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.