I think it's odd that he doesn't know his friends name and that he says he is always talking. The title of the poem is "I Know a Man," but how can you know someone if you a. don't know the persons name and b. you're always constantly talking. Sometimes getting to know someone is about listening.

The dialogue he is having with his friend could be seen as him having to either look to the future (i.e. buying that car) or keeping in mind that he needs to focus on the present (i.e. look out where you're going) Another thing is that the speaker might want to continue driving in order to not have to face what is going on in the present. Perhaps his constant driving is a journey to escape whatever it is that makes him a nervous wreck.

Discussion Question: Why do you think the Creeley wrote this particular poem in this manner? Why does the speaker narrate his life in such a way?

Alive by Joy Harjo

"I drive the interstate, watch faces come and go on either side. I am free to be sung to; I am free to sign. This woman can cross any line."

I was not really sure of the reference made by this poem, but this part of the poem stood out to me. The author here uses the reference of "drive the interstate" as a way to express the freedom/escape gained by the women. I feel it kind of relate to Kerovac's On the Road that both shows that traveling serves a way to get away from some sort of distress and discontent.

Question: I feel this poem reflects some sort of the distress and fear faced by the woman and that she wants to get away with it. But I wonder what exactly is this sort of fear or distress that the author is referencing here?

"Alive" by Joy Harjo

"Sometimes I am afraid of the sound of soundlessness" makes me think that the author is holding herself back. Shes afraid. I think the poem is about escaping life in general. Especially the 6th stanza, "I tried every escape...". The author tried different ways of escaping everyday life even resulting to drinking. Nothing worked until she just stopped and really looked at what was around her. Once she realized that life is great she opened up and finally felt free.

Women in Cars -- Martha McFerren

This poem was difficult to understand until midway through when she began talking about taking off clothes. The author never really mentions having sex in the car persay but it seems implied by the undressing in the car. One can only imagine what the author was thinking. It seems more subjective as to what the author was insinuating such as whether or not actual sex was performed or instead some other sexual activity was performed.
Perhaps the importance of this rather promiscuous poem is that road trips often make people feel adventurous and can lead to bold behavior. The freedom associated with privacy on the road may be an aphrodesiac (sp) which may cause people to partake in "abnormal" behavior.

Steinbeck: Travel With Charley

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip take us." Pg 767

This part of the story clearly defines Steinbeck's definition of "travel." A "travel" is something that is special for each individual. It is a part of their maturity into wisdom with their own experiences during the journey. As in The Road Trip, Steinbeck's points out that a journey cannot be planned, "safeguards, policing," or be analyzed. A journey should be spontaneous, random, and risky in order to truly become a "traveler" and not just a "tourist." Let the "trip take us" far and wide, and not be so limited to things that are planned!

Although Steinbeck talks about being spontaneous, random, and not have "plans, and safeguards," why is it that his whole trip was kind of planned?

Steinbeck: Travels With Charley

p. 771 "I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation -- a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every state I visited. Nearly every American hungers to move."

Question: Where does this yearning desire come from? And, do you think Steinbeck capitalized "Here" to mimic Joseph Addison's use of capital letters?

Travels with Charley page 780

"But maps are not reality at all -- they can be tyrants. I know people who are so immersed in road maps that they never see the countryside they pass through, and others who, having traced a route, are held to it as though held by flanged wheels to trails"

Although John Steinbeck's definition of the road trip seems to slightly differ from Kerouac's, in this quote we see how the definitions are similar. Kerouac believes that a road trip must not be planned out and spontaneity, mystery and adventure are the most important characteristics of a road trip. However in Travels with Charley we get a slightly different definition from Steinbeck, that a road trip should be planned and laid out, as Jessica explained. In this quote however, we see that although there should be some planning or future destination in mind, along the way the road trip should still be spontaneous and adventurous. I think he is saying that people are so consumed with getting to their final destinations, following maps so closely, that they forget to look out their windows and see the beautiful parts of the country they don't normally get to see. They don't take full advantage of the road trip because they are so obsessed with staying on track with the map and miss out on the "adventure" part of the trip they are taking. It is important even when we have a final destination or a planned general route to follow, to not forget to look at our surroundings and soak up the beauty and the uniqueness of each different place.

Question: Several places throughout the reading we see that he wants to escape from "Here". Why is this constantly capitalized and what does he mean by Here?

John Steinbeck

Page 768 top paragraph, "In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it."

I believe that these 2 sentences describe Steinbeck's feelings about a journey very well. He, like Kerouac describes a journey as something you cant control and that you encounter many different situations on the way even though you think you have a "plan". I find it interesting that he compares it to a marriage because like a journey a marriage is unpredictable and there are many things that a husband and wife/traveler and the road must go through to "survive".

On page 767 he states "We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." I I find that this quote helps to explain his comparison of the road to marriage because everything is unpredictable. You can plan and hope for the best with no troubles but there will always be obstacles that you must fight through to make it and call both successful. Along the way you find out many more things about yourself and your partner(in a marriage), which if you hadn't gotten to experience the journey, you might never have been exposed to and learned about.

Do you think that this narrator is going to learn more about himself than Sal on his trip because he has his own form of transportation, or do you think that this greatly hinders his spontaneity and experience?

John Steinback

Pg. 767 (first page of part one) "Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And last he must implement the journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay."

This differs from Jack Kerouac's perspective of a road trip. In Kerouac's novel, a road trip comes out of spontaneity, and Sal goes whereever the road takes him. He does not have a specific route that he takes and just catches rides with whoever comes along. In John Steinback's description, it seems like the journey is not spontaneous and includes some type of planning. From this quote, he shows that to take on a journey, one must plan ahead, knowing the general direction and paths to take.

The narrator has mentioned that people want to get "away from Here" in a couple of sentences. What does he mean when he says "Here"?

On the Road, pg. 92

"'We're all in this together!' yelled Ponzo. I saw that was so - everywhere I went, everybody was in it together" (92).

I thought that this quote summed up the experience that Sal has had while interacting with other people on this trip. As we discussed after reading Whittman's poem, one element of a road trip is that when you meet people on your journey, everybody is traveling on the same road - there is a sense of commonality, a shared experience. Sal has met many different types of characters on this trip, but they all have at least one thing in common: they are connected by the road they are traveling. It seems that Sal has realized that although people have different problems and different destinations, humanity shares a common struggle. It reminds me of that quote by Thoreau that says "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desparation."

Now that his plans for a job on a boat have fallen through, it seems that Sal has changed. How has the forced spontaneity of this part of his trip changed him?

On The Road Ch. 11-14

p. 106 "Isn't it true that you start your life a sweet child believing in everything under your father's roof? Then comes the day of the Laodiceans, when 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.  All I could see of the morning was a whiteness like the whiteness of the tomb.  I was starving to death."

This quote reminds me of something Sal said at the beginning of the book, "...and my feeling that everything was dead" and how he was a "ghost in his own house." His journey to the east and back left him starving, and this leads me to believe his journey was unfulfilled in some way, that Sal hadn't been handed the pearl he alluded to earlier in the book. 

Question: Do you think the Ghost of the Susquehanna is a foreshadowing of Sal's future?

On the Road - pg. 73

"It was just the loneliness of San Francisco and the fact that I had a gun. I had to show it to someone. I walked by a jewelry store and had the sudden impulse to shoot up the window, take out the finest rings and bracelets, and run to give them to Lee Ann. Then we could flee to Nevada together. The time was coming for me to leave Frisco or I'd go crazy." (pg. 73)

These lines in the first part of the book describes Sal's journey thus far. Sal continues his travels in order to survive. Saying that it is time for him to leave San Francisco shows that constant movement is a survival tactic that Sal uses in order to not feel dissatisfied with these lifestyles that he is thrown into. His dissatisfaction and restlessness appears to come from his failures in seducing women and the failing relationships in San Francisco.

In class, we discussed the importance of being spontaneous and the role it plays in Sal's journey. The characters and tales we discover along the way are a result of his desire to find a more fulfilling addition to his story. Sal is a person who wants his journey to be about movement and novelty.

My question is why does Sal find that the West is empty while the East is "brown and holy"? This journey was for him to find new stories but it appears that the more he travels the more he becomes frustrated with his decisions. So why is he appearing to dislike his decisions?

On the Road pg 67

"Now you got to make up your mind one way or the other, or you'll never get anywhere... but all I wanted to do was sneak out into the night and disappear somewhere, and go and find out what everybody was doing all over the country." (page 67)

This quote in chapter 11 sums up Sal's road trip perfectly. Once Sal finally gets a job as a cop with Remi he questions himself as he always does and thinks that he is not made out to be a cop. All he can think about is how much he would rather be out somewhere meeting other people instead of working and making money. In the end of part 1 Sal travels back to New York and says "it was October, home and work again." The way he goes back and forth from one way of life to another and always wants what he doesn't currently have proves to me that he is indecisive in the kind of person he is and the kind of life he wants to live. We said in class that if you are everything, you are nothing and this makes sense because he cannot choose a path or settle with one way of life. Sal never sticks to one job, one woman, one city or a way of life that will provide stability and normalcy. I definitely think his spontaneity is a distraction for him and a way for him to dismiss his problems and his questions about his lifestyle. Once he finds something that satisfies him just a little bit, he moves on and wishes for something else, something new.

Question: Why did Sal search for a woman throughout his journey, complaining about how lonely he was and how he wanted a woman so badly, and once he found one he loved he gave her up so easily?

On The Road, Chapters 11-14

Page 75.." I hid in my corner with my head between my knees. Gad, what was I doing three thousand miles from home? Why had I come here? Where was my slow boat to China?"

I believe this quote sums up Sals' trip perfectly. This quote shows us that Sal is fed up with what he is doing on his road trip across the US. It could be that his spontaneity has gone too far and he finally feels like he cant just pick up and run away from city to city/reality anymore. It seems that without grounding he is falling apart. Earlier Sal said "Who am I? What am I doing?" and at this point is he asking himself the same type of question. It is as if Sal is escaping from every destination he goes to looking for a better destination, while always having a some sort of doubt in his mind. He is now realizing that he should have thought things through before making the road trip rather than not having much of a plan, not having much money and being alone on this journey.

Question: Do you think Sal feels so distraught at this point because he is on this journey alone or because he has no real plan to follow?

On The Road Ch. 4-10

p. 26 "Big Slim and I spent many nights telling stories and spitting tobacco juice in paper containers.  There was something so indubitably reminiscent of Big Slim Hazard in Mississippi Gene's demeanor that I said, "Do you happen to have met a fellow called Big Slim Hazard somewhere?"  

And later on p. 27 "And that was exactly right; and I still couldn't believe Gene could have really known Slim, whom I'd been looking for, more or less, for years."

Meeting new friends during your travels who remind you of past friends, and who actually know of this past friend definitely adds to a good, memorable road trip.  This scene in the book proves that road trips are full of surprises, unexpected and pleasant surprises.  Not only does a road trip encourage you to look forward to your destination and live in the present, a good road trip makes you reflect upon the past.  

Question:  What is meant by Sal's statement, "That last thing is what you can't get, Carlo.  Nobody can get to that last thing.  We keep on living in hopes of catching it once for all."?

On The Road, Ch. 4~10

Chapter 4

"They had no cigarettes. I squandered my pack on them, I loved them so. They were grateful and gracious. They never asked. I kept offering."

I think this moment of the chapter is significant, because it shows that the narrator values alot of interpersonal interactions. Through out the road trip, he had shown his compassion toward his road companions such as the way he offered the whiskey and cigarettes. I feel this shows a part of reason why the narrator would travel so far to meet his friends in Denver.

Question: In chapter 8, why would Dean and Carlo talk to each other in a very abstract way? Is it really like the narrator said that they are "manics" ? Or, are they talking in this way, because they know Sal has been listening and trying to hide something from him?

On The Road Ch. 4-10

Page 52... "Only a few days ago I'd come into Denver like a bum; now I was all racked up sharp in a suit, with a beautiful well-dressed blonde on my arm, bowing to dignitaries and chatting in the lobby under chandeliers. I wondered what Mississippi Gene would say if he could see me."

I thought this quote by the narrator plays into his idea of never having a plan throughout being on the road. Life is unpredictable and it is impossible to know what tomorrow has in store. This also re-emphasizes his revelation of how useless it is to make rigid plans while traveling on the open road.

My question is: Do you think Sal feels like a sell-out at all because he asks what his fellow friend of the road, Mississippi Gene, would think? Or do you think he just sees going to the opera as a new experience and part of the journey?

On The Road Ch. 4-10

"The greatest ride in my life was about to come up, a truck, with a flatboard at the back, with about six or seven boys sprawled out on it, and the drivers, two young blond farmers from Minnesota, were picking up every single soul they found on that road...." Pg 22

This part of the chapter is significant by the way it describes a traveler's spirit. Hitching a ride with 6 or 7 other strangers is totally random, spontaneous, and courageous. Moreover, friendship starts to develop. They drank, smoke, and speak of life. They bonded, like what a person would expect from a "road trip." At this point, I feel like the author is slowly becoming what Whitman describes as a "traveler;" being more carefree and more spontaneous.

Question: Why was there conflict between the members of his "gang" ?

On the Road Ch-4-10

"I know that. Its just that I love boxcars and I love to read the names on them like Missouri Pacific, Great Northern, Rock Island Line. By Gad, Major, if I could tell you everything that happened to me hitching here."

At this point in the novel, on page 41, Sal is speaking with Major, who has just told him about his trip to France and that there are "other things besides boxcars," insinuating that a planned trip is better than a hitchhikers trip. I think this is a significant moment in showing what makes a good roadtrip because it shows that it doesn't really matter where you're going or how you get there because the journey and your experiences are the most important part. Sal has already had so many experiences on his roadtrip to Denver, experiences that are too much too explain or that Major wouldn't appreciate anyway.

What do you think makes traveling the country without a plan and minimal money so intriguing to the characters in this book?

CH 4~10

pg .47" 'You've got your man,' said Eddie, but I wasn't so sure about myself. 'I just won't sleep,' I decided. There were so many other interesting things to do."

Even though the author was running out of money, he didn't want to work. He is on the road to experience new things. He didn't come all the way to Denver to work for 14 hours per day.

Question: If the author wanted to see Dean again so much, then why did he talk with him for no "more than five minutes in the whole time"?

On The Road Ch. 4-10

Pg. 26 "...a railroad Hassel, a traveling epic Hassel, crossing and recrossing the country every year, south in the winter and north in the summer, and only because he had no place he could stay in without getting tired of it and because there was nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the stars, generally the Western stars."

Although he is talking about a hobo, he describes it as having the freedom to travel anywhere you want. You stay in motion and keep moving without ever stopping in one location for too long. There's "everywhere" to go because there's so much more to see. Just go whereever the path takes you.

Later on after Sal gets to Denver, he quickly becomes tired of it and wants to head to San Francisco. This shows that he wants to keep moving. At first, he is having fun and enjoying his time, but he realizes that he's had enough of Denver. He was there long enough to satisfy himself and now wants to move on to find more satisfaction in other places.

On The Road, Ch. 1-3

P. 20 "You boys going to get somewhere, or just going?" We didn't understand his question, and it was a damned good question.

Though it is an extremely brief moment, it's a moment where the narrator is given the chance to define the true purpose of his trip. He chooses not to, and we can assume that he doesn't fully know. It made me wonder whether we will ever discover what type of road trip he's taking. Does it even matter?

Is a road trip where someone is going somewhere more or less valuable/enriching/transformative than a road trip where someone is just going?

On The Road

Page 16...

"So I could rest my tired soul a little, for one of the biggest troubles hitchhiking is having to talk to innumerable people, make them feel that they didn't make a mistake picking you up, even entertain them almost, all of which is a great strain when you're going all the way and don't plan to sleep in hotels."

This quote caught my eye, not necessarily because it was strikingly significant, but because I had never thought about this aspect of hitchhiking before. The act of hitchhiking is often perceived as a lazy, carefree and aimless way of traveling, with the driver being the one doing the hitchhiker a favor. For this reason, I found it intriguing to hear from the hitchhiker's point of view about the exhaustion and effort that comes along with having to make constant small talk with strangers. Though getting to meet people from all walks of life is a perk of being a panhandler, I can definitely imagine how one would feel pressured to impress or "entertain" the drivers with stories and conversations, no matter how tedious they may get.

My question is what factors made hitchhiking so popular in this era and when and why did panhandling laws eventually emerge?

Significant Moment: On the Road

"...and I shambled after as I've been doing all of my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are 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 exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!"

I think this is a significant moment in the first three chapters because it shows the true character of the narrator. It seems to me that he is a simple and sort of bland, boring man who lives through the excitement of other people's lives. There were several references in the first three chapters of how interesting and different the people he met were and how they intrigued him in many ways. Even some of the things he saw brought out excitement in him that today many of us just look past. In New Orleans I drove by the Mississippi River everyday not thinking much about it so it struck me in the beginning of chapter 3 how he describes it as his "beloved Mississippi River" going on in greater detail.

Perhaps this road trip is a way for him to get out on his own, away from living in other people's shadows and experience things on his own for a little bit. He gets out of his comfort zone in these first three chapters and meets new people and experiences things he hasn't ever before. We talked on Monday about how mystery, excitement, hardships, adventure and experiences all define "road trip" and we have already seen this road trip impact the overall character of the narrator.

My question is: Do you think that a road trip is the best way for a person to find out more about themselves?

Significant Moment in On the Road

page 15..." I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future, and maybe that's why it happened right there and then, that strange red afternoon."

I find this sentence significant because he compares the west to his future and the east to his past. It is as if the East is in his past and something he wants to move away and almost forget about. This is similar to the discussion in class that we had where we stated that Whitman describes travel as a way to move on and not have second thoughts about things that have or are currently happening. It seemed as if one should completely erase the problems of the past, and have nothing to worry about when moving on and traveling to start over. The narrator of On the Road makes similar points to Whitman where he has no thoughts of turning back and going back to his old life and is pretty content with the decision he has made of traveling and starting over even if it means being basically broke with no real plan. Traveling to the other side of the country is like starting a new life and making all of your troubles from your "past" or the East disappear.

Do you think that many people in today's society use traveling as a way to escape reality and get a break from what is actually happening in their lives?

On the Road: A Significant Moment

pg. 15 "...and I looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who I was for about fifteen strange seconds. I wasn't scared; I was just somebody else, some stranger, and my whole life was a haunted life, the life of a ghost. I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future, and maybe that's why it happened right there and then, that strange red afternoon."

I thought that this was an important moment in these first three chapters because it seems that after his decision to go West, this is a point in which he realizes that he is on the brink of change. He is not the same man that lived a static life in New York, yet he is not far enough into his journey to know how his future experiences will shape him. He has traveled far enough away from his "old life" to have trouble identifying with it - the fact that he refers his life as "the life of a ghost" shows that he is in a state of limbo between the "East of my youth" and the "West of my future." To me, this quote also shows that he considers his future to be the end of his youth, and that through this journey he will mature. I think that Kerouac is equating a road trip, in part, with a shift in self identity that comes from experiencing new people and places.

One question that I had: do writers really need new experiences to produce good literature? I can't help but think of Jorge Luis Borges, who wrote engaging poetry about something as common as a sock.

Follow up

Pg. 11: "...and I knew he was right. It was my dream that screwed up, the stupid hearthside idea that it would be wonderful to follow one great red line across America instead of trying various roads and routes."

I also noticed this paragraph at the end of chapter 2, and thought it was interesting because of what we said in class about how the road trip was unknown and you never really know what you are going to see when you get up and go. Had he stayed on the one path and followed the red line, he probably would have missed many opportunities to witness great things. But by taking the mans advice and traveling various routes, he realized there was more to see along the way. Therefore, by accepting the ride and not staying at Bear Mountain in the rain, he opened up many more roads to travel on during his journey.

I don't really have a question for this. I just thought it was an interesting part of the chapter.

Wes DeVoe - On The Road Chapters 1, 2 and 3

Pg. 8: "...A western kinsman of the sun, Dean. Although my aunt warned me that he would get me in trouble, I could hear a new call and see a new horizon, and believe it at my young age; and a little bit of trouble or even Dean's eventual rejection of me as a buddy, putting me down, as he would later, on starving sidewalks and sickbeds - what did it matter? I was a young writer and I wanted to take off. Somewhere along the line I knew there'd be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me."

I chose this excerpt because I thought it built upon our discussion in class on Monday dealing with the poem. The author, Kerouac, expresses this idea that despite knowing that trouble exists, he still wanted to get the ball rolling and experience life. We talked in class about how there was a sense of mystery when going on a road trip, and I believe Kerouac is getting the itch to reveal what that mystery might be in this paragraph. Like with any profession, experience is necessary in most cases to have a successful career. By Kerouac proclaiming that he wanted experience the road with Dean, I felt like it was another way of saying that he wanted to be courageous and go through the hardships along the way in order to help him later on in life.

I noticed at the end of the paragraph, he said he knew that "pearls" would be handed to him. It made me wonder what exactly he was really expecting the pearl to be?

-Wes

"Song of the Open Road" by Whitman

"You road I enter upon and look around! I believe you are not all that is here;
I believe that much unseen is also here." (stanza 2)

"O public road! I say back, I am not afraid to leave you--yet I love you;
You express me better than I can express myself;" (stanza 4)

"Allons! we must not stop here!
However sweet these laid-up stores--however convenient this dwelling, we cannot remain here;
However shelter'd this port, and however calm these waters, we must not anchor here;
However welcome the hospitality that surrounds us, we are permitted to receive it but a little while." (stanza 9)

Whitman sees travel as an open road with endless possibilities. With the "unseen" he is saying there is more to learn about yourself and others than you could possibly imagine. Whitman argues that by giving yourself entirely to the experience of travel on the open road you begin to express your true self; someone that you may never have known was there, or forgotten about. It's more than just traveling on the road; you begin to learn about yourself and life. Whitman further encourages us to not settle or become content with the life we have. We must go out and experience the open road to enjoy life, and learn about ourselves.

Song of the Open Road- Whitman

"Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose...
Done with infoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road."
I believe Whiteman defines travel in the very opening lines of his poem. Whitman defines traval as an escape from his daily routine. It is something new and fresh, and you don't necessarily have to have a plan when you're traveling the open road. He is able to be free to do whatever he wants. I think he believes that by traveling you can gain wisdom and learn more about yourself through your experiences while traveling.

Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman

"The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first, Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first, But not discouraged, keep on, there are divine things well envelop'd, I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell."
"However welcome the hospitality that surrounds us we are permitted to receive it but a little while."

I think Witman's poem shows that travel is defined as an opportunity for a person to gain different perspective and personal growth. He promotes going out-doors as oppose to stay in-doors. The quote shows that he believes no matter what kind of obstacle a person would face on the open road such as from navigating the earth and nature, if the person preserves, then he or she would be rewarded with beautiful things in the nature.

Song Of The Open Road - Whitman

"Allons! whoever you are, come travel with me!
Traveling with me, you find what never tires."


As mentioned in a previous post, it does not matter who travels on this open road so long as they are willing to be open to new experiences for growth in the human soul. Whitman believes travel should be an experience shared with anyone since each person has something to be learned from. Different experiences with different people via travel enhances a person's understanding of life in general. The second line refers to the idea that there will always be something to learn from experiences of traveling. Something new and interesting always awaits to be discovered when out on the open road.

Song of the Open Road - Kathy

"I carry them, men and women—I carry them with me wherever I go;
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them;"

Whitman's poem about the road is not only a place everyone uses but is also something that gathers the stories and lives of the people that use it. The stories vary because the people that travel on it come from all levels of life. Because of this, when he travel he carries these men, women, and their stories with him.

Through these stories he is able to find stories for his poetry. Therefore, Whitman is against staying at one place for a long time because he cannot hear or find the plethora of experiences of the variety of men and women that travel these roads.

Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman

"To know the universe itself as a road--as many roads--as roads for traveling souls.

The Soul travels;
The body does not travel as much as the soul;
The body has just as great a work as the soul, and parts away at last for the journeys of the soul."

Whitman is not limiting travel to physically boundries here but rather letting your mind travel and wander wherever it leads itself. He capitalizes "Soul" in the second line as if it's a person or another being completely; as if his isn't always connected to him but off traveling. I think he means to say that traveling is what you want it to be, how you let it mold itself and take form in a physical sense or mental. There are no boundries, no constraints, whatever happens along the way is suppose to happen.

Walt Whitman; Song Of The Open Road

(From second stanza) 

"They pass, I also pass, any thing passes, none can be interdicted,

None but are accepted, none but shall be dear to me. "

These lines insinuate how the open road is unbiased and accepting to all.  "Here the profound lesson of reception, nor preference nor denial," establishes that the open road receives all and prohibits none from the experience of traveling.  

(From sixth stanza)

"Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons,

It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth."

In my opinion, travel is being defined as an opportunity for personal growth.  Just like the open road, the potential for personal growth has no boundaries, biases, or "limits/imaginary lines." Unhindered by the confines of daily life which breed complacency, the traveller in the expanse of the open road will be able to grow in wisdom and to realize what it is he/she possesses within themselves. 

"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines, Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,"
"Now I re-examine philosophies and religions, They may prove well in lecture-rooms, yet not prove at all under the spacious clouds and along the landscape and flowing currents."

Whitman's poem describes travel as a way for us to break free from the constraints of daily life and create our own journey. The open road is full of endless possibilities, and our ability to choose a path without the influence of "limits and imaginary lines" lends itself to self discovery. However, I do not believe that Whitman is saying that travel is an opportunity to leave behind everything that we have learned and start over. Instead, he suggests that the new environment that travel provides is an opportunity to reevaluate our experiences and knowledge in the context of new people, places, and persepctives. It seems that he believes that in a different setting, we will discover that some of the theories that we have learned will "not prove at all" outside of the classroom.

"We will sail pathless and wild seas,

We will go where winds blow..."

I think definition of "travel" by Whitman is "a life-time journey without any set plan or limits."

I thought that the lines I quoted help illustrate the definition because if you say ship is your life, the sailing pathless shows that there is no plan and going where wind blows shows there is no limit to the journey.

Welcome, friends, to the class blog for RHE 309K: The Rhetoric Of The Road Trip, Spring 2010 Edition. Here, we'll be posting our responses to readings, our comments on one another's posts, and our thoughts about what we'd like to bring up in further class discussions. It's possible to post images, videos, music files, and text here, and I'll be adding all of the members of the class to the blog as posters shortly.

For now, here's a youtube video I found of someone reciting a portion of Walt Whitman's "Song Of The Open Road," along with music and psychedelic effects. It goes on a little too long, if you ask me, but the first half of it is worth a look.