Alexa comment on Gabe's Questions

Gabe,

I think your two strongest questions are the first and the last. I think the characters from On the Road are great examples of what Dostoyevsky was talking about regarding human unpredictability. I also think the last question about Sal's fascination is very interesting because you can also bring in Dostoyevsky's concepts about why people do what they do and how there is truly no logical explanation.

I would say the weakest questions are 2 and 3, not because they are weak alone but just compared to the other two I think they are the hardest to write about. I agree with the idea of Sal's restlessness but I'm not sure it can be elaborated for an entire term paper.

Alexa post on Ciara's questions

Ciara I think you did a really good job with your questions and any of them could make for a great term paper.

The first question I won't comment about because I also wrote it so good job great minds think alike.

I think the second question regarding women is perfect for you. I never thought about it but now that I do there is so much to talk about and so many examples and I think you could elaborate that one really well.

I also love the third question with the "IT". I don't know how I remember this but in chapter 8 Sal says so himself that what people are searching for will never be attained. Why then, after already recognizing this, does he go on the road anyway? It reminds me a lot of Dostoyevsky so that can also be pulled in.

Your last question about Sal and Dean is valid because it is a reoccurring theme in the book but compared to your other questions I think this one is the least effective for a term paper.

Ciara's Questions

How do  Kafka's Pillars of Society relate to On the Road? More specifically, how are they conveyed in relation to Sal?

Just like in Shapiro's lecture, Sal is on the run from society; in fact, the entire beatnik generation is. The defining factor of the Beat Generation was the yearn to break away from the strict, standard lifestyle of Americans in the 1940's. Sal's wife and aunt represent the pillar of family. In the very first pages of the book, Sal has just concluded a divorce with his wife; the first broken shackle that allows him to venture out on the road. His aunt, however, still subsidizes him throughout his journey, showing that he still needs her for support and can't truly break away from this pillar. The Church is represented by the ideas of monogamy and faithfulness, which Sal completely abandons. On his journeys, he is constantly sleeping with the random women he meets, despite the idea that promiscuity was a sin. However, he still yearns for marriage one day, shaking that he is still drawn in by the lull of society. The State is represented by Sal's position. The State is supposed to represent protection and supprt, but because Sal has chosen to break off from being a contributing part of society, he faces hardships such as exhaustion, famine, and lack of shelter. 

How are women portrayed in On the Road? What does this image say about the time period?

The description of women in Kerouac's novel is consistent. They are only referred to in regard to their physical appearance, and never in reference to any intellect. Based on Karouac's intellect, they might as well have had no intelligence at all. To Sal and Dean, they are just disposable objects to be used for sex, temporary companionship, and 'kicks'. It would be interesting to hear this story from Mary Lou or Camile's perspective because I'm would bet money that their portrayal would be much less thrilling and enjoyable; in fact, it would be a depressing read. By this time, women had already earned the right to vote, and the women's rights movement was still in full flight; however, even now, women are not viewed equally in society. This book was written 70 years ago. 

What are Dean, Sal, and the rest of the beats looking for? What is 'IT'? Do you think they will ever find it?

What the beats are looking for is simple, yet so complex at the same time: purpose. All these long days and nights on the road, traveling the country back and forth til they knew it like the back got their hand; it is all to find a purpose. When you think about it, it made sense why so many people from this time period were becoming so disenchanted with America. America was highly industrialized at this point, and many Americans grew up to become businessmen working in offices and cubicles, doing the same monotonous jobs every day, watching the happiness being sucked out of their lives. The full nature of life made them question their purpose, and the typical route to the American Dream just wasn't cutting it. Therefore, the beats went out on to the road, trying to find something to quench their thirst for answers. I don't think they'll ever find their purpose, because they do not know what they're looking for. They will find their purpose once they settle down and stop looking for it; as the saying goes, when you're not looking for something, it slaps you in the face. 

Describe Dean and Sal's relationship. Is Sal foolish to stick with Dean so long?

For a while, I saw Sal as Deans little bitch, following Dean around the country like a faithful dog. I saw their relationship as one-sided, with Dean using Sal whenever he needed. However, I soon realized that Sal was using Dean throughout the entire book as well, maybe even more so than Dean used Sal. Sal used Dean to change his life.  At times, I was frustrated with Sal. How could he not see Dean for the maniacal lunatic that was so clearly viewed by everyone else? Why couldn't he understand that Dean was a plague to his well being, and move on? This book taught me a lesson. Happiness is relative. What is good for one person isn't necessarily good for another, and vice versa. Everyone (including me) judged Sal for the life he chose to live after his divorce, and the company he tried to keep; however, if he is happy, that is all that should matter. It's his life, and only he has to Iive it. We get so caught up in trying to determine what is best for others, when we should focus more in what is best for ourselves. If Sal was happy, then that's all there is to it. 

Sharon's Terms Questions

          In what ways do Dean’s actions reflect and reject the Kafka lecture’s institute of family? How do they gradually change? In the book, Dean seems to become a family man until his on-the-road lifestyle is awoken by Sal and he leaves behind everything to follow the impulsiveness. He abandons Camille and their daughter, then officially divorces her to follow Inez and have another child. The curious thing is how his rejection of the family pillar is not in common to those around him; everyone else in his gang matures and those that have family do not join Sal and Dean on their trips again. For example, even though Victor wanted to leave with them to the States, he didn’t because he felt an obligation to his family.

          I was also thinking about going in depth about what we have recently discussed in class: To what extent does the most ‘advantageous advantage’ factor into the characters in the story? Another question could be, describe the individual walls the characters face and how they approach them. To me, either question brings up the interesting rebelling behavior of all the characters, especially in Dean’s group. Characteristic of the Beat Generation, they all seem to long for something more and struggle against societal norms, acting in ways that are potentially self-harming but doing so anyways because it gives them a sense of freedom. They love the idea of never knowing what’s going to happen, and I feel that this behavior catalyzes much of the plotline. Among others, Sal’s wall involves him finding comfort with Dean, and Dean’s wall is the adrenaline of life on the road –when he’s not on it, his mentality is drained and uncomfortable.

          Reflect upon Marylou’s character in relation to clarity as the story progresses. What fascinated me quite a bit was how Marylou seemed to turn overnight from an airheaded girl who was willing to drop everything and follow Dean anywhere, to someone who realized that Dean would never truly be able to be with her because of his love of the road and himself. I felt that in a way, it represented her distortion of clarity; at the start, she was innocent and only pursued something to have fun. At the end, she had married someone who could provide for her, realizing that to survive in society, she would need more than just impulsive freedom and fun.

Alexa Ferrer term Qs

To what extent are the people from the "beat generation" described in On The Road trying to run from Kafka's 3 pillars of society? By trying to escape from the norms of everyday life, going on the road is a way to escape from family, religion, and state. Because they are in a different city everyday there is no time for family, faith, or state. The only remaining aspect of state is the occasional cop that stops Dean and the others for speeding, and even then the characters show full resentment towards any type of authority.

Compare the characters from the book to The Stranger lecture about reaching clarity. While Sal and the gang are on the road they engage in every possible activity to reach "clarity": drugs, sex, alcohol, speed etc. Their refusal to settle down represents a resentment towards the distortions that come with settle down. By constantly being on the road and worry free, they've entered an extended state of clarity...until things get a little complicated on the way.

Is On the Road a reflection of Sal's adventure throughout the whole thing or his fascination in Dean and his life?
While Sal claims to be looking for his own adventure he seems to be following Dean around.

How different or alike is the Beat Generation with our generation and use examples from Kafka's three institutions to answer.

Questions

Topic 1 – Throughout the book the idea that “the grass is always greener on the other side” is present. Sal constantly searches for this better future, for happiness, and forgoes looking at what he has in the present. Dean in contrast continuously lives in the now, explaining his rash and whimsical behavior. The fact that Dean, unlike Sal, lives in and takes advantage of the present explains Sal’s attraction to Dean. Dean lives with instant gratification in mind, while Sal continually searches for something better. Discuss how the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side is something that was ever present in Kerouac’s mind, in Sal’s adventures, and how it can be applied to the beat generation.

Topic 2 – Self-actualization and understanding of life is another reoccurring theme in On the Road. Sal uses his travels to try to understand life. He constantly has moments where he reflects on God among other aspects of life. In comparison to Dostoyevski’s book, which essentially discusses why we turn to a belief in a God or science, On the Road is a story about a man follows this behavioral path. Discuss this relationship.

Topic 3 – Discuss the idea of clarity in relation to each of the characters in the book. Dean, for example, behaves similar to the way a person without distortions would behave. Sal obviously has distortions affecting his life. Other characters in the story can also be discussed.

Topic 4 – Analyze how Kafka’s pillars can be applied to the story of On the Road. In On the Road, the reader is given insight on what it would be like to live as a hippie at the time. In class we discussed how hippies were essentially what drove society to change. Discuss the relationship between Kafka’s pillars and the story in On the Road.

On the road final post

                On the Road was a novel that I didn’t really enjoy.  Much of the plotline seemed to repeat, and after the first half of the story, I felt that I already knew the book completely.  No matter how many more of Sal’s adventures with Dean I read about, I always felt that the story never progressed, and there weren’t any attitude/lifestyle changes for Sal that I had hoped for.  Sal was in live with Dean’s spirit and energetic lifestyle, and I don’t think Sal could ever change his opinion of Dean.  His wild quest to understand the meaning of living on the road became his quest for sharing adventures with a wild and crazy boy named Dean.  I think what Sal found so interesting in Dean, was that despite the fact he had a terrible upbringing, he didn’t let that affect his positive mental attitude and the desire to do something just for entertainment purposes.  The ability to let the past stay behind you, the future in front, and focus just in the moment is what I believe Sal found so intriguing about Dean.  I do admit that it is hard to find someone who can follow this lifestyle unwaveringly.  Almost everyone I know (including myself) thinks about past events or focus on trying to predict future events at times.  Dean, while crazy and unpredictable, showed Sal a completely different way of living life during a time when Sal was struggling to put together an identity. 

                The end of the novel was a very nice change of pace when compared to the majority of the story.  By the time I reached the end of the novel, I was sick of reading about adventures.  The adventures began to pile up in my mind, and I had a hard time reading about events that seemed so similar to me.  It was rewarding to see Sal finally break away from Dean for good.  He realizes the implications of having a bad friend mooch off of you forever.  But Sal still understood the good (mentioned above) that Dean gave to Sal.  Dean finally realizes that his family in San Francisco is more important than doing things just for the kicks, and Sal realizes that the road is unable to be categorized into one emotion, thought, or feeling.  This discovery led me to believe that Sal is more complete than the Sal at the beginning of the novel, and can head back to writing with a complete mind, free from the stresses he experienced before.  Why he may never see Dean again, he realizes that he is ready to move on with his life.   

Ciara's Last Reaction to On the Road

There is no doubt in my mind now that Dean has gone completely out of his mind.  His maniacal behavior is a consistent part of his character now, and hi thinking is irrational and sporadic.  I feel like he is living purely based on instinct, without any regrets or regard for the consequences of his actions.  He has Camille, and as soon as he gets her, he decided he wants Marylou.  His whole life is a story of chasing things he can’t have, at any means.  Whenever things get too comfortable, Dean gets bored.  I feel like he will never be able to settle down, even though he sets himself (and the people around him) up for a life of stability.  Not even a child with Camille is enough to tie him down; if anything, he truly lost it after he had his kid.

What I cannot seem to figure out is why Sal still bothers him.  I feel like everyone else sees Dean one way, while Sal sees him completely differently.  When we look at Dean objectively, his actions support his protesters: he uses women like they are disposable, he leaves Camille after they had a baby, he can not hold down a job, he spends his family’s money on selfish splurges, he only calls Sal (as well as others) when he needs them, and he is a downright unhealthy person to be around with his erratic behavior.  From Sal’s point of view, I understand that Dean is just trying to find himself, but in the process, he is creating havoc.  Dean is like a human tornado, coming into people’s lives, fucking shit up, and leaving a trail of social and emotional destruction in his wake.  Despite everything Dean has done, Sal still idolizes Dean.  It kind of reminds me of a relationship like Jesus and his disciples.  Dean is like Jesus, who speaks about life and its meaning to his crew.  They follow him around the country, following his way of life and hoping he will lead them to find themselves.  Slowly, however, they lost faith in his ability.  Sal still has faith in Dean.  He is the sole remaining disciple, and he still believes that Dean is the key to the answer that the beats have been looking for their entire lives.  Even in this state, Sal is wiling to follow Dean wherever, when I don’t even think Dean knows what he is doing anymore; this makes me question who the crazy person really is.

As the book comes to a close, I hope to see Dean and Sal maybe start to find themselves,  because at this point, I can not see a direction for their lives. They are wandering around the earth, looking for a purpose which it seems they may never find.

Alexa Ferrer Final Blog

I still can’t tell if I really enjoyed On The Road or if I’m extremely annoyed by it. Although Sal is the main character it is almost as if his life revolves around this crazy adventure with Dean. In Sal’s mind, Dean is the main event. In Dean’s mind, Sal is a supporting character. Sal’s name isn’t even shared to the reader until sufficiently into the book when we already know all about Dean. Both of these characters know what it is to be settled down. They have both been married and lived a normal life but with this new change of a generation on the go, they have found a “high” from running. They’re on the road running away from life and responsibilities and the whole point of the book it seems to me is that to be on the road means to be on a never ending search for some kind of fulfillment that will never actually be reached because it’s detached from reality.

Dean seems to be getting crazier as the story comes to an end. At first he was introduced as this charming, endearing, wild playboy with crazy adventures to be had. Now I look at him as an old convict, a womanizer, and a creep. The way he talks about Marylou and then sees nothing wrong with still being married to Camille is almost as inappropriate as him convincing Sal and Marylou to have sex in front of him or to drive cross-country naked. I don’t even understand why Dean keeps Sal around for so long when he doesn’t really care about any aspect of his life. I feel like it isn’t enough to have Marylou with him because she is a woman and he feels the need to be validated by telling all his stories to a man like Sal.

Once Sal parts with the “happy couple” we can see how unsatisfied he is with his life. As crazy and weird as life on the road is for him, it’s where he is most comfortable and where he has made a life for himself. There is something comforting about the unknown because there are endless opportunities and hope (even if most of the time the destination of final happiness is never actually reached.)

Even from the beginning in chapter 8, Sal knew that what they were searching for was unattainable. He even says, “That last thing is what you can’t get…Nobody can get to that last thing. We keep living in hopes of catching it once for all.” (Ch 8, pg 48). Even before he starts his journey Sal knows the outcome but he’s so obsessed with Dean the madman he does it anyway only to prove himself right in the end. The road leads to nowhere because there is no concrete destination to fill the voids they were trying so desperately to fill. 

Ciara's Reaction to On the Road

Sal, Dean, and Marylou begin their cross country journey in this next segment of the book, and I find that the book is getting quite repetitive. When I first started reading the book and Sal went out on the road, I figured that going "on the road" was a one time adventure of finding oneself, but I was wrong. This is at least the third time Sal has embarked "on the road", and only now is he starting to get a little tired of the stressful, uncertain lifestyle. 

Throughout the book, it is evident that Sal hopes to eventually find a girl with whom he can one day settle down with. He almost found this in Terry, but she did not end up being "the one". I think one of the main reasons Sal was so willing to head out all the way to San Francisco was because of Marylou's promise to be his girl when they got there. I find it strange that Dean is the person in life that Sal most reveres, yet Dal is planning on getting with Dean's girlfriend. However, in the beginning of chapter 10, I understood why. Sal knows Dean sees Marylou as disposable because he has Camille, and he knows that as soon as they get to Frisco, he will dump Marylou, at which point he will be able to snatch her up.  What I don't think he anticipated was that Dean would dump him as well. 

From the beginning of the novel, it is heavily implied that Dean cares only for himself and his own interests, and Sal does know this. However, because Sal adores Dean and loves nothing more than to just revel in his presence, I think Sal forgot where he stood with Dean. He should not have been surprised when Dean left him and Marylou in Frisco to go and find Camille, yet he was anyway. 

I hope this experience is enough to give Sal a wake up call. We all know that person who is very self-absorbed and outwardly cares only about him/herself. Some of us, including me, have friends like this. The only way to become friends with someone like that is to accept that fact that this person is the way they are, and that they will not change. Sal has accepted this fact, but I hope this de strengthens Sal's undying devotion for Dean because it leaves Sal a fool. Sal would be willing to do anything for Dean, but I do not think Dean would do even the slightest thing for Sal of it did not involve something of benefit for Dean. I want Sal to see this, and hopefully develop some more self worth. He sees so much greatness and vitality in Dean, but I think he needs to work on seeing it in himself. 

Ch7&8 plus more

            This is supposed to be a reaction to chapters 7-8, but I am going to talk about pages 150-200.  This story I snow starting to get old.  What started out as a fun adventure to get away from a boring family life in New York has turned into a complete mess of an adventure.  Sal is continuing his road journey with Dean and Marylou.  Marylou’s relationship with Dean and Sal is very strange.  She and Dean love each other, but have trouble staying together.  In order to get back at Dean, she pretends to love Sal.  Sal always gets the short end of the stick, and never has anyone to spend real time with.  Dean continues down his path of craziness, while Marylou grows more distant towards Sal.  My hope for Sal was for him to find inspiration for his novels, and potentially find someone he could marry.  Neither of these two things has happened.  Sal continues to travel back and forth between the central and western United States, all the while becoming more lost in his own thoughts and losing his identity.  I think he resonates well with Dean because like Sal, Dean hasn’t the slightest clue who he is as a person.  Dean is so mixed up on the inside.  Another thing that annoys me is the buildup of relationships that have an abrupt ending.  Marylou and Sal are foreshadowed to have a relationship in San Francisco, yet when they get there they spend only two days together.  She disappears with some night club owner never to be seen again.  Meanwhile Dean starts a family with another woman, but he can’t get his priorities straight and leaves.  Dean says he loves Marylou, but he doesn’t attempt to really get that relationship started again.  This book constantly throws life goals at you that never seem to be fulfilled by the characters.  If anything, I want to see Sal be happy when he isn’t with Dean.  Dean is his only source of joy, and that isn’t right.  He can’t keep travelling around the country forever.  Money eventually runs out, and their trip to Italy won’t be able to be financed.      

Alexa Ferrer Ch 7&8

 I’ve noticed a lot of people complaining that this book isn’t going anywhere, however; I feel like this book is going everywhere and that’s what makes it frusterating. This isn’t your common problem and solving a problem type of story, which is good and bad. The good thing is that it’s a real account of the time in which it is set in but the bad part of it is that it is very repetitive and after a while it can get annoying. Maybe I’m annoyed because it’s been a while with this book and since it’s short extending it over so many months becomes more of a disadvantage than an advantage.

In Ch 7 it is kind of evident that no one is really doing anything productive with their lives. I completely forgot Bull even had kids (another disadvantage of reading the book in such a spread out amount of time.) I found the dream Sal had about Dean being faster than him quite interesting and I hope he snaps out of following Dean around and makes a life of his own. I’ve been saying that since the book started and now it’s gotten to the point that Sal is literally third wheeling Dean and Marylou so bad it’s pretty pathetic on his part. The fact that he is so un-phased with how sexual they are around him shows that he has become so accustomed to living his life as a fly on the wall for whatever Dean is doing. I also find some parts of what goes on very unrealistic, I know it was a different era but I don’t think rubbing ice on two naked men while road tripping cross-country is ever okay.

I realized how similar Sal and Marylou are during these two chapters. They’re both extremely captivated and crazy about Dean. I used to think Dean was pretty cool and charming but all he talks about are his crazy sex/drugs days when he really hasn’t evolved that much. I wonder why he went to prison and if that story will be elaborated more. Other than that I wish Sal would leave Dean and Marylou and find something fun to do instead of watching them have sex all the time.  

Sharon's Reaction to Chp. 7 & 8

       Well, nothing has changed over this reading –Sal is still on-the-road, continually following Dean around in search of adventure. And in both chapters, just like always, Dean is leeching off of Sal in order to make the on-the-road lifestyle possible. While I always knew Sal was eager to please Dean, this reading only reinforced that with the fact that Sal would even risk antagonizing old friends. In Chp. 7, Sal knew that his childhood friend Bull invited him to come over alone, yet Sal still brought over the whole gang. I thought this instance demonstrated how he prioritized the adventure and Dean over all else. In addition, at the end of his visit, Sal even mentions how much he hated leaving Bull’s house but Dean was going back onto the road, so he must as well –Sal leaves behind everything he could’ve otherwise enjoyed just because of his infatuation with experiencing everything Dean leads him to. 

       One thing that I did think was interesting, though, was how Ed and Galatea left the trip while Sal continued, just like previously where Sal left but then Ed joined. It’s like Dean is some sort of travel guy that everyone is drawn to and follows around until they’ve had enough –at some point, each person leaves but Dean just never stops. Living on the road is literally his life; everything else is secondary. 

       In the next chapter, I felt like the trio traveled quite a bit. I liked how there was considerably more description of the setting than before; it gave a sense of all the unclaimed landscape at the time. What caught my attention, though, was the seemingly changed relationship between the three. Where Sal used to be the odd one out while Marylou and Dean were the crazy ones, it seems that now Dean is the insanely wild one while Sal and Marylou are just on the sidelines. Dean is the ring leader that convinces Sal and Marylou to ride in the car naked, and even gets off the car like that while Sal and Marylou have the sense to put on an overcoat. The talk Marylou and Sal have about the future helped me conclude that Marylou isn’t as crazy as she once was; it seems like she’s grown past that stage and wants to settle down. In fact, I feel that she still genuinely loves Dean, but has come to the realization and accepts that while she’s matured, Dean will never, and even though he loves her, he loves life and himself even more. I wonder how things will eventually end up.

On the road post

Comment on sharons

Reaction to Part 2, Chp. 5 & 6

       Though this week’s reading once again revolved around visits during Sal’s life on the road, I felt that it was different for some reason. At the start of Chapter 5, Sal mentioned that he wanted to go along on the trip only to see what Dean would do; afterwards, he would return home to go to school and revert back to his normal life. These lines gave me the impression that Sal only wanted to sample to on-the-road lifestyle as a short stint to see what he could accomplish and experience before going back to his old life. This struck me as it was extremely different from the earlier sections of the book where Sal seemed to follow along because he wanted to actually take up the wild lifestyle as his new persona.
       While I started getting the impression that Sal went on the road to only get a temporary taste of the experience, there’s no doubting that Dean is an on-the-road man because it’s his life; he knows nothing else but to follow the impulsive lifestyle that makes him exuberant and excited. In fact, I thought the beginning of Chapter 6 was particularly insightful in emphasizing how the road is his element; he and his entire group wwere delighted to leave the ‘confusion and nonsense’ of settling in a place and instead, perform their ‘one and noble function of the time’, which was to move and travel. While others of the time find life on the road to be confusing and too unstable, that is the only source of stability and comfort for Dean and his group.
       This reading also described some basic dynamics within their established group. Dean, as always, is the ringleader who is honestly enthusiastic and crazy about life in general. He asks Sal to get with Marylou and, upon getting back to Sal’s aunt, leads the group on another trip ending in Florida. Ed Dunkel’s offer to go to jail so Dean wouldn’t have to pay the fine is just another example of the group’s loyalty to Dean. Marylou’s devotion to Dean is also further emphasized; Dean keeps promising they will end up together and that he first needs to go back to Camille like nothing happened.
       I thought Bull was also quite the interesting character. He seems extremely erudite and cultured, yet is also an inherent on-the-road guy, albeit in a different sense. I like the solid, honest relationship he has with Jill and look forward to reading more on how he interacts with the other characters.

Part 2 Ch 5-6

            In the next set of chapter for part two, Sal and his gang continue their adventure to the South.  The strange relationship between Dean, Marylou, and Sal continues, and is more heavily emphasized in these next two chapters.  The reader finally learns why Sal wanted to hook up with Marylou.  He believes that Dean will dump Marylou again for Camille in San Francisco, but Dean now doesn’t seem interested in pursuing Camille.  This kind of sucks for Sal, who has a huge crush on Marylou and was banking on the fact that she and Dean would split once they got to San Francisco.  That whole relationship system is very strange, and I doubt it will last very long.  I feel that Marylou likes Sal, but is holding herself back due to her current relationship.  This is also a possible plotline for a future conflict between Sal and Dean, but the two of them are both easy going and not too or overly confrontational about things.  Their trip to the South has been the most exciting trip to date in my opinion.  Old Bull Lee is such a cool character, and he reminds me a lot of the “most interesting man in the world”.  HE has done everything, from marrying a royal Russian, to growing crops in Texas.  He also has the love of the Wild West that reminds me of many old and famous Western Classics.  I hope Sal stays a bit longer so we can see and learn a little bit more about Lee and his family.  The book has finally questioned itself with Carlo’s critiquing of the entire gang for their lack of an end goal or some sort of purpose in their life.  Carlo has finally settled down, yet the rest of his friends are continuing their amazing adventure back and forth across the country.  I myself have often questioned the purpose and the point to their lives, and the fact that Sal was unable to answer leaves me with the impression that there is no point to their trip anymore.  They are spending the days of their youth enjoying themselves rather than working now, and enjoying themselves later.  My wish is for Sal and his friends to have fun for a while longer, and through this experience, find some sort of passion to pursue and work towards.   

Ciara's Reaction to Chapters 5-6

Sal, Dean, and the rest of the crew head back out on the road in this section, and it reminds me of the times they had in the beginning of the book.  I now have a better understanding of the Beat generation from Sal’s memories, and how important it was for them to keep moving.  I guess the purpose of them moving was to ultimately find their purpose, but I am starting to think their purpose was to keep moving.  Even when Sal’s life seems to be moving in what society would call the right direction, he ends up packing up and going out on the road again.  He tells his aunt that he’ll only be gone for two weeks and that he’ll be back in time to start school, but I don’t find that likely, especially when Dean is involved.  The beat generation is known for taking the road less traveled, not the path of school, work, and a life settled down. 

Dean is even more frenzied than he was in the beginning of the book.  It does not seem to worry Sal, but I am a little concerned about where his psychotic behavior will bring Sal.  Sal will follow Dean around like a lost puppy wherever he goes, and Dean’s behavior is becoming more and more unpredictable.  Bull put it best: Dean’s fate is “compulsive psychosis dashed with a jigger of psychopathic irresponsibility and violence.”  Bull tries to convince Sal to stay in New Orleans with him so that he doesn’t get even more caught up in Dean’s vortex of trouble, but Sal doesn’t even comment on it.  Sal love the life he lives when he’s with Dean, and I am not sure what it will take for Sal to finally break his ties with Dean.  I imagine Dean will get into some kind of trouble at some point in the book that will prevent the continuation of their friendship; otherwise, I don’t see Sal leaving Dean’s side any time soon.

Alexa Ferrer Part 2 Ch 5&6

Sal is heading back to the west coast with the whole gang. However, this time they all have so much baggage from what has occurred since the first time they went on the road. I highly doubt what Sal intends to happen will actually happen, especially since he is going with Dean this time. I think this journey will be more interesting because we are already invested in many of the character’s lives and have gotten to know them. With Dean being so unpredictable, who knows what is going to happen.

Chapter 5 was…interesting. In the midst of everyone’s f*cked up lives we get further insight to Dean’s past. Maybe it’s been too spread out of having read the book but I don’t remember Sal mentioning Dean went to jail. Knowing that can help explain why he is the way he is. After being locked up for so long, it makes sense that he wants to really live life when he gets out. Some of the ways he wants to live are strange in my opinion. After reading through some of the responses no one really touched upon the fact that Dean wanted to watch Sal and Marylou get together. It is mentioned so casually and nonchalantly but…?????? What? I was very shocked at that part and how Sal just laughs it off and wants to save Marylou for when it means something.