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.