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Jack kerouac on the road and identity
Jack kerouac on the road and identity
Analysis of cormac mccarthys the road
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Jack Kerouac's *On the Road* follows Sal Paradise, the narrator, in his adventures across America around 1950. Sal's purpose for taking to the road was to seek out people with the characteristics of freedom and individuality to better his own persona but instead fulfilled the image that he was trying to escape from: another American following the typical "day in the life," living with a false sense of what the "American dream" really is Sal meets a friend early on, Dean Moriarty, whom Sal admires greatly for his seemingly careless attitude and sense for adventure. Dean seems likes the perfect travel companion for Sal, it's whom he wants to be more like. The journey starts off already contradicting its own purpose. Why would one person leave their home and friends to go on the road following someone, going against what individuality and freedom stand for? The American dream is what drives Sal to explore various parts of the country, in search of what hasn't been discovered yet (so they think). Sal's direction is not well thought out and is misguided. The idea of freedom is not what he thinks it means; he doesn't want freedom, he wants a change of pace or environment.
The fundamental qualities of Kerouac's idea of individuality begin with one's willingness to disconnect from conventional living. The one attempting to disconnect defines what "conventional" means to them. For Sal, it seemed that he defined traditional culture as white and American. He often yearns for the opportunity to leave his (self-defined) customary life for another, however it begs the question of whether or not he pursues individuality when becoming a part of another group/race/culture of people. Sal's thoughts motives are correct, but he does not give any ind...
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...s a good story. The journey is always what is written about, it is what makes the novel worth reading. Adventure is what everyone wants to read about, and for some, experience. Sal was driven by the pursuit of the American dream. He defined for himself what "the dream" was for him, and went out looking for it. He went back and forth across the country in search of his dream, falling in love (too many times) and taking in the sites of his country. Sal claimed that he wanted freedom and to break free from everyday life as an American. He was not correct in what he wanted. Yes, you can't tell someone that they are wrong for wanting something, but a correct name for a desire should be used. Freedom was already given to Sal, but he simply grew old of his surroundings and was not in search of freedom, as evidenced by following his friend Dean, the largest flaw to his plan.
Kerouac's point is that freedom doesn't exist in a place where everyone is watching the same thing and thinking the same thing at the same time.
In Susan Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It, life for Miranda and her family comes to a screeching halt after a meteor collides with the moon, triggering calamitous natural disasters. After the initial tragedy, humanity is left with unanswered questions, to which no one seems to have answers for. As a result, Miranda must forget about her normal, mundane life and focus on the hardship ahead of her and her family. With her world collapsing around her, she is left with choices and responsibilities that affect her loved ones as much as herself. Through literary devices, Pfeffer emphasizes the emotional struggles and physical battles Miranda must surmount before and after the misfortunate collision.
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
Could you imagine traveling the United States in just your specially made camper and the only company you have is your pet? John Steinbeck, the author of "Travels with Charley" wrote about his 1960's road trip about visiting multiple states. "What are Americans like today?"; that was the question that started his journey. His travels began in Long Island, New York, then he followed the outer border of the United States; from Maine to the Northwest. After he traveled to the Pacific Northwest, he went to Salinas Valley in California then across Texas, and through the Deep South. Finally after that 10,000 mile journey, he made is back safe and sound to New York.This rough and long trip included: meeting new people, exploring, and visiting different states.
“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” (Joseph Campbell). Every character walks through an astringent journey throughout their lifetimes. This journey can be viewed as the Hero’s Journey. Undertaking the journey of the hero can elevate the character achievement. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye--Holden Caulfield with no exception undergoes the journey. Holden’s journey ventures beyond what he is able to endure, forcing him into the unknown territory. Holden received the quest call to adventure, and responded to the call for the journey when he left Pencey prep school. Holden accepted the call, faced his challenges struggling through hardships and oppression, with helps from the guidance, he then eventually returned to his comfortable world with a tremendous intellect and physical transformation giving a closure to his journey.
of the American Dream. They travel west hoping to escape less than perfect lives and pursue success in
...on materialism and social class. While novel is widely considered a zeitgeist of the time period, it is also a warning for the American Dream. Although the Dream is not Marxist materialism, it is certainly not traditional individualism and freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby poses a question: what is the American Dream?
Through the years, the inhabitants of America have been mobile people. The Native Americans moved according to the seasons and the migration of animals; the first Spanish settlers moved to find gold; the European colonists moved for land; and in the past weeks, Southerners have been moving to escape tragedy. Although these four major diasporas seem to have individual reasons, all four share one common root: the American Dream - an urge to improve a given lifestyle by making a drastic change. In their respective books, The Great Gatsby and Sula, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Toni Morrison display this phenomenon by creating characters that will do anything to better their personal lives; however, both writers incorporate great failure into the lives of their main characters, thus dismissing the idealistic thoughts of the American Dream.
The American Dream is said to be realised through hard work and perseverance ; it is ostensibly a reachable goal for anyone who chooses to exercise their ‘inalienable right’ to the ‘pursuit of Happiness.’ This ambiguous phrase, ‘the pursuit of Happiness’ was originally inserted into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson and is a clear and overriding concern in The Great Gatsby. In the 1920s, when the novel is set, America was experiencing a newfound level of prosperity; the economy was booming and the possibility of gaining wealth became an achievable reality. As a result, the pursuit of happiness in The Great Gatsby is far from the founding fathers’ initial intentions and instead, in this new context, Fitzgerald demonstrates the confusion of happiness with money and social standing. American ideals were replaced with a fixation to gather material wealth regardless of consequence, and success no longer required hard work. Fitzgerald clearly depicts this mutated pursuit of happiness through the setting and characterisation in the novel. Revolutionary Road similarly reflects this altered American pursuit through the naivety and self-delusion of the characters and their actions.
It’s fair to say that life on the road is something most people do not desire, as a way to live out their days; but a young man named Chris McCandless believed it was necessary to avoid the venomous grips of society. McCandless goes as far as to venture out to the rest of the United States and even crossing borders to achieve his true destination, Alaska. He shows us living such a life can hold many unique and wonderful experiences. Consequently, he also shows us the difficulties that most do not expect upon leaving for such a journey. Many speak about the advantages, like the freedom they enjoy, and the wondrous relationships formed along the way; but even so, some disadvantages outweigh the advantages, like the
The pursuit of freedom, recognition, and protection under the Constitution has been a struggle for African Americans. Their journey has been filled with slavery, physical and psychological torture, and persecution. While most of their hardships were experienced in the South, the North was not considered a safe haven unless an African American was a documented free slave. Even then they were not considered equal for a long time. While black and white abolitionists and free slaves in America were advocating abolishing slavery, Southern whites were willing to defend slavery's existence until they were forced to abandon it. This force, rooted in ethnocentrism, power, racism, and the pursuit of wealth, was difficult to overcome, but ultimately it was defeated through education, civil war, conflicting economic interests, rebellions, and courage.
Frances Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is written in the 1920’s setting and focuses on the American Dream. Gatsby, the protagonist, strives to make his American Dream, the achievement of wealth, social status, and family a reality but fails by paying the ultimate sacrifice—his life. Today, many people believe in coming to America to pursue the American Dream, yet they do not realize they are pursuing an inexistent achievement. People pay a high price as well because they spend so much of their lives working on achieving their dream and when they fail, it is as if they wasted their entire life. Similar to Gatsby’s efforts, today’s society defines the American Dream in the same way as Gatsby, causing people to sacrifice their morals, friendships, and lives in their journey towards this unattainable dream.
Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.
People did many things to prepare for Hurricane Sandy. Many people who lived on or near the coastline were given evacuation orders by government officials. These areas were likely to experience severe flooding. The people who lived in low elevations along the coast were particularly in danger. These people left their homes in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut; some were fortunate enough to find a hotel to stay in or relatives to stay with. Others who weren’t as fortunate waited in community shelters. Organizations such as the American Red Cross opened shelters specifically for people who had to leave their homes because of Hurricane Sandy.
“The greatest mystery of existence is existence itself” (Chopra). Chopra, a world-renowned author, perceives the existence of life as a truly mystifying cerebration. The pending question that many scientist, and even theists, attempt to answer is how life ultimately began. Currently, the mystery is left with two propositions, evolution and creation. While both approaches attempt to answer the origins of life, evolution and creation are two contrasting concepts. Evolution views life to be a process by which organisms diversified from earlier forms whereas creation illustrates that life was created by a supernatural being. Creation and evolution both agree on the existence of microevolution and the resemblance of apes and humans but vary in terms of interpreting the origins of the life through a historical standpoint. A concept known as Faith Vs Fact comprehensively summarizes the tone of this debate, which leads the question of how life began.