term paper part 3

            Another example of untraditional form of church in On the Road comes along with Dean Moriarty. One of the ways Dean finds spirituality, or anything remotely close to a religion for that matter, is through sex. As can be seen in this quote, “Dean had dispatched the occupant of the apartment to the kitchen, probably to make coffee, while he proceeded with his love problems, 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,” (Part 1, Ch. 1, P. 4) Dean prioritizes sex above everything else. In other words, his moral code and everyday choices revolve around sex.

            In Dean’s particular situation, his religious pillar dictates essentially that he must seek sex perpetually. In consequence, this contradicts the state and family pillars. Dean at one point has multiple wives, which in the United States is illegal. Furthermore, despite the fact that socially it is frowned upon to have mistresses, it is not illegal and thus technically pillars do not contradict in that respect. The technicality of it comes in the moment Dean obtains multiple wives, putting Kafka’s theory into play with respect to the state pillar. As for the family pillar, which is constituted by friends in Dean’s case, Dean constantly ditches his friends (and thus his family) for sex. As a result, the family and church pillar’s interests gainsay.

            Subsequently, the family pillar also makes its presence felt in “On the Road”. The traditional definition of family is: a group of people related to one another by blood or marriage. Of course On the Road, being the epitome of the Beat Generation, cannot be analyzed in a traditional sense. In On the Road, a family can be taken to be any group of people who spend an inordinate amount of time with one another for the pleasure of their company. As a result, with the relationship Dean and Sal have they could be considered family. Other examples of family include Terry and Remi Boncoeur, whom Sal lived with for some time. The tangible differences in the traditional definition of family and the modern version established by the Beat Generation is a perfect example of how the Beat Generation has shifted and affected Kafka’s pillars.

            The contradictive aspect of Kafka’s family pillar in On the Road is most visible when Sal is with Terry and Remi. With Terry, Sal’s feelings were incredibly strong, to the point where he was even compelled to establish a traditional family with her. In the end, the road called to him, and thus church and family conflicted. Sal’s natural tendency to go and be on the road as part of the Beat Generation overpowered his feelings for Terry which were pulling his very being into a more traditional state.