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.