On The Road is a semi-autobiographical novel by Jack Kerouac published in 1957. It follows the journey of Sal Paradise as he travels across America with his friend Dean Moriarty. Kerouac wrote the novel using a spontaneous prose style to capture the experiences of being a disenfranchised youth in post-WWII America. While some critics panned the novel, it became a defining work for the Beat Generation and counterculture movement of the 1950s.

1. On The Road
{ Jack Kerouac
"Somewhere along the line I knew there'd be girls, visions,
everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be
handed to me.
On the Road, Part 1, Ch. 1

2. On the Road is a barely fictional tale about a barely
fictional man by the name of Sal Paradise.
Sal journeys through life in the 1950’s. His journey reflects that of
Kerouac himself.
This includes the people he met, his experiences, and his
struggles…
On The Road
Introduction:

3. Kerouac’s Life:
 Born Jean Louis Kerouac, although usually
referred to as Jack, the author was born March
12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts to Leo and
Gabrielle Kerouac.
Kerouac was raised in a very Catholic environment
before being sent to New York City to prepare for college.
Once there, he excelled as a student and as an athlete, for
which he received scholarships.
As expected, Kerouac did very well in college,
but after his freshman year, decided the college
scene wasn’t for him, and neither was staying
put.

4.  Jack was nimble and Jack was quick; he
experimented with many professions in a
very short amount of time before finding his
niche in writing.
He went to Virginia to become a poet.
However, after suffering a substantial
failure, he tried prose. He published The
Town and the City. It was received well, but
it was the last time Kerouac would ever
write a book of its kind.
Jack abandoned the formal ‚writing, revising, rewriting,
revising‛ process, and made the switch to something
called ‚Spontaneous Prose‛ to write his most famous
novel--
On the Road

5. On the Road
 is the story of a man on a search for identity in
1950’s America. His name is Sal Paradise, and
he takes comfort in his direct relationship with
the road itself. This kind of connection allows
for Sal to feel alive.
Along the cross-country journey, he runs into
trouble, experiences hardship, abandonment, fear,
and love (on multiple occasions).
"What's your road, man?--holyboy road,
madman road, rainbow road, guppy
road, any road. It's an anywhere road for
anybody anyhow."
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Part 4, Ch. 1

6. Sal:
Sal Paradise, the narrator, lives in New York City,
but decides to leave his home and head west for
what is promised to be a better life.
Sal is an intellect, a writer, a frustrated
romantic, and happens to be the alter-ego
of Kerouac.
He travels thousands of miles
by hitchhiking, walking, and
only when dire, paying to
take a bus. Along his cross
country journey, he meets
friends and falls in love on
more than one occasion.

7. Dean Moriarty:
 Along Sal’s journey, he
meets many eccentric
people. However, the
most important is Dean
Moriarty.
Dean is an attractive, energetic, and charming drifter from Denver.
Dean’s seemingly innate tendency to rebel and live for
the moment reflects the attitude of the youth of time, as
well as drives the novel’s plot with exciting adventures,
but also, on occasion, disappointing circumstances.
Dean is based upon real-life friend of
Kerouac– Neal Cassidy.

8. Historical Background:
On the Road was written in a time of Post
WWII America. The U.S. had just dropped
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which
finally forced a Japanese surrender.
Although the U.S. came out
the victor and the leader of
the west, there was a very
anxious and nervous feeling
caused by the war, the
Holocaust, and the atomic
bomb.

9.  Even though On the Road is not a blatantly
political novel, it is safe to assume that Kerouac
was influenced, to say the least, by the politics
going on in America while he wrote the novel.
Evidence of this is shown in the novel
when Jack writes, ‚When a man dies,
he undergoes a sort of mutation that
we know nothing about now, but we
which will be very clear someday, if
scientists get on the ball. The bastards
right now are only interested in seeing
if they can blow up the world‛ (Faulkner
190).

10.  This kind of negative attitude toward the
policies of the country are what brought
together the group of dissatisfied youth called
the ‚ Beats ‛

11. The Beats
were usually writers, poets, or artists of a
different kind, who rebelled against 1950’s
culture of America with literature, love, and
art.
Kerouac is quoted to have said, ‚It’s a kind of
furtiveness… Like we were a generation of
furtives. You know, with an inner knowledge that
there’s no use flaunting on that level of the
‘public’, a kind of beatness. I mean, being right
down to it, ourselves. Because we all really know
where we were and a weariness with all the
conventions and all the forms of the world… So, I
guess you might say we’re a beat generation…‛
(Faulkner 191)

12. Literary Devices:
As previously noted, Kerouac used ‚spontaneous
prose‛ to craft his novel On the Road. Using such
a technique allows for a deeper, more direct
connection from author to reader. The reader is
able to digest immediately what the author
intends.
Kerouac’s prose was so spontaneous, the novel was
finished in three weeks and was typed on one giant roll
of typewriter paper.

13. Roman á Clef
 In addition to spontaneous prose, Kerouac
used Roman á Clef (translated: a novel with a
key). This means the novel he wrote was based
around real events. The characters were based
on real people. And the events really took
place.
Sal Paradise- Jack Kerouac’s alter ego
Dean Moriarty- Neal Cassidy
Camille Moriarty- Carolyn Cassidy
Carlo Marx- Allen Ginsburg

14. Critics/The Way the Novel
was Received
Critic’s response to the novel was very divided. Generally,
one either loved or hated it. The New York Times gave it an
excellent review, and it quickly reached number 7 on the
bestseller list.
On the other hand, some critics sided with Norman
Podhoretz, who declared the novel as ‚adolescent
and incoherent‛.
Whether one loves or hates the novel, it is
hard to argue its impact on American
society. It is comfortably sitting at the top of
the major works of the 20th century.

15. Kerouac’s last days:
 In his later life, Kerouac suffered from
depression and alcoholism.
On October 21, 1969, Kerouac passed away.
Although he is no longer alive, his legacy very
much is. He will forever be remembered for
his beautiful, inspirational poetry and prose.

16. "And for just a moment I had
reached the point of ecstasy
that I always wanted to reach,
which was the complete step
across chronological time into
timeless shadows, and
wonderment in the bleakness
of the mortal realm, and the
sensation of death kicking at
my heels to move on, with a
phantom dogging its own
heels..."
- Jack Kerouac, On the Road