Imagery and Symbols in On the Road
The Imagery and Symbols in Jack Kerouac's On the Road On the Road tells the story of a cross-country trip with a reckless group of characters that keep finding themselves in interesting situations. The characters are faced with several adventures that work at unraveling the story. The author, Jack Kerouac, uses imagery and symbols in On the Road to develop the theme. Kerouac wrote about his cross-country trips exactly as they occurred. The novel "deals with the frenetic travels around the country of young people who, though poor, were in love with life, love, sex, drugs, jazz, and mysticism, and completely rejected the standard values of the time," (Vopat 387). The book immediately struck controversy in America's society after its publication because of its content. "Dean Moriarty, the main character in the novel is a young jail kid who is wholly emancipated from normalcy. His speech itself is a delirium of words," (Soitos 184). The problem became evident. Kerouac had created a fad. Bruce Cook, writer of the Beat Generation, describes it as, "there was a sort of instantaneous flash of recognition that seemed to send thousand of teenagers out into the streets, proclaiming that Kerouac had written their story," (
In On the Road, the idea of a trickster hero-saint applies to both Dean and the events of the novel. Upon arriving close to their next destination, Sal, the narrator, says, "Suddenly we were all excited. As he goes west, even his dish of apple pie and ice cream is getting bigger and better. Kerouac describes imagery along the way as well as using it for character development. Dean is a saint and a con man all at once. Although, he is in fact far too self-conscious, earnest, and infatuated with everything around him, to get this kind of cool distance. He is opening up, giving substance to what were just ideas and dreams. While, the others, he imagines, are already there and having great fun (Dunphy 3). We get into Sal's life more when we learn he, after splitting up with his wife and recovering from a serious illness, fells depressed as well as tired and motionless. Sal knows that eventually, Dean may disappoint and desert him, but he loves him anyway and naively goes along for the adventure. He is the observer, often a little behind and at a distance. Everything is described in superlatives such as: Incredible, the best, the hugest, the sweetest, "the prettiest girls in the world," (Kerouac 53). The sentences have an abundant quality, cleverly incorporating the excitement and energy of the characters and events. The descriptions of the places he passes through are full of exuberance. The only respite occurs, briefly, when Sal is in the hotel and wake up not knowing who or where he is.
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Acceptance Essays
