Throughout this week’s reading of On the Road, there was not one event that stuck out in particular. Instead, it was the combination of all of the occurrences that made the reading interesting. In chapters seven through ten, Jack Kerouac portrays the significant changes that Sal has experienced thus far in the novel. Before getting to Denver, Sal was essentially a homeless man who luckily found his way across the country. In the recent reading, Sal’s surrounding environment has completely changed. Perhaps it is because of the interest that I find in Dean’s character, but I felt as if the scenes in which Sal sits and admires the discussions between Carlo and Dean exemplified the change in environment. Before, on his way to Denver, Sal was exposed to other hitchhikers who spoke of meaningless ideas and situations. As a result, when Sal is exposed to this opportunity of listening to Dean and Carlo, he takes advantage because it provides him with such entertainment to hear two “maniacs” converse. Moreover, Sal’s exposure to other women and the overall party scene in these chapters is significant. “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” (pg. 47). In this quote, Kerouac directly reminds the audience of Sal’s not-so-distant past and how much his life has changed in such short time. All in all, I do not believe that this week’s reading was that entertaining. However, in my opinion, the reading serves a great purpose of portraying Sal’s transition into the western mindset.
ReplyDeleteI too agree that these chapters were essential in marking the beginning of Sal’s transition into a man with a western mindset; however, I see Sal as becoming more of a conventional Western man who enjoys the typical pleasures defined by the beat generation rather than one of the “sordid hipsters of America” (pg. 48), in which he believes he is becoming. In my opinion, Sal is caught up in the hope of becoming a “Dean” of the world, when in actuality he is falling into the conventional pattern of mainstream America. I think he is more caught up in the idea of becoming Dean than actually becoming him; we see this at the end of chapter ten when he realizes that he “hadn’t talked to Dean for more than five minutes in the whole time” (pg. 53). I feel like he is an outsider to Carlo and Dean’s conversations, as he portrays himself as more of a known stranger than a member of their hipster group; for example, Carlo and Dean have to resist their urge to keep on talking and consciously try to stop the “machine” (pg.44), while Sal wants to sleep. I do believe that Sal’s life has changed over a short period of time, but not in the way in which he hopes that it will; he is so consumed with this idea that Dean is the person he wants so desperately to become that he does not realize that he is becoming one of the mainstream westerners. I feel like he sees this reality at the end of chapter eight when he sees the “great sun” rising from “the eastern plains” (pg. 45); I think that at this point he momentarily second guesses his decision for a new life out west and has a moment of hopelessness as he sees the hopeful sun rising from the east.
- Meagan Adler