On the Road- Kerouac

[Hank Stamper]

yes it was a rather ill-phrased question! and no worries mono, i should probably choose my colloquialisms more carefully in future

re. kerouac's drink and drunk abuse.. it obviously had an impact on his creativity - i wonder in the long run whether positive or negative... certainly to use hunter s. thompson as an example (one of my favourite writers), the drug abuse had a negative effect on the quality and output of his later work... i would say that certain drugs do make you look at the world in a different way/alter perceptions (ask any hippy! ) and in that sense may well have a positive influence on creativity, but it is clear (IMO) that when drug use (and booze) becomes an addiction, then creativity definitely falters and writers tend towards repetition ..

and as you mention, there are the obvious health implications, which is sadly why we lost kerouac so soon

[_Shannon_]

Maybe the year before last I re- read it. I originally read it as a teenager, and it called to me...it's what made me love reading, and I really empathized with the searching lostness in it.

When I re-read it, I loved it for the language.. There are some heart-breakingly beautiful descriptions in there. For me it's like Fitzgerald- the novels are flawed, but within them lies some places where the English language is at the height of it's beauty.

I also loved it for what it is historically--a outpouring of the serious brokenness and individual isolation of so many who grew up in post-war America. It's like Rebel Without a Cause--it touches on what was sacrosanct- talking about the seriously messed up family dynamics of the 50's. And like Rebel, Kerouac seems to think that meaning and redemption lies within one's friends. And I find that especially relevant right now, as there are circles of people who hearken back to the 1950's as some sort of idyllic dreamworld--and yet the 50's are what paved the way to the upheaval of the 60's.

I also like that there isn't a neat tidy ending, that the search for meaning feels somewhat unfulfilled--because there are times when that is precisely how I feel. I think many, many people sort of wander through their lives from island to island of experience- with lots of desolation and lostness in between.

[country doctor]

On the Road is a beatnik, hippy sort of classic. It's an anthem for everybody who's ever felt the passion of the wandering feet. Who's just wanted that adventure and freedom. For some people, life isn't about the progression of infancy-school-work-marriage-kids-death and the conventional patterns that are dictated by society. For some, it's just about the experiential value. I believe Kerouac is one of them.

I love On the Road.

yes. counter culture living. taken in it's time it is an extraordinary tale of folks yearning to breathe free. if you think that america even today has been shackled by the corporate structure and a very sophisticated police state that does the bidding for the powerful, kerouac is for you.

to live outside the law you must be honest. kerouac at this stage in his life still had some juice and had the energy to live life as a footloose and fancy free anarchist, buoyed by the spirit of cassady. his books (desolation angels, dharma bums also) are a liberating force for those wanting to break out of the straight jacket that society tries to dress them in.

[oblivion252]

To be honest, this is more of a Geography textbook than a novel.

[jon1jt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inFtwnp0R0g

Kerouac's novel considered inside one of the best college classrooms in America.

[oblivion252]

Thanks for the link - good stuff.

[Buh4Bee]

What do people think? Most seem to just go nuts over this book and I sit here wondering what is wrong with me. It's a hard read for me, because I instantly got sucked in emotionally. I fell for Sal (Kerouac) and then toward the last hundred pages realized he was a giant bum. Dean is a product of the 'system', and even still, his history, does not redeem his tragic or flawed character. My one recurring thought is: why is Sal so fascinated by Dean? I'm not finished yet, but will be soon.

[WICKES]

Not impressed- thought it was overrated. There is something inauthentic about Kerouac and thus the novel. He seemed to be striking a pose- to be too self consciously playing the part of the romantic, free American drifter 50 or more years too late. That's why I dislike Hemingway as well. They were both poseurs playing a part.

[sixsmith]

It's a book i enjoyed a great deal when i was 17-18. Undoubtedly Kerouac was striking a pose, but i don't think that makes him inauthentic. Indeed, i think 'On the Road' recognises your point Wickes. He (Sal/Kerouac) was probably too late in more ways than one.

[dfloyd]

and have only recently read On the Road and am now reading Dharma Bums. I think On the Road tells the story of the late forties in America quite well. This was an age when young Americans could hitchhike from coast-to-coast without worrying about serial killers etc. I am several years younger than Kerouac would have been, but I think you had to experience those years personally, especially the modern jazz as it was then called, to have an appreciation of Kerouac.

Also, to lump Kerpouac and Hemingway together, and as poseurs, comes across as a supercillious presumption by one who has a lot of growing up to do himself. He, the poster, needs to rid himself of such obvious pedantic notions. If anything, his posts are boring.

[TheFifthElement]

Read the Original Scrolls. For a start you'll know who he's talking about (no pseudonyms) and secondly it's unedited. If you want to understand what Kerouac is getting at you need to read what he meant to be published. I didn't get the impression it was a pose. My impression was more that Kerouac was sitting back and observing and recording. Perhaps that's why Neal is so important, he's the spark that lights the fire but in the end he's all burned out. Everyone else moves on. I found it at times difficult, at times boring, at times profound. But it also struck me as an interesting mirror of life which shares those qualities. In the end, aren't we all on the road?

[Buh4Bee]

It's good to see different perspectives on the book. Reading it is like being on a roller coaster ride, because you literally are being taken for a ride. I'm not one for such pacing.

I can appreciate the honest portrait of America Kerouac writes. It seems to really be a time when people could hitch hike across the country without the same level of fear we experience today. Things were less computerized and more isolated, so life in some ways, seems simpler.

I have read one book by Hemingway and I can see why the two get compared. They both had a way of writing about whats occurred around them as well as adding their own characters in the story. However, when they put themselves in the story, their characters are likable, but also flawed. I think they both wrote about themselves well.

[MarkBastable]

"That's not writing. That's typing."

Truman Capote, considering On The Road.

[lupe]

"That's not writing. That's typing."

Truman Capote, considering On The Road.

Funny that this was said by somebody whose work was so mediocre that will be soon completely forgotten.

Kerouac's novels did captured a whole era, though I understand that young people find it hard to understand them today. In spite of the different opinions on their value as literature, they remain as some of the most important works of the 20th century and will be read by many generations.

[Hank Stamper]

kerouac is clearly divisive but i love on the road, think it perfectly captures the restlessness of youth and that search for something beyond the everyday drudgery of mainstream society / rejecting conformity etc and living by your own rules .. he has a lust and appreciation for life that i think many people can relate to, or find inspiring ..