Throughout my recent reading of On the Road, I encountered a number of ideas that could serve great importance in understanding the novel. Firstly, I believe that the “hitchhiking” concept does a tremendous job in allowing the reader to realize a variety of things. For instance, because of his experience with different drivers or companions along his journey, the narrator becomes extremely culturally educated. He meets people from all around the United States and he then compares and contrasts life across state borders. When he first encounters a real American cowboy, the narrator becomes intrigued and curious about his lifestyle. Moreover, I found that Jack Kerouac also used symbols as a means of communicating to his audience. The most obvious one that I found was the apple pie and ice cream. “I ate apple pie and ice cream - it was getting better as I got deeper into Iowa, the pie bigger, the ice cream richer” (p.14). Here, the narrator notes the differences to something that is known to be stereotypically “American”. As he moves farther west, the apple pie changes along with the ice cream, representing the cultural disparity found in the United States.
In addition to these key features in the reading, I would like to discuss the importance of the ride throughout the conclusion of the reading. The narrator meets a good amount of people who are similarly looking for a new beginning and this allows him to sustain his self-esteem, for he is not alone. Furthermore, the narrator realizes that there are people who are in even worst shape than him, whether they are running from the law or simply do not have the same amount of resources as him. Overall, I have really enjoyed reading the novel thus far.
After reading your post I read back over the last two chapters because I had totally overlooked the similarities between the narrator's story and those of the people he encountered and now that you point it out I definitely see it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said except for the idea that the narrator is culturally educated. I think that he has been exposed to different aspects of American culture and that he makes observations that tell us more about his surroundings at the time, but I don't think he has really taken it all in. Rather, I see no instance where he shows the reader that his experiences have educated him, he seems to simply acknowledge subtleties that tell us about his surroundings and his journey, but never really analyzes them or infers anything from them. I think these the kinds of cultural changes you mention are Kerouac's way of characterizing the narrator's surroundings and journey, not of characterizing the narrator. Other than that, I totally agree with your post and it helped me understand the story a bit better.
(THIS IS FELIPE REGO'S POST, HIS ACCOUNT WAS NOT ALLOWING HIM TO COMMENT)