Comment on Ari's Post

       I can see where you're coming from here, and I agree with your logic. Sal is most definitely a character who wants but cannot take- perhaps he has the ability but not the will. But I do think that that is his pattern. I think he definitely has a pattern the same way silence has a pattern: It's constantly the same thing because nothing is happening. I believe your second claim is contradictory to your first in that the fact that he consistently shows the desire to make the more dynamic decision but never has the balls to do so is indeed a pattern. Whatever personality Sal has, it seems to have one function, and that function is to be a little bitch. So we're definitely on the same page in terms of defining Sal, but unfortunately for both of us I do believe that to be a definite pattern- there is not one moment where Sal makes a ballsy choice, it's always the same thing from him.

Comment on Pedro's Post

       First I want to mention how much I enjoyed the structure of your comment, it was very clear and easy to read. Second, I want to mention how much I agreed with what you said about Dean. Dean has become insane. His life is even less based on reason, and I feel like he is living his life on a high that is going to and has to break eventually. I also want to mention how from the beginning of the novel I have been disgusted by Kerouac’s representation of women, which he has painted woman as being incredibly immoral and fake. But I think that we’re all starting to better understand Kerouac’s purpose in writing On the Road. We’re not really supposed to like any of his characters, and instead we are supposed to hate them and see the faults in them. Kerouac is so deeply associated with the beat generation not because of his support for them, but because of how realistically he represented them, and in the end Kerouac is very messed up. He took this generation that saw themselves as a group that refused to be apart of the norm, and saw this as a positive, and turned their ideas and beliefs sideways. Kerouac who himself was apart of the beat generation reflects on their opinions not in a positive attitude, but instead scorns them for their imperious beliefs. I also want to mention that I disagree with your view of Dean, and that I still really dislike him. Even though he is more entertaining, I find him to be an absolutely awful person that I wish didn’t exist.

Comment on Felipe's Post

       I too think that this novel is one that is strange to say the least. I mean I can’t imagine voluntarily watching a guy have sex with my girlfriend  (or whatever she is to Dean) and be completely comfortable with it. However, I do believe that this makes the novel and specifically Dean’s character a little more in a variety of ways. I think that this scene just adds to the idea that Dean is definitely a little insane and that he is either scared of relationships or is trying to avoid one for some reason. I also picked up on the idea that Felipe discusses involving Dean “blushing” when Sal comments on their great friendship. As I predicted in my post, I believe that this novel is going to change a little bit in the coming chapters based on how involved Sal gets in Dean’s life. As Felipe states at the conclusion of his post, Sal has not been involved in anything as of late and I think we are going to see his role come into play fairly soon. Sal will have some sort of influence on Dean’s personality and we may also see another side to Sal that we have yet to see. 

Dean's Weaknesses

       A number of conclusions can be made from the recent reading. First off, this is likely one of the weirdest novels that I have read in not only high school, but my life as a whole. In addition, the novel lacks a lot of the action that we have seen in other works of literature throughout the year such as The Kite Runner or Kafka’s short stories. Nonetheless, I do believe that Jack Kerouac is a great author who somehow keeps us captivated by this story which only features one or two interesting characters. The person who many would consider the main character, Sal, is awfully boring and does not really succeed in much. Throughout the novel so far he has just made desperate attempts at charming other women or becoming more “western”/hippy. Furthermore, he basically wants to become like Dean. This leads me to my next point, Dean is, in my opinion, the only character in the novel who is genuinely interesting. Whether we are learning about his past where he spent time in jail and had numerous affairs or we are looking at the present where he continues to be somewhat of a role model (for Sal), Dean does not disappoint us in relation to entertaining the reader. 

       As we delve more and more into Dean’s character, the last few chapters that we have read portray a number of sides to his personality that we have not really discussed yet. For the first time, we can notice a variety of weaknesses that Dean has. Before we basically designated Dean with the role of being a “baller” (at least Felipe did), but now we can really see Dean struggling in a number of scenes. The issues that he has with accepting the relationship between himself and Marylou is one that is fascinating for a few reasons. As Felipe implied in his post, the recent reading shows us Dean’s incapability of sustaining a relationship. Although he has these f*** buddies that he can call whenever he wants, the reality is that he does not have a companion. Moreover, I believe that Sal will start becoming a more involved character in the coming chapters by being more influential in Dean’s life. Dean is in need of someone to be with him, and Sal, well...Sal is definitely not going to pass up the opportunity of being with Dean.

Comment on Meagan's Post

       Meagan this week provides a glimpse at some of the reasoning behind my frustration. Perhaps it is the fact that “Kerouac consistently reminds us that the group is trying to escape the inescapable institutions of family, state and church” that Sal and Dean are unable to ‘pull the trigger’. Perhaps in a structured society there is no capacity for a wildly free human being. But the first images of absolute liberty still haunts my group and I as we are now on our hands and knees begging for any ounce of excitement.

       This week however, Meagan reminds me that there is that possibility that the novel was never about the ‘wild and exuberant life’. Meagan could be right when stating that “the individual is destined to fail”. Could the novel have steered its reader is an entirely different direct purposely as to build the levels of frustration that all of my group members and I are experiencing?

       I do not have the answers to the following question; however, I am fully aware of one thing. The inability of Sal to make a connection with any of my group members speaks volumes. There is a consensus that it is a dreadful experience to have to read about Sal’s fluctuating views on life. He is not behaving as one human being, but rather, quite a few. And it is that very reason that makes me want to close the book right now and dump it in the trash.

Comment on Gioia's Post

       Now, I also see the true purpose of Sal’s narration, as he reflects upon the Beat Generation and its attempt to escape the inescapable societal institutions.  I believe that Dean is one of the leaders of this generation and that his clan follows him “sheepishly” (pg.105) because they are in awe of his youthful rebelliousness.  I agree that the characters are lost, for they are trying to escape the societal institutions and find themselves, but they seem as if they are just aimlessly wandering throughout the country.  I do not believe that the characters can escape these institutions, as we are constantly reminded when Sal’s aunt has to pay the fifteen dollars when they get pulled over, when they assure themselves that “God exists” (pg.111) and when they pay twenty-five dollars to the cop when Ed Dunkel recklessly drives.  These scenarios prove continuous failures at escaping the institutions of family, church and state.  I agree that there is a possibility that Sal is an observer and is fascinated with Dean, for he represents the Beat Generation.  The journey becomes mundanely dull, as it seems to be a continuous cycle that repeats itself and I think that it will ultimately end with everyone returning back to their own roofs.  I think that society will ultimately pull them back, as Carlo Marx says, “”Tain’t nothing but bureaucracy. And unions! Especially unions!” (pg.138) (as he sits with Kafka in his hands).  This alludes to the predestined failure of the individual.   

Dean

       So Dean is back and he is crazier than ever. Kerouac makes it obvious that Dean is morally corrupt and insane. Dean leaves Camille and his newborn daughter to meet up with a past girlfriend, and his conversation with Sal in the car about his view with God follows absolutely no reason. I question why Sal has decided to join Dean again and the only answer that I have come up with follows the same reasoning as with Meursault in The Stranger. He cannot and refuses to make judgments on other people, and I am just as frustrated with Sal while reading On the Road as I was with Meursault while reading The Stranger. Sal is indifferent to everything and is constantly overlooking Dean's failures. In The Stanger Meursault is created to be an outsider, to be an exception from the norm in order to have something to compare the idea of normal to, more or less questions the idea of normality. But Sal is neither a part of the group nor an outsider. I think I would be less frustrated by Sal he were to just choose a side. I believe the Kerouac wants the reader to feel this way, to hate the main characters of his novel which in the end is a little messed up, but also entertaining.

       During our video conversation a little more than a month ago Felipe made a claim that Sal isn’t necessarily the main character of On the Road, and that Dean would better fall under the title of main character. Up until now I had disagreed with him, but I believe that I now better understand his reasoning. Kerouac is writing On the Road as a representation of the beat generation and I don’t believe that Sal is apart of the group. He will follow them around and sometimes take part in their activities, but I believe that Sal is just means for the reader to observe what Kerouac believes the beat generation to be, and the subject of Sal’s observation is Dean. Dean is Kerouac’s view of the beat generation, and this was not the point of view I was expecting when I started reading On the Road. I was expecting the characters of on the road to be rebels with a new vision of what right and wrong are, but really they are just lost.

Jack Kerouac Might Be Insane, and Dean Definately Is

"...Dean and Marylou were sleeping on my bed, Ed and I on my aunt's bed." Sal Paradise, page 70.

       And that's where we start our reading this week, ladies and gentlemen; we start with Dean the playboy having sex with a girl on Sal the worshiper's bed, and something tells me Sal couldn't be happier. Maybe he's hoping some of that Dean Moriarty charm will rub off on him in his dreams since it clearly isn't happening in reality. Normally I wouldn't start a post with a quote, but quite frankly I found this too funny to pass up mentioning. And even better, shortly after this line, Dean gets a call from ANOTHER girl, which is really just over-reinforcing it at this point. Unless, of course, Dean ends up getting an STD, then all of this will have been a nice setup to a great punchline and perhaps some actual plot. But as we all know, this story isn't about plot, or characters, or even the great almighty Dean. This story is about history- it's about history, and America, and any message Kerouac wants to pack in there. But... does Kerouac have a message? I mean we can kind of see his view on things but I can't really recall any situations where I could say "Yeah, there's Kerouac". Unless Sal is supposed to represent Kerouac (and if this is the case then boy, does Kerouac need a therapist) I don't really see him popping his head in the story to tell us what's in his head while he's writing this. Now, maybe he is Sal and he is simply expressing his fascination with the changing West but lack of courage to join it. Or maybe he's gay for a guy named Dean. Regardless, I'm not ruling out the possibility of the observing character to be the author's embodiment, but this is almost entirely because that seems to be the most reasonable assumption if we are to also assume that Kerouac has something to say beyond wanting to convey a little American history.

       Now I think we're all kind of glad to see Dean changing a little, some dimensions being added and all that. I like that he is becoming somewhat contradictory to himself and a little insane, and I think we can read a little more into him now. Dean has seemed to accept God but he doesn't seem to have thought it through. He has accepted this sort of natural balance where everything works itself out but also accepts that shit like a kid breaking a windshield and killing a man happens, so in his ramblings it seems as though he means that everything is going to work out for him. As usual, Dean seems predominantly concerned with himself, even in the adoption of his new mystic philosophy he has absolved himself of responsibility for his own actions and claimed a sort of divine protection, while simultaneously claiming that people are people and shit happens. Whether this makes Dean insane or stupid I am no position to say, but at least we're seeing some change.

       Okay that was all pretty much about one of the several chapters we read, so I'll make the rest of my reaction brief. Sal is horny and Dean is just a weird dude, like I get that he wants to see how Marylou behaves with another dude but how can he think it'll all be normal when he sits down to watch his friend fuck his girl? I feel like Dean would probably be perfectly comfortable, but evidently the other two weren't exactly down with being watched- they couldn't get into it. But there is one thing of actual importance I want to mention before I finish this: When Sal tells Dean they're buddies, Dean blushes. Now, maybe this is because Dean was embarrassed to ask Sal to bang Marylou, but a part of me wants to believe that it's because deep down Dean might be a little insecure about friendships. Sure, he can have any girl he wants anytime anywhere, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's not lonely. Now, this is me fishing for any sort of depth to his character so maybe I'm totally wrong, but I thought it was an idea worth mentioning.

Also Sal hasn't done anything for 88 pages, I think it's time we start wondering if he's even human.

Sick & Tired

       Now, after reading almost half on the novel, I am confident in saying that I am sick and tired of On the Road as a result of Sal’s inability to act or behave like one person. Normally, despite the many options that they are presented with, characters in all books fall into a pattern as they are human and therefore predictable. Throughout the novel I have said, over and over that Sal cannot love because he does not love himself because he does not know himself. In this connected chain, I have had sympathy for him, as it is hard in this world not to be effected by its mysterious and mystical offerings; however, I believe that Sal is the guy who takes out the gun, but will not pull the trigger. In other words, we wants to make the change, but will never have the guts or balls to do so.

       The reasoning behind by frustration results in the fact that I am now reading The Kite Runner. Amir, although not fully developed as he is still a young adult, provides emotional shocks with twists and turns. Through these shocks, however, Amir has proven to learn from them rather than fluctuate like a Bobo Doll which Sal does continuously. Despite his horrid experience in the ‘wild and exuberant’ west, Sal’s opinion fluctuates as he now, once again, deems the region to be the ‘cool’ destination. Sal is the cause for his own undoing as he does not learn from his experiences unlike most people in this world. Rather, he continues to go back to places and the people that screwed him over in the first place.

       In addition, Sal is having visions of a Shrouded Arabian Traveler chasing him across a desert that will catch him before he reaches heaven. Dean thinks, that is signifies Sal’s longing for death. I believe, however, that Sal is not living so death will bring no change in his worthless life. I hate that my writing in this blog comes with a negative connotation, but there is truly no meat or substance in Sal’s world. He is a hypocrite as he ‘desires’ to parallel the life that Dean has; yet, he drives he describes to the reader the slow and careful drive he takes as to not hurt himself.

       I feel as if there is no hope for this novel. Sal is unsure of himself and his self worth and therefore can switch personalities as easily as he does because he is so empty. How can the main character of the novel be so empty and provide a meaningful message? I hope Kerouac cleans up his act, because as of right now, I am most definitely NOT a fan of On the Road.

“Bureaucracy!” says Old Bull; he sits with Kafka on his lap… (Meagan Adler)

       As we continue on our monotonously dull journey with Sal, we become frustrated as he aimlessly wanders with Dean on the road, as they try to escape the inescapable societal institutions.  We see that these institutions are going to follow Dean’s clan whether or not they are in the east or the west.  Whether it is needing Sal’s aunt to pay the fifteen dollars when they get pulled over by a cop, assuring themselves that “God exists” (pg.111) or paying twenty-five dollars to the cop when Ed Dunkel recklessly drives, Kerouac consistently reminds us that the group is trying to escape the inescapable institutions of family, state and church.  We are further frustrated by the idea that Sal and Dean are trying to become individuals in a country where the purpose of the individual is destined to fail.  I was particularly intrigued by Carlo Marx as he sees the borders of society and consciously decides to stop trying to escape the societal institutions.   He consciously advises Dean’s clan as he says, “The balloon won’t sustain you much longer.  And not only that, but it’s an abstract balloon.  You’ll all go flying to the West Coast and come staggering back in search of your stone” (pg.121); here, Carlo warns the group that they are trying to escape the inescapable force that will ultimately pull them in and lead to the failure of the individual. Sal frustrates us as he becomes a sheep that aimlessly follows Dean on his seemingly unsuccessful journey; as Sal says, “I didn’t want to interfere.  I just wanted to follow” (pg.123).  Do we like Sal? Not particularly.  Do we dislike Sal? Not particularly. I think that as a reader the journey seems to be mundanely dull because we do not feel any connection to the narrator.  The group is searching for a “wild and brawling and free” (pg.135) country, but will they ever find one? At the conclusion of this week’s reading, we are exposed to the wisdom of Old Bull as he sat watching sullen French faces go by at café tables in Paris and was a bartender in New York “merely for the experience” (pg.132).  As he “sits with Kafka” (pg.138) on his lap he tells the group “Tain’t nothing but bureaucracy. And unions! Especially unions!” (pg.138).  I found this part of the reading particularly powerful, as it clearly communicates that the individual is destined to fail and that the members of the Beat Generation will ultimately be pulled back by the inescapable societal forces that they so desperately try to break free from.  

Sal's Continued Obsession with Dean

      In my opinion, this week’s reading of On the Road was the most entertaining thus far. Not only were we able to see a transition in settings between the first part and second part of the novel, but we also saw more aspects of Dean’s characters than in the previous readings. Because the other group members touched on nearly everything from the last chapter of the first part of the novel, I will mostly analyze events from the beginning of the second part. 

      At last, Dean comes back into the picture. We are back in New York for the holiday’s and we get to see Sal obsess more and more over Dean’s brilliance. I could not be happier with this change in the plot. After all, Dean is the most interesting character in the work and for this reason, I can honestly say that I like what I am seeing from Jack Kerouac in this part of the novel.

      Although Felipe discussed a variety of connections between this past week’s lecture and On the Road, I definitely have a few other ideas that I would like to share. First of all, I would like to say that I believe Dean exemplifies the typical man in post-World War II America. In class we talked about the 30,000,000 young Americans that escaped from “society” and set up their own “rules” and eventually became what we know as hippies. Well, Dean is exactly that. Dean’s lifestyle is characteristic of that of a hippy. Moreover, I believe that Sal is caught in between his admiration for Dean and the institutions of family and church. 

      Throughout the novel, we have seen Sal desperately trying to become part of the west. The whole point of his time “on the road” was to reach this unconquered territory and become more like Dean. We see Sal trying so hard to be cool as he goes to parties and gets trashed and tries to pick up girls, but he does not come even close to Dean’s character in terms of popularity and overall perfectness. 
      One of the major problems with Sal’s attempt at becoming part of this new American lifestyle is his involvement with the institutions. The most obvious of these is that of the family institution. Sal still lives off his aunt and he would not make it to the west in the first place if it were not for his family’s financial assistance. Moreover, Sal also needs to cooperate according to the institution of the Church which he struggles to do when he practically begs for anything he can have sex with. Evidently, Sal has a lot of issues when it comes to fulfilling his dream of essentially becoming Dean. 

"I was off on another spurt around the road"

      When Sal mentions, “everyone goes home in October”(104) I feel that he is really focusing on the end of summer. He is describing the same feeling we all get when the summer ends and the school year starts. The period of time when we have the freedom to stay out all night and we don’t have any responsibilities, such as homework or applications, beckoning us back home, is ending. And for those living with seasons, those feelings of the end of summer are matched by the external world. The leaves change and the sky gets grayer, and we can no longer walk around in shorts and flip-flops. Instead it is we have to wear jackets and pants, and some people unwilling to accept the change in season will actually refuse to wear warmer garments and wait until the last second to admit they need them. For Sal specifically, the end of summer marks the end of the nights he could sleep outside on the lawns of bus stations or riding on the backs of pickup trucks. Once it becomes October, the night begins to get colder and those living up north know that the first freeze is soon. It is now physically be too cold for Sal to continue traveling; or at least too cold to continue traveling in the way he had before.

      Chapter fourteen marks the conclusion of the first part of the novel. Sal is now back home and in a completely different situation from the one in which was before. Instead of being in a hut in California living with a dysfunctional couple comprised of a gold digger and a thief his is with his family and surrounded by reasonable people. And yet his still held captive by the pull of Dean. Within his reasoning of deciding whether or not to go with Dean he sees the Christmas tree, the presents, and smells the roasting turkey, and hears his relatives talking in the other room and still he decides to go with Dean. Still he decides join Dean as if he had learned nothing from his last experience. Although this seemed unreasonable to me at first, the more I though about it the more it made sense, specifically the part about Sal listening “to the talk of the relatives” (115). Every holiday that I have spent back in New Jersey after moving to Florida; seeing my cousins and my brother who was enrolled in NYU before we moved, the harder it is to try to relate to them. I actually found it reasonable for Sal to decide to go with Dean because I don’t think he was ready to be home.

The Answer Brings Forth So Many Questions

      Okay, Sal is in New York and things are all different, he fawns over Dean, and Dean can't keep it in his pants, but none of this is important. Our book got mentioned in the last lecture and I don't know about you guys but my perspective has definitely changed. This entire time I have been reading this story and saying over and over that it was really a commentary on the setting, or a presentation of the setting, but I have still been reading it like it was all about the story when I should have been reading it for its message. What I'm picking up from the last lecture is this book is all about showing the reader all these different aspects of American society in a time where it is changing rapidly. While I think we have all picked up on the different faces of society Sal observes (as well as the fact that Sal is an observer, not a character) I definitely had not embraced the idea that this was Kerouac showing us moving history. Sal is boring, but he's supposed to be boring, this book is a documentary and we shouldn't expect the camera man to have a personality.

      This then lends itself to answering the question I persistently propose: Who is the main character? At this point I would have to say it's American culture, or the setting. The focus of the story is Kerouac's observations- the changes in American society, Sal is just there to give him an excuse to show it to us. And Dean... Well, Dean is there to ensure that the story has at least ONE interesting character.

      This also means that there is no hope of Sal changing; he will forever be the boring hitchhiker who has a creepy obsession with the legendary Dean. But I think there are more important implications here, like does Kerouac want us to read this like a book? Does he want us to pay attention to characters and plot points? Did he want us to realize this was an educational story and ignore the lesser things? I would think so, but he spends so much time dealing with characters and plot points that it was actually debatable as to what the focus was. I think we're supposed to read this story like a book but I also think Kerouac gives the reader a bit too much credit. I think he assumes that everyone will pick up on what he is trying to present but I don't think he realizes that not everyone will read a book and instantly see that it's not about the story. I'm hoping that either as the book continues Kerouac brings the real story closer to the reader, or maybe that reading it as a documentary will make it more interesting.

The Four Seasons in Effect

        This week’s reading proved to be quite interesting as it provided a reflection and deep revelation about Sal’s character. I realized that similar to The Stranger, Sal is cycling through the four seasons transitioning between phases from his life.

        In the beginning, with his hopelessly optimistic dreams of ultimate freedom and happiness, Sal exuberated spring’s green hues blossoming with its innocent joy. Summer took its hold while Sal was on the road with Sal. This experiment allowed Sal to soak the warm insights and knowledge that Dean had to offer which inevitably destroyed him through his sharp turn metaphorically and literally in fall as he was extremely troubled and consumed exemplified through his experiences with Terry and her son.

        Sal was nearing winter as his body was decaying with the stench of alcohol; however, there is a sudden transition in the middle of this week’s reading. To my liking, Part Two begins with the hopeful and innocent Sal that I once admired. In a sense, I believed Part Two to be second coming of Sal and can be identified as a rebirth. It is apparent and a key factor to Sal’s state of mind that his family is the center of his unique and individual spring.  I was happy to see that he had redeemed himself from the junk filled environment he placed himself in earlier in the novel. 

        Although relieved this week, my body was also experiencing levels of anxiety due to the sudden reappearance of Dean. Sal states "the bug was on me again, and the bug's name was Dean Moriarty..."; however, Dean is not a bug to Sal, but rather a parasite. When he nears Sal, Sal becomes a different person addicted to wild exuberance and abuses its power. Sal, like myself realizes this, but feels pressured to join Dean on a second road trip which frustrated me to no extent. People as manipulatable as Sal need trust their gut feelings and take a stance against anything that threatens their psychological state.

        Unfortunately, Sal goes against his inner most feelings and the vicious cycle has just begun all over again. First, quite timid and quiet with innocent dreams of marrying a girl, Sal will again most likely become an angry drunk holding his body hostage losing the purity that separates him from the rest of the pack in the novel. I predict that once again unfortunately that Sal will be dominated by sex, lust, and rage. Truly, I hope I am wrong and the cycle will not be stimulated as I do not want to endure another round of Sal’s self destruction; however, I have learned that people will continue to make mistakes without realizing the future consequences that they will have to face.

“Isn’t it true that you start your life as 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” (Meagan Adler)

        As Sal “haggardly” (pg.97) stumbles through the “inky night” (pg.96) on his journey back home, we unquestionably doubt if he will ever be able to become the Dean-like figure he so desperately wishes to be.  In worshipping his “God” (pg.105), Dean, Sal “sheepishly” (pg.105) follows him on his second attempt to escape the societal restrictions that force conformity and ultimately lead to the failure of himself becoming the individual that he sees in Dean.  Sal is captivated by Dean’s rebellious individualism in which he is unworriedly able to abandon his family back home for Marylou because he rejects the familial institution.  Sal craves the road life of the mobile Beat generation because he feels as if he is trapped in the “whiteness of the tomb” (pg.98), restricted by the institution of his own home.  Although mentally Sal longs to break free from society and become one of the sheep that follows the rebellious youth into Dean’s world, I am not sure if he has what it takes to remain apart from the societal institutions, for I think that he has already failed as an individual.   Sal augments our doubts about him being able to break free from society when he says, “This can’t go on all the time-all this franticness and jumping around.  We’ve got to go someplace, find something” (pg.108).  This shows us that Sal has been manipulated by society to a point where he feels the need to be complacently bound to societal institutions, such as a wife and family.  I feel as if Sal will always be that “ghost” (pg.97) he tries to run away from.  A powerful part of this week’s reading, where Sal sees society for what it really is, is when he says, “Isn’t it true that you start your life as 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”  (pg.97).   Sal conveys the grotesquely dark force of the societal institutions that relentlessly pull at the individuals who try to escape. I think that he realizes that he is trying to escape an inescapable distorted world that will haunt him and make him a ghost, whether he is in the east or the west.  Sal dreams of becoming this changed person to escape the nightmares of his life in which he sees himself conforming to as he remains trapped under a societal roof.  He sees the “semi-respectable walking hobo” (pg.97) on the fringes of society and feels the need to rush back home because he does not want that to be himself.  As he naively wanders back on a second journey, I think that Sal again will be threatened by the fringes of society and frantically come back the mundanely dull ghost he left as.  

Sal's Destruction of the Novel

If there is anything that I have gotten from the last few readings of On the Road, it is that Sal’s character has few motives. Essentially, Sal is only motivated to travel to the west and become western (whatever that means) and he is also motivated to become a replica of Dean. Throughout most of the previous readings, we have all noted that Sal’s character is always admiring Dean for every little thing that he does. Moreover, although we do not really see Dean much in these last couple of chapters, it is evident that Sal is striving to become more like Dean. For instance, Sal’s adventures to San Francisco in pursuit of picking up women exemplify his attempt at becoming more like Dean. Sal became used to seeing Dean with multiple women at the same time and he wishes that he could do the same, but in reality, he cannot even get one women to be with him.

A few weeks ago, in part of our group discussion, we argued about whether Sal would be the main character or if Dean would eventually take over. I believe that the last few chapters have suggested that Sal will indeed take on this role because of his central involvement in the plot. However, I believe that the novel is more about what Sal is describing than about Sal himself. In other words, I believe that Jack Kerouac is making an attempt at communicating to the reader the literal experiences that one can encounter when “on the road”. So far, the entire novel has been Sal telling us about this one time that he went hitchhiking. Unfortunately, I think that if this continues to play out, the novel is going to become really really boring. The author could easily have made the novel more interesting by creating a plot where we would see more interaction between Sal and Dean. In reality, all that the audience (at least in our group) is interested in is Dean Moriarty. 

Although I wish that there would be a different main character in the novel, as of right now, it is still Sal, which means we must wonder how the rest of the novel will play out. What will the west eventually bring to Sal? In my opinion, it just looks like Sal is moving backwards. Lately, as Ari noted, he has basically become a complete idiot and has not done anything productive. Furthermore, I do not see any real development in the horizon and I fear that Sal’s stupidity will continue in the future readings. Please Jack Kerouac, find a way to make this more interesting. 

What Does Sal Want?

       Sal is an observer, I think this is something we have agreed upon. He exists to observe and to allow Kerouac to describe the setting in the way he wishes. Up to now, that is essentially Sal’s purpose in the novel. It's never explicitly stated but I think we can presume that Sal is human, and being a human he has desires... right? Doesn't he? He must... right? 

       Then what are they? What does Sal care about? I want to say he has a desire to write but it seems that staring at Dean is more important than writing. The only real interest he has shown is in women, and in showing that interest he tends to be a pretty sexist dude. Most recently we see Sal get close to Terry and jumps to saying that she is his, seeing as she is the girl he is closest to at the time. I could get in to how sexist Sal is in this instance in particular but I think I've explained my view that this is representative of the setting more than anything, and plus I think Meagan will have mentioned it for me already. The point here is that not only do I think Sal hasn't really been characterized enough, I barely consider him a character anymore. I see no motivations in him- no desire- nothing. 

       Anyways, I just wish the novel would spend less time “on the road” and more time in the character’s minds. Well no, in Dean’s mind, because Dean is all in this novel in comparison to Sal. The few hopes that I have left in Kerouac to make Sal a more interesting character are slowly beginning to shatter. In my opinion, it must be only a matter of time before Sal has some sort of experience that changes the novel entirely. I must admit, however, that I do enjoy watching Sal fail in becoming more like Dean. Other than being amusing, Sal’s character is just constantly getting wrecked for different reasons which is one of my favorite parts of the novel. I just want to jump to Dean so I can read about a bank robbery or some shit rather than the Adventures of Sal or Lack Thereof.

America

      When I first started reading On the Road I thought the novel was going to be about an amazing, life-changing journey across the United States. Although Sal's narration and description of the setting around him have been beautiful, he hasn’t changed much. Although Sal is physically on a journey, mentally he has stayed in the same place the entire time. 

      Sal is not a narrator who decidedly gives his own opinion, but does give amazing descriptions of the settings around him, from which a lot can be interpreted. But what I have not been able to infer from Sal’s narration is whether or not a he actually likes America. What I have noticed the most in Sal’s narration is that it is when he is traveling and away from his friends, and never in one place for too long, that he seems to be in love with the U.S. But during the sections of the novel that we have read so far, it is when he is staying with his friends that he is most unhappy, the sections of the novel such as the time he has spent in Colorado and Mill City. During his time in Mill City he claims at one point that he has begun “to realize that everyone in America is a natural born thief". But during the time he is travelling from Mill City to L.A. he describes the “Magic names of the valley” unrolling around him. He has this fascination with America, and it is understandable, being that it is only one country encompassing the cultures of many. And yet there are similar characteristics among every one of the characters that he has described in the novel. I believe that Sal understands this, that even though he is three thousand miles away from his home, there is still the element of being American that connect those such as Remi and Dean to those like his Aunt and he understands that this is neither good nor bad.

      Sal has a ridiculous ability to accept almost anything, from his living conditions to those with whom he decides to become friends with. This is also evident in his lust for every female he runs into, lust he describes as “A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl who I loved”(pg. 82).