After reading the beginning
of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, I believe
that the title seems to represent a journey that the narrator takes across the
United States to the West. From the first two chapters, the narrator comes off
as a reserved intellectual who, until he and his wife separated, did not especially
attempt to step outside his boundaries or try anything new. He is normal and
ordinary, staying behind the scenes. Yet the narrator now yearns for a new
adventure and finds this positive spontaneity and exuberance that he lacks in
the character of Dean. However, I find it to be interesting that Dean and the
narrator seem to be exact opposites yet it is precisely for this reason that
they are bound towards each other. To Dean, who has a checkered past, the
narrator is the intelligent, knowledgeable man who Dean can learn from to
create a better future and life; to the narrator, Dean represents the West and
all its mystery and exuberance –qualities the narrator wishes he has and looks
towards as his inspiration to write. It is also interesting to observe the
narrator’s frustrated remarks in the second chapter as he gets mad at himself
for getting lost the first time he starts off his own journey –he believes that
he himself is incompetent and naïve. However, as the title relates, I believe
he will eventually grow more relaxed and mature as his travel experiences increases
and the story goes on.
No comments:
Post a Comment