I feel that this reading gave a lot of insight about the 1950’s; Sal mentions Central City being revived by the new West, and the excitement of opera houses reappearing, tourists visiting and even Hollywood stars making appearances. For the first time, he is having a great time with a new set of friends; it seems that he’s honestly enjoying the carefree, fast-paced, living-in-the-moment life through bar-hopping and getting with girls. Furthermore, towards the end of chapter nine, I loved how he described the darkness and openness of everything that lay ahead in the ‘mighty land’; his descriptions of the Plains, and the Colorado and Utah deserts all capture the freedom and unknown of the territory he wants to travel. The irony of his experiences, however, is that Dean and Carlo are not there. The first time he travels away from them is the first time he’s been able to experience the true vivacity and culture of a city –this goes to show how much he’s limited himself by staying with ‘the gang’.
Of course, Sal ends up returning to Denver, but he seems to have changed after the experience at Central City. In fact, I found it quite interesting at how towards the end of Chapter Ten, Sal finally realizes how distant he and Dean are from each other, only talking for less than five minutes. He is determined to go to San Francisco, yet I am now unsure whether it is because Dean mentioned he wanted to go there, or because Sal truly wants to travel and experience the West –he seems to be changing, as demonstrated in his interest in Rita, and this may signal a new direction in the novel.
I agree with Sharon that Dean, but he is still willing to halt his plans in order to meet Rita, who Dean got for him. Dean seems to still be important to him, considering that he says he is trying to fit in with that crowd in chapter 9. Like you mentioned, I wonder if his interest in Rita will continue when he goes to San Francisco. It seems like she didn't seem too interested in meeting him in San Fran.
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