Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The Spiritual Quest, the Search for Self and Identity

1323 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How World War II affected the economy in America

The Spiritual Quest in On the Road

A disillusioned youth roams the country without truly establishing himself in one of the many cities he falls in love with. In doing so, he manages with the thought or presence of his best friend. What is he searching for? While journeying on the road, Sal Paradise is not searching for a home, a job, or a wife. Instead, he longs for a mental utopia offered by Dean Moriarty. This object of his brotherly love grew up in the streets of America. Through the hardships of continuously being shuffled from city to city, Dean has encompassed what is and what is not important in life. While driving back to Testament in the '49 Hudson, Dean propositions Sal through an appeal to emotion. In passing on his philosophy, Dean eloquently states, "Everything is fine, God exists, we know time" (Kerouac 120).

After the war, America achieved the status of economic success through the provisions of the assembly line in industries and manual labor in civil services. The 1950's became an evolution from skilled craftsmanship to mindless mechanical work in factories. The goals in life included working in a fixed position, having a home, and providing for the wife and kids. However, with the threat of the Cold War looming over their heads, the youth of this generation grew disenchanted with the so-called American Dream. They realized life is ephemeral and that there is more to life than punching in a time-card. The concept of individuality was more important than conformity. It became a "culture acting out the true Self and true spontaneous desire" (McGeory 21). As an author and member of the younger generation, Jack Kerouac embodies this notion of estrangement throughout his novel, On the Road. Allen...

... middle of paper ...

...notion that their quest is a spiritual one" (Goldstein 61). Once we reach the ideal inner peace is when we are truly able to understand the band of friendship that surrounds us. If we are able to maintain this philosophy, no trouble can exist to deteriorate our well-being. We will be able to enjoy life more and discover what our fears are hiding.

Works Cited

Birkerts, Sven. "On the Road to Nowhere: Kerouac Re-read and Regretted." Harper's Magazine July 1989: 75.

Ginsberg, Allen and Gregory Corso. "Ten Angry Men." Esquire. June 1986: 261.

Goldstein, Norma Walrath. "Kerouac's On the Road." The Explicator Fall 1991: 61.

Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. New York: Penguin Books. 1955.

McGeory, Heather R. "On the Road to Upheaval." New York Times 12 June 1993, late ed.:21.

Will, George F. "Daddy, Who Was Jack Kerouac?" Newsweek. 4 July 1988: 64.

Show More
Related

  • Crash by Jerry Spinelli

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    Plot Summary: This is a story about a kid named Crash. When he was four he met this boy named James but that was all that was told about him so I didn’t put his name in the character list because he wasn’t all that important. He and Crash got into a lot of trouble at their house I mean a lot so one day when they were 12 and 13 Crash’s mother kicked him and his friend James out to go to the arcade. There they met this girl Winnie that crash liked I mean loved dearly but, she never really realized him until that day when they went to the arcade.

    Read More

  • Mixed Emotions in Post-War America in "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit"

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Society in the 1950 was dramatizing, this is the time were world war two was going, manufacturing conformity and the great depression, so there were some transitions that had been made in order to keep a substantial life. In the film The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, there are different subjects that take place, talking about the dramatic change in an individual that took place during the world war two and how it affected him and his family. In the book Packerd the Status Seeker gives you a variety on the different class behavior in America and the hidden barriers that affect you, and the people that surround you that also focus on changes in work, family, and consumer culture. Although it may seem that having a nuclear family, a decent paying job, and the experience of being a part of the army, you are still place in the lower class of society. Little did we know that postwar in the 1950’s would give you so many mix emotions some days were happy, anxious and some days were fearful and content.

    Read More

  • The Power of Words in Markus Zusak´s The Book Thief

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Liesel’s mom leaves her with foster parents because she wishes to protect her from the fate she is enduring. The words Paula, Liesel’s mom, uses go against Hitler because she is a communist which resulted in her being taken away and Liesel to lose her mother and experience the loss of her. This shows Liesel experiences unhappiness because of her mother’s disappearance which is caused by the words she openly uses that contradicts Hitler.

    Read More

  • On the Road Essay: The Motif of Inadequacy of the Language

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    Krupat, Arnold. "Dean Moriarty as Saintly Hero." On the Road. Text and Criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed.Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. 397-411.

    Read More

  • Revolutionary Road Analysis

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suburban life in the 1950s was ideal, but not ideal for the women. Women were continuously looked at as the typical suburban housewife. In Richard Yates’ novel, Revolutionary Road, we are given the chance to see the dynamics of the Wheeler family and of those around them. Through the use of theme, tone and major symbolism in the novel, we are shown the perspective of gender roles in the 1950s. The author shows the reader the struggles of strict gender roles and how the protagonist of the story will do just about anything to escape from it.

    Read More

  • 1. In what ways did the 1950s suggest tumultuous times ahead?

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1950s in America was a time that brought about simplicity and perfection amongst the American society. The “all-American Dream” with the flawless family, which was emphasized by the constraints, and expectations that were demanded by the American Republican era of Eisenhower, would pave way for manifesting changes of the 1960s. Through the emphasis of media and societal expectations and political and wartime upheaval, Americans would fit the cookie cutter mold that would breed the fighters and lovers of the 1960s.

    Read More

  • Gatsby Lost Generation

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the end of the first World War in the year 1918, many soldiers, young and old, came home to their families dark and cynical. Many famous authors of this time, like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, wrote short stories not of their times at war, but of how material the world truly is. These were considered the “Lost Generation,” due to their lack of belief in humans in general and their dreary outlook of life in general. F. Scott Fitzgerald is famous for his book, The Great Gatsby which showed how he as an author viewed the Roaring Twenties, as one of the main themes is the idea that the American Dream is dead and humans are fickle and obsessed with material things, like money. On the opposite end of the spectrum, though, was the bright young generation, which “came into power” shortly after the Lost Generation. These young people were full of bright ideas and with the American Economy is a good place, everyone seemed to be happy. Art and fashion changed drastically, w...

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises

    2155 Words  | 5 Pages

    Americans in the 1920s were fresh off of World War I and freshly into the Prohibition Era. The American Dream was well defined- a life of wealth, comfort, and exuberance. After a World War I victory, the Dream was thought to be in the near future for every American. The country was seen as a world superpower, wealthy after the devastation of a war fought entirely overseas and brimming with hope and possibility- at least on the surface. Despite the highs experienced by much of the country, it wasn't without its problems. Crime violence was benevolently running the streets and the Speakeasies beyond the reach of full Prohibition, the world was being set-up for The Great Depression, and America was brimming with members of the "Lost Generation." This generation and the hypocrisies and idiosyncracies of the "American Dream" inspired a rising and influential set of artists, poets and writers, and a list of best-selling books that both reflected and inspired the generation that devoured them. Authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton, Anita Loos, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Sinclair Lewis were some of the popular fiction authors of the 1920s who both entertained and delighted their readers, while also offering an intelligent reality check about the limits and realities of the American Dream.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And The Great Gatsby

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.

    3547 Words  | 8 Pages

    For the last thirty years, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. has been offering people on the highways of America an alternative to the fast food pit stop. Their restaurants serves home-style food, has quality gift shops and, most of all, a friendly and accommodating environment all go in to create a welcoming atmosphere. Making the guest comfortable is what makes them different. The waiters and waitresses let you take your time. You are seated and promptly drink orders are taken. They give the customer sufficient time to gaze over the menu. There are peg games on the table to occupy you or your young ones. If it is a game of checkers you wish, there is always a table in the corner ready to play.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Floyd

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricanes form over the ocean. Easterly waves, what hurricanes develop from, are long, narrow regions of low pressure which occur in ocean winds called trade winds. At first, these easterly waves can grow into something called, a tropical depression. A tropical depression occurs when winds are up to 31 mph. Then tropical depressions can be upgraded into a tropical storm if the winds reach speeds of 74 mph or less. Then finally a the storm can be bumped up into a hurricane if the winds reach 75 mph.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Human Nature In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    People always like to refer to themselves as “independent”. Independence may seem like a great ideal in modern society, but in a post-apocalyptic world, a sense of dependence is unavoidable. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs help us to understand what people depend on. In Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, survival of the boy and the man is due to their dependence on their human nature and ability to support one another.

    Read More

  • The Hippie Counterculture

    2095 Words  | 5 Pages

    The nineteen fifties was a decade of prosperous times in America, but the average lifestyle of an American seemed extremely dull. The average American conformed to social norms, most Americans in the nineteen fifties dressed alike, talked the same way, and seemed to have the same types of personality. Music is what started to change the conformist lifestyle in America. Teenagers started to rebellion against their families by listening to Rock-n-Roll...

    Read More

  • Teenage Subculture Essay

    1864 Words  | 4 Pages

    The teenage consumption in this market can be thanked by the automobile, which gave teenagers a new mode of transportation. During World War II most car factories were used to produce munitions for the war effort. By the fifties the car industry was back at it selling cars across America and the government was out building highways and interstates. The car gave many people a better accessibility across towns and to businesses. Automobiles were the thing to use and many teenagers caught onto this. During the fifties the automobile gave teens “a greater feeling of independence than any generation before it (Kallen 148).” This independence allowed teengers to break away from their parent’s behaviors even more, thus improving on their new cultural identity. In the restaurant industry, one company tried to capitalize on this newfound independence to attract teenage customers. Mcdonald’s which opened in 1954 used the accessibility of the car to appeal to consumers with fast food drive-ins. The depiction of a teenage boy in Image 4 targets the teenage demographic by the idea of inexpensive, good food that seems to be enjoyed by someone of their same age therefore appearing appealing. This kind of appeal helped attract teenagers to drive-in food places where they would spend money. Because the automobile gave teenagers in the fifties more independence from

    Read More

  • Interpersonal Communication Reflection

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    of our own circumstances is the key to reaching inner happiness and peace. Also, only when

    Read More

More about Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The Spiritual Quest, the Search for Self and Identity

Open Document