Not only does Kerouac define the road trip as an opportunity for self-discovery, but suggests it to be a catalyst for transformation. Kerouac recalls being unsure of his identity for "about fifteen strange seconds." It seems as though finding himself in a strange, foreign environment has allowed Kerouac to look within himself and to truly question who he is. Although he claims to be unsure of himself for a mere fifteen seconds, clearly he will never return to his former self; the fifteen seconds mark the beginning of his journey toward self-realization. Instead of continuing to live a "haunted...life of a ghost", as he did in the past, Kerouac suggests that his future holds a changed mode of living, especially in his metaphorical description of a "divided line between the East of [his] youth" and his future. In essence, Kerouac's being on a road trip and out of his comfort zone forces him to actually face the prospect of genuine experience as opposed to a life of perpetual unfulfilled intent.
Kerouac frequently uses the word "mad" to describe his friends such as Dean and Remi Boncoeur. What is Kerouac's interpretation of the word, and what is its significance, if any, to the concept of "road trip?"
In this particular instance, I also believe that Kerouac defines a road trip as an impetus for self-discovery and personal transformation. The narrator wakes up and finds himself unable to recall who he is, and describes it as being "the strangest moment of all" and he feels as though he is "somebody else, some stranger" (Kerouac 15). This illustrates a turning point in the narrator's life. He is leaving the comfort of his New York life to welcome the lifestyle of his beatnik friends. He has somewhat of an epiphany in which he realizes that his journey west may be more, or less, than the grand adventure he has heard about and expects. Overall, Kerouac's road trip mirrors that of an unspoken quest for self-realization.
ReplyDeleteWithin the first three chapters, it becomes obvious that the narrator is in awe of Dean and the fact that he is the complete opposite of his drab New York friends. What qualities of Dean's character do you think the narrator admires the most?
I also believed that the above chosen quote by user JLOH captures Jack Kerouac’s idea of a road trip: “I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future” (pg. 15). By symbolizing the East as youth and the West as the future, the narrator here makes an indirect but concise point that his road trip to the West will be one of new experiences, exciting discoveries, and change that come as we “travel” further into our life journey. He is implying that leaving the East is like breaking free from his youth or past behind, abandoning his “intellectual” and “criminal” environment where there is a sense of tedium, pessimism, and commonplace. His impression of Dean as having an “overburst of American joy” further supports the happiness and freedom that he assumes to finally possess when traveling to the West. After all, Dean was definitely a crucial part in convincing the writer to fulfill his long pondered on wish to West. Through the narrator, one is able to see then that Kerouac perceives a road trip as the “next step” in life, more specifically the maturation stage in life. The different challenges he faced along the road (such as not being able to take Route 6 to the West or difficulty hitchhiking rides at times) seem to represent the various problems one often faces in the transition he or she makes from youth to adulthood.
ReplyDeleteOn page 8, the narrator mentions that Dean will eventually reject him later on as a friend. Since Dean as of now represents the awesome and “new” West for him, what might be the consequence of this rejection?
This part also stuck out to me as being Kerouac's definition of the "road trip". I thought it interesting that Dean was such a driving force that pushed the narrator "west" being that he was pretty much opposite of the narrator. This, I guess, was most intriguing, causing him to believe that if he went west, a place he hadn't previously visited, he would find new experiences and opportunities. He was traveling with limited funds and having, many times, to rely on those traveling by to get a ride to his destinations. This trip was forcing him out of a comfort zone he had known most of his life. This new territory was unknown, yet riveting because of the hope of encountering something new and refreshing. This trip led to a transition into a new man, one that is perhaps more happy, free, and open to new experiences as was Dean. The night at the motel was one of the many experiences he had on the trip that led him slowly out of his "youth" and into a more mature stage of life.
ReplyDeleteDean is portrayed very differently from the narrator, and though he is in awe of Dean and is friends with him because he is "mad" he doesn't seem to wish he was of the same character. Is it possible that they are very alike, yet the narrator attempts to keep that side of him closed to others? Like, is he living vicariously through Dean because deep down he wants to live like that?