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.