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.