Thesis Ideas For the Most Interesting Uninteresting Book

It seems I'm not the only one who has discovered the Beat generation. Here are my ideas:

1. What the novel teaches us about writing: Can a book tell its story without a main character and if so how can it be done?
I think we've examined the whole "Where's the main character" idea a lot, claiming Sal isn't actually a character, eventually giving up on Dean as the main character- but I personally never pinned down any sort of main character, or even the idea of one. I think it's clear that Sal is meant to be Kerouac as a sort of observer and through this observer we are told a story of a group of interesting people without a main character. Not only do I think that is something prevalent throughout the book, but I also think it's something worth thinking about.

2. The story as a representation of the original Beat generation.
Obviously this will be more of a history paper than literature, if we're being honest, but I think that because that's what the book is about it is more than worth making that the thesis. Rather I think it makes a lot of sense, and I would argue this would be the most significant of my ideas.

3. "On the road" (the phrase, not the book itself) as a concept encompassing the ideas in the book and connecting it to the Beat generation.
I feel like this would allow me to write about some of the ideas presented by the piece, but also require me to do so more than I would want to/be able to, thus limiting my freedom a bit. However, the main focus here is not necessarily the historical side of this but how the book links to the history behind it, and perhaps would be my most effective idea of the four.

4. "On The Road" (the book this time) as a picture of American culture during the relevant time period.
I didn't put any numbers because I have a really shitty memory but I want to say the 50's. If you read my blog posts I tend to go back to the idea that Kerouac does a really good job of reminding us when and where we are. With the subtle racism, casual sexism, and momentary focuses on setting, I believe the book does a pretty good job of showing us what the times were like. I feel like this is likely my weakest idea simply because it points out what's good about the book without really delving into it too much.

Comment on Ari's Themes (Gioia Kelleher)

      All of your theses are already very well thought out and any of them would make an amazing essay but your first thesis is my favorite. The concept of being on the road makes up almost all of the novel's content and it is also a very interesting theory to investigate. Your third essay topic is my second favorite, and I will totally be stealing your term "lemon squeezers". Essay topic number two is my least favorite because from the beginning we saw how awful of a person Dean is and I think it would be hard to find evidence supporting Dean as a hero.

Comment on Pedro's Themes (Gioia Kelleher)

      I think that all of your essay topics look very good and all have a lot of potential, but my favorite was number four. I thought that out of all of them number four had the greatest amount of supports. Your first essay topic is my least favorite because Kerouac never specifically mentions the "Beat Generation" so it may be hard to find supports. I look forward to seeing the final product.

Comment on Gioia's Themes (Ari Garvett)

      Out of all of your possible topics I believe undoubtedly that essay number three is your strongest. Fear plays a major role throughout the novel in all the characters. Fear is the very reason why Sal & Dean go on the road in the first place. I also believe that essay two could be strong but it seems not as original as essay number three. Essay three is unique and you could do a lot with it as there is a plethora of support that you can find throughout the novel.

Comment on Meagan's Themes (Ari Garvett)

      Overall, Meagan’s concepts are strong but I believe essay 2 and 3 to be the strongest ideas as one can provide a plethora of support for them. The two themes are extremely profound in the novel whereas in essays 1 and 4, Kerouac does not provide any prominent examples. But out of the two essays, if I were Meagan, I would choose essay 3. We see throughout the novel Dean and Sal escaping all three institutions and almost always defying them. Whenever they get pulled over by the cops (State institutions) they squirm their way out of the situation and fine themselves back on the road. Both boys leave their family and try to mentally block all thought of their love and compassion; however, they both fail each and every time as they always are looking for Dean’s dad and are constantly settling in Sal’s aunt’s house. I believe that Meagan could have a well thought at paper if she chooses this essay and I wish I had thought of it myself!

Comment on Meagan's Themes (Pedro Diaz)

      Meagan, I think that your third topic is undoubtedly the best for a number of reasons. First off, I think that it has an insane number of supports in the novel and you will have absolutely no problem writing it. In addition, I love how you are making a connection to earlier readings and in-class discussions. The idea is great and the paper should write itself. Moreover, it’s difficult to pick a topic not to use because they are all so good. However, because I have to decide, I would say to refrain from using the second topic only because it might be too similar to the topics of other students in the group.

Comment on Gioia's Themes (Pedro Diaz)

      Gioia, every single one of your themes comes with a number of possible supports. My favorite of the four is the second one because it is the most interesting to me. I find it very intriguing how Kerouac defines the setting of the novel through the use of the character’s actions, specifically towards women and other cultural minorities. Overall, I believe that all of your themes have a lot of potential. However, I would probably refrain from the third topic because of the fact that it could end up being almost entirely opinionated. 

Comment on Gioia's Themes (Meagan Adler)

      I think that all of your possible themes are analytically intriguing, but I particularly like your first topic and think that it would create the strongest term paper.  The idea of individuality in relation to Sal and Dean’s common purpose is a significant idea that I believe Kerouac underscores throughout the novel.  Both Sal and Dean want to escape the societal institutions that pull them back and restrict the development of the individual.  They do not want to conform to society’s desires, but rather want to find who they are.  I think that out of the four, your fourth idea would probably be the hardest to write a term paper on because it would be difficult to find clear support.  I really like your ideas and think that your term paper will be very strong!  

Comment on Ari's Themes (Meagan Adler)

      I think that all of your possible themes were analytically captivating, but I think that the first and second term paper ideas would create the strongest paper.  I am particularly intrigued by the first essay and think that it communicates a significant point of the novel; no matter where Sal and Dean are geographically, they are unable to escape their problems.  The idea that the road life allows them to distance themselves and find temporary relief is important in relation to the novel.  I think that the idea that the road offers Dean and Sal clarity form the distorted societal world would also be an interesting idea to incorporate into your paper.  I think that your fourth idea is interesting as well, but think that out of the four, it would not be as easy to write about because you would not be able to find as much support and evident examples throughout the novel.  I think that the first idea would make an analytically complex and particularly strong term paper. Great job! 

Four Possible Themes (Pedro Diaz)

1. The true meaning of being part of the “Beat Generation”…What are the characterizations that allow for one to become a part of the “Beat’s”…how does Sal’s time on the road allow him to become immersed in a different culture? This topic is particularly easy to write in the sense that you could almost directly define the "Beat's" using Sal's words..however, it is difficult because it will probably be harder to find good supports for it. Overall, the topic is very interesting in my opinion because of the role that the novel could have played in terms of influencing the audience of the 50's and 60's. 

2. The element of individuality in the novel…to what extent are the characters of Sal and Dean unique and different in relation to the typical American culture of the time. How do their experiences across the country assist in this development? This topic has a great amount of supports, but may be a little difficult to write in terms of getting the point across in a clear way. Both characters evidently change throughout the novel in ways that make them different from everybody else, but how different?

3. Sal’s time “on the road” as a metaphor for his overall development as a character. How does Sal change from the beginning of his journey to the end of it? What are the major events that help shape Sal’s new lifestyle? Can Sal’s time on the road with Dean be considered beneficial? This topic is particularly interesting in that it offers a lot of supports because of the characters' time in different places across the country. The one flaw that I find is in regards to the idea that the essay may become almost entirely opinionated.

4. To what extent does the novel accurately represent its time? How do the character’s actions help define the setting? The way women are treated..African American culture..etc. The novel’s overall portrayal of a complex time period in American history. This topic is my favorite for a variety of reasons. I believe that the idea offers the most amount of supports and it will also be easy to discuss in essay form. In addition, it allows for the perfect balance of opinionated and factual text. Overall, the topic is one that I was captivated by since early in my reading of the novel because I was interested in how Kerouac's life impacted his portrayal of the novel's setting.

Four Possible Themes (Gioia Kelleher)

1. What brings Sal and Dean together is their shared search for individuality and self-defined happiness

2. The way that women are portrayed throughout the novel, and how at times it can be completely unjust and also somewhat realistic.

3. Fear and why Sal and Dean needed to be on the road.

4. Sal’s vision of America changes as time passes, and as that development occurs the reader learns more about the true identity of the country.

Four Possible Themes (Ari Garvett)

1. The Road is Our Drug- No matter if they go east to west or back form west to east, Sal and Dean always end up on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts and are forced to deal with their problems. The middle section of America grants them the temporary ability to distance themselves from real life and the burdens that come with it. The road, therefore provides temporary relief similar to a drug. It is a fantasy world that sooner or later shocks Sal & Dean into reality.

2. Heroes- we put our heroes on a pedestal that we think is unachievable, but as soon as we meet them, we can see their flaws as they too are solely human. Sal for almost the entire novel admired and wishes he was Dean. Every action he took, no matter how large, was to further himself into his goal of becoming another Dean; however, once observing Dean’s psychotic break Sal realized his superiority to him. His hero in actuality was a monster hidden in the shadows by his own mind as we as human beings hate to be disappointed and would rather see the color red even if it is actually blue.

3. Lemon Squeezers- I define lemon squeezers to be people who metaphorically squeeze everything useful they can out of someone, and then dumps them in the trash. The novel is full of squeezers and most definitely Dean is one of them. His ‘honorable’ quest has turned into one characterized by manipulation, desperation, and lust. He continues to leave Sal, his ‘best friend’, for weeks at a time for someone else, and then returns once he is contempt that he has finished his business. Furthermore, he manipulates Marylou through his profession of his love to her to continue to journey on with him, but in the meantime, truly could care less about any one them. He desires the company of Marylou and Sal, but once he has found something better, leaves them for good. To tie this together, this essay would describe what I now believe to be the selfish natures of human beings. We all want to get ahead in life as we are the most important people on the planet, and in this process, we do not care who we have to squeeze.

4. A successful book even though nothing ever happened - as a result of the lack of action, the novel was able to come to a close. As Sal started to see the true colors of Dean he was able to realize that Dean had not changed him in the least bit but rather he had all the characteristics to become the successful, light hearted person he always wanted to become. Sal never needed anything to happen in his life to make him any better or worse. By the end of the novel, he no longer depended on the road to define who he was, but rather allowed his mind and attitude to make the key decisions that would define his future. A future without drugs and alcohol but rather a future about love and absolute happiness.

Four Possible Themes (Meagan Adler)

    1. The rejection of socially defined values that prevent the development of the individual that the Beat Generation, led by Dean, desperately tries to escape.  As we go on our continuous journey with Dean and Sal, we see that Sal is leading the rebellious youth out of society and trying to shift the older generation to the liberal left to encompass values of the individual.  Dean is constantly on the road because he fears the societal institutions that restrict the freedom of the individual.

    2. The objectification of women in a wild and youthful generation that views females primarily as objects of sexual pleasure.  As Jack Kerouac brilliantly portrays the discriminatory setting of the Beat Generation, we are constantly exposed to the inferior roles women play in society.  Most of the women we see throughout the novel are either waitresses or objects of sexual pleasure; through the dialect we are further exposed to their subservient role.

    

    3. Societal institutions are inescapable and underscore the idea that the individual is destined to fail.  We see that although Dean and Sal try to escape the institutions of church, state and family they never are able to completely escape them.  We see this when they constantly return back home on their cyclical journey to the societal institution of family and when they are periodically stopped by the police, the societal institution of state.  Ultimately, Sal is forced to conform to socially defined values, for when he reaches the fringes, he turns back to go home. 

    4. The homogeneity of America, for regardless of where Dean and Sal are geographically, they are really always in the “same vast backyard” (pg.11).  We see that societal institutions define the entire nation, giving each region a sense of uniformity.  This underscores the Kafkaesque idea of the failure of the individual and signifies the idea that there is no ultimate destination throughout the novel, but rather a constant and frantic journey on the road.  

Off the Road

      So what I just recently realized is that On the Road is not a novel about a very annoying and frustrating boy traveling back and forth across America, it is a novel about trying to find happiness. When I first started reading On the Road I was so confused by Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty. I could not figure out why they acted the way they did, why they deliberately went against what people expected and wanted from them and at times deliberately tried to mess with their own lives. Sal and Dean have so many opportunities throughout the novel to have a happy and normal life, but they never take them, and at first that made me so mad and infuriated, but as I have already said, I have figured out something new about the novel and that is that On the Road is about happiness. More specifically, one’s own happiness, not society’s or your parent’s idea of happiness, but trying to find your own happiness. That is exactly what Sal and Dean are trying to do. 

      There is a lot that is left out about both the characters for most of the novel. Sal is living with his aunt and relies off his aunt for the entire novel, yet we never really hear about what happened to or where his parents are and it is not until the middle of the novel that we learn that he had been a soldier, or at least what I would assume considering that he goes to school off of the GI bill. I am not an expert in history but I am relatively sure that in order to go to school under the GI bill one must have fought as a soldier for America. Yet Sal never comments about or describes his experiences. We know for almost the entire novel that Dean had spent some time in jail, and yet, like Sal, we never hear anything about his experiences. But I think that both of these experiences have a huge impact on the characters and why act and carry themselves the way they do. I think that Dean is constantly so manic during the earlier parts of the novel because he went from traveling around the country riding on open trains with his father to being locked up. He lost all of his freedom and when he was given it back he went crazy and what I would say, he became absolutely high on it. Towards the end of the novel I think that Dean loses his enthusiasm because he started to realize that he was still trapped, even outside of jail he could not find real freedom.   

Why Nothing Ever Happened In On The Road

      After two hundred and ninety three pages of constant complaining that nothing every truly happens in On The Road, I am here to say, once again, after reading the entire ‘adventure’ novel, barely anything happened in the novel between the time lapses of parts one through five. Now, I can argue that this fact is both an asset and a detriment to the novel.

      When considering this fact to be a detriment to the novel, I mean to say that most people who are not forced to read this novel would probably go back to the book store (Even though that is not very realistic now of days as we all order our books) and return the novel. The lack of character development and the absence of action that the title ‘On the Road’ suggests can be quite disappointing to a reader. Before reading a single page of the novel, I was expecting it to be a death defying, thrilling, and adventurous novel full of twists and turns in the plot context; however, what I got was a mundane, stale, and antiquated plot with barely any character development. After one hundred pages in fact, it got quite repetitious and predictable.

      Although I make the argument in the previous paragraph that the lack of excitement was a detriment to the novel, I also make a case around the fact that as a result of the lack of action, the novel was able to come to a close. Sal throughout the novel has had an inner struggle of finding himself. His way of aiding this wound was to follow the crazy, death defying Dean; however, in this journey with Dean, slowly but surely, Sal started to realize that Dean’s attitude on life was killing them both. As the book progressed Dean transitioned from a strong and prominent character, to a protagonist who needed to abuse substances and mistreat woman to get a sufficient ‘high’. By the end of the novel, Sal looked down upon Dean and realized his superiority. He understood that we put our heroes on a pedestal that we think is unachievable, but as soon as we meet them, we can see their flaws as they too are solely human.

      Now, to wrap this up, I argue that the lack of action is an asset to the book in that Sal never needed anything to happen in his life to make him any better or worse. And as cliche as that might sound, Sal did in the end find the strength to become an independent man. He no longer depended on the road to define who he was, but rather allowed his mind and attitude to make the key decisions that would define his future. A future without drugs and alcohol but rather a future about love and absolute happiness.

The End

      The conclusion of the novel is both unexpected and captivating. Throughout the entire work we see Dean Moriarty as Sal’s role model. Dean is a party animal who has multiple affairs at once and just embodies the idea of being “cool”. Sal’s actions show how much Dean has influenced him because every word that comes out of Dean’s mouth is subject to Sal’s analysis. Moreover, Dean and Sal literally travel across the country together and learn everything about each other to the point that they become more than best friends. The two characters’ relationship is more like that of a brotherhood than of a friendship.

       Moving on, as Dean is having his plethora of sexual relationships with 1 in every 2 American women, Sal is trying to get an understanding of the world. Everywhere that they go, Sal contemplates on the differences between every city he has been to. In addition, he almost always meets a person that changes his life in one way or another. Overall, Sal’s time “on the road” allows for his development as a character who at first struggles to grasp any sort of meaning to his life. On the other hand, Dean’s time is less meaningful as he just wants to have fun.

       In many ways, I found the end of the novel to be ironic. Dean is the character that has been looked up to by both the audience and many other characters for his role as a “badass”. Meanwhile, Sal has been mocked for his monotonous lifestyle and his inability to really have fun. Sal knows this himself as he tries so hard to be Dean which is really the reason that he began spending time with Dean in the first place. At the end, however, it is Sal that ends up settling down and moving to San Francisco with his wife, Laura, while Dean is left alone without anything. Even more interesting is the fact that Sal at first invites Dean to join them in California, but after Dean comes too early and Sal cannot afford it, Dean is left to stay. This point in the novel is both sad and thematic. The reader can tell that Sal is suffering in having to leave Dean because he has admired him in so many different ways for so long. Additionally, Kerouac seems to be portraying to the audience that the “badass” that everyone looks up to does not always end up being that “cool”. In fact, it may be the more inexperienced and boring person (Sal) that turns out to be more successful. 

       On the Road was a great novel in many ways and I really enjoyed reading it. I will admit that there were many moments where I was bored to death, but there were also many that I was dying to see what would happen next.