Sick and Tired

      Surprise! Another week and yet the same plot story has occurred once in the again in the predictable On The Road. At this point, like my other partners in the blog, I am sick and tired of reading a book which has no substantial ‘meat’ to it. Even in this week’s reading, Sal himself discusses where the road is tacking him.

      After reading this chapter while at the same time reading Notes from the Underground, I would like to point out that the narrator in Notes from the Underground make an excellent observation about mankind. In this story, the narrator discusses how human beings are so afraid of being bored that they will build roads and streets just for the sake of it. In terms of On The Road, Sal and Dean go on these road trips as they have nothing better to do with their lives. They are afraid at facing the reality that their lives have no substance that they would rather waste their time abusing drugs and having sex than facing the harsh truth that I am discussing right now. They are on the road for the sake of with without an purpose or meaning, just like the entire novel. I have yet to figure out what the point of central theme of the novel is besides a sense of hopelessness.

      Furthermore, it seems that the plot stories between part 1 and part 2 parallel each other despite slight variations. Once again, Sal is warned multiple times not to spend too much time with Dean; however, he heads everyone's warning, ignoring his own mental and physical health, and is once again going to undergo a mental breakdown. At this point, I do not in the least bit care that Sal is miserable because he keeps turning back to the person who makes him the most depressed.

      Also, even though I at first I liked Dean, I think at this point he too is as pathetic as Sal. Dean blames everyone but himself as proven by when he once again gets arrested for speeding. If he in the first place did not speed, he would have no one to blame. Rather, Dean is constantly complaining and treats woman as his accessories. It is sickening to say that Kerouac suggests that the only thing women are good for is for nurturing and or providing sex.
      I do not know if I could have made this any clearer, but at this point in time is a dread to read On The Road. I would rather reader Notes from the Underground, although dense, because at least it has some logic and meaning behind the context of its text.