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