To what extent are Dean, Sal, and the rest of the gang from the
"beat generation" described in On The Road trying to run from Kafka's
3 pillars of society?
Thesis: In an attempt to
escape the reality of society, the Beat Generation found it most effective to
reject Kafka's 3 institutions by staying on the road. The only worries the
characters of On the Road faced went back to one or more of the institutions,
and their solution was always to run away and keep running.
1)
State
a)
The police
constantly being brought up in a negative light
i) "Them
goddam cops can’t put no flies on my ass!" (I.3.5)
ii) Many
people on the road, not only Sal and Dean, who had become part of this beat
generation looked at cops in a negative way.
iii) At
one point Remy even gets Sal a job as a security job only to further ruin the
reputation of law enforcers. He never stayed sober on the job and spoke about
the police’s interests as only being to meet quota to avoid being fired.
iv) The
old cop that Sal talks to reminisces in his old days where all the cops used to
abuse the prisoners and take advantage of their power.
b)
Running away
from the law
i)
“A tall, lanky fellow in a gallon
hat stopped his car on the wrong side of the road and came over to us; he
looked like a sheriff. We prepared our stories secretly. He took his time
coming over. "You boys going to get somewhere, or just going?" We
didn’t understand his question, and it was a damned good question.” (I.3.18)
ii)
In addition to
showing Sal’s fear and anxiety when it came it law enforcement, it emphasizes
that the gang never had a clear destination.
c)
No sense of stability
in terms of a job/taxes/income
d)
No respect for
the law
i) Remy and Sal were constantly drunk on the job as
security guards.
ii) Remy would steal food and justify it by saying, ‘"You
know what President Truman said," Remi would say. "We must cut down
on the cost of living.’” ((I.11.62)
e)
No sense of
order or continuity
2)
Family
a)
Focus on Dean
and his back and forth marriages
i) Dean falls madly in love with Marylou again but as
soon as she starts to treat him the way he treats her he refers to her as a
whore.
b)
Cannot stand
still with one woman
i) “For
to him sex was the one and only holy and important thing in life, although he
had to sweat and curse to make a living and so on.”
ii) Sal
says this about Dean to show that his main priority had nothing to do with any
of the three institutions of society. Promiscuity fails to fit the ideal image
of society.
c)
Once he has a
family he destroys it without hesitation
d)
Many people from
the beat generation use their family for money to get on the road as soon as
possible
e)
All Sal really
has is his aunt
f)
Everyone cheats
on their significant others
3)
Religion
a)
It is almost as
if Dean is Sal’s religion.
i) Sal always uses the word “holy” to describe things
about Dean.
(1) Sex was holy
(2) “Holy lightening” that Sal saw in Dean’s eyes
whenever he would go into one of his frenzies about talking about life and his “visions.”
ii) Sal refers to Dean as “the new kind of American
saint.” To Sal, a saint was someone who had no sense of the three pillars that
made up society. The new kind of saint was someone who walked to their own
beat, followed no rules, and cared for no one but himself.
iii) “Dean
laughed. For years he had been chief prophet of that gang and now they were
learning his technique.”
iv) Sal also describes Big Ed as a holy man, thought the
qualities he possesses would be looked down upon when analyzed using Kafka’s
idea of society.
b)
Although Dean
does believe in God he lives his life in a way that opposes all aspects of
following religion and what man has composed religion to be. For Dean, faith is
between him and God and not considered as a part of society, which he
constantly is trying to escape.
c)
Church is
avoided while on the road therefore there is no sense of faith
d)
Always searching
for something greater than life while straying off the typical norms of society
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