Tuesday, February 2, 2010

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?

1 comment:

  1. Sal realizes that his journey is not bringing him as much satisfaction as he had hoped for. He stays in one place for a short time and is quickly tired of it. We see a change in tone. At the beginning, the tone resembled a child-like excitement for adventure, but towards the end, it becomes sadder. He is alone and with little money, but he chose to distance himself from everyone and has no incentive to work. As Stephanie puts it, he is falling apart and finally decides to go back home.

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