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.
The comparison you made between the transition that occurs within Sal and transition between seasons that we discussed after reading The Stranger was spot on. But what I also pointed out in my reaction is how the internal change in Sal is also reflected externally. It is really interesting to see how Sal’s internal change mimics that of the external world, as if the change in season actually causes the change in Sal.
ReplyDeleteI also really like how you clarified that Dean is not just a bug to Sal, but a parasite. Dean does not just cause Sal trouble, but brings him down. During the time that they have spent together, Dean has never appreciated Sal. Honestly, the basis of Dean’s friendship with Sal is Sal’s obsession with Dean. Dean enjoys being in the company of someone who is good and that actually likes him. Unlike Sal’s reasonable relatives who not captivated by Dean, Sal is completely under Dean’s hold. Dean likes to be around Sal because it makes him feel better about himself. He likes to know that someone who is good likes him. It is an incredibly selfish relationship, and Sal is completely impervious to the truth.
I also worry about how this journey is going to pan out, whether or not this journey is going to have the same outcome as it in the pervious. But it is almost winter and if On the Road is following the “Four Season’s Effect” then hopefully Sal will be more mature than last time.