Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road follows Sal on his journey to self discovery. Sal and his best friend Dean take four road trips during three years. They travel across America multiple times and to Mexico. Sal looks to Dean as a sort of God that can answer his questions about life. However, Dean is not searching for life like Sal but instead trying to escape it. These two different searches lead to Sal's and Dean's divide. Sal is able to realize the crippling effect of drugs and the boundaries and responsibilities life has through the destruction of Dean. Kerouac instills the importance of morals and responsibilities through the contrast of Dean.
Kerouac's novel is still highly negatively criticized due to its style. Many believe his spontaneous prose is not true writing but merely reporting, especially on his own life. The influence of sex, drugs, and music on the novel also caused it to be disliked during the 1950s. The majority of Kerouac's novels are based off of experiences in his own life. On the Road is based off of Kerouac's journey with Neal Cassady. Kerouac being portrayed as Sal and Cassady as Dean. They too traveled across America. The autobiographical nature of this novel allows the reader to understand more deeply Sal and Dean and the themes of the novel. This novel is particularly attractive to young people because they take it at face value but also understand that the novel is more than what is at the surface. They also like the fact that Sal stands up and tries to discover the meaning of life. HMW
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