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On The Road by Jack Kerouac
by Beau Gomez
Summary of the book : On The Road is a compelling tale of Sal Paradise, an intellectual writer, and the effect that the reckless Dean Moriarty has on his life. When the two characters first meet it is obvious that Dean embodies such a fiery passion and liveliness that for so long has been missing from Sal's life. Sal and Dean develop a close friendship throughout their time together, with both interested in the other. Dean urges Sal to enjoy and love life and hitchhike his way across the country to find himself. Sal does these treks across America numerous times and develops relationships and interactions that begin to shape who he is, just as Dean said he would. In the beginning, Sal practically yearns to be like Dean in every way and is perplexed by him. To Sal, Dean seems to have all the intangible qualities that Sal does not. However, during their time together Sal begins to realize and rediscover the energy and love for life that he had before.
Connecting to the Overarching Questions: On The Road relates to ''How are we tied to our past?'' because it really shows how Sal Paradise overcame his situation. With his ex-wife being gone, his life being extremely lonely, and completely focused on writing his book, he overcame this past by meeting up with Dean and embarking on a journey across the country by himself. Also, a past experience that aids Sal's future experiences are when, early in the novel, when you find out that Sal was recently out of the military. Him having served in the military made him eligible for the G.I. Bill Of Rights which provided him with money at various points in the story to go on and continue his journeys across the country. His aunt would wire him money and therefore he could continue his travels.
Herbie Hancock's Sly off of the Headhunters album to symbolize the significance of Jazz
About Kerouac: Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1922. He excelled academically and athletically in Catholic school. He went to Columbia University off of a football scholarship but soon dropped out of school. At Columbia, he met Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, and William Burroughs. Kerouac is accredited with spearheading the ''beat generation'' of literature. This movement was the precursor to the Hippie movement and active counterculture activity of the 60s. Kerouac died in 1969, at the age of 47, in Florida.
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