Not The Journey, But The Destination

            In Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, Jack is constantly seeking satisfaction as an American citizen, as well as in his own general existence, during a post-war American society. Jack seems to place all of his bets on finding this satisfaction through his travels across the country, as well as in his friend, Neal Cassady. However, I have noticed in reading the book so far that Kerouac loses most of these bets and yet, he continues on his journey, still holding his faith in his idolized friend. This week, I will primarily consider Kerouac’s gripping faith in his country, represented in his travels.

            With the view of each town in the rearview mirror, Kerouac leaves the reader with a gloomy opinion of the location and the people. Despite that Kerouac places his faith on the American road, he seems to be repeatedly disappointed with its reality. He also commonly relates each location back to his starting point of New York.

            When Kerouac visits Los Angeles, he looks out from the view of his hotel window and sees what he claims to be “the loneliest and most brutal of American cities,” and while he admits that similar could likely be said for New York, he believes there is at least some camaraderie there, while Los Angeles is completely lacking in it. Therefore, Kerouac dubs Los Angeles to be “a jungle” (86). In New Orleans, Kerouac compares the people of New York to those of New Orleans, commenting that they are both alike in that “they stand uncertainly underneath immense skies, and everything about them is drowned” (166). In this portion of the book, Kerouac admits to being tired of traveling and despite this, they continue onward.

            Throughout the book, one will see this consistently negative outlook on the cities in which Kerouac visits. These views are always created while Kerouac is in the city, or as he is leaving. However, while imagining the next destination, Kerouac pictures brilliant scenes and wild adventures. While he does experience the latter often, Kerouac tends to find himself in a depressive state when not in a risky situation. In each town between the starting point and the destination, town locals admit to having found their own satisfaction in their residence. Despite their advice to stop and enjoy the current view, Kerouac continues to set his dreams down the road, constantly idealizing his future destinations.

            While traveling through the plains of Iowa, Kerouac is dreaming of the destinations that await him: “Now I could see Denver looming ahead of me like the Promised Land… and I could see the greater vision of San Francisco beyond, like jewels in the night” (14). Kerouac is continually focused on the destination, counting down the miles to each. These tendencies reveal the true state of Kerouac’s generation. Because they are so set on not being a “Lost Generation” as Americans were considered after World War I, Kerouac finds himself in a generation which is seeking something. In that something, they will be satisfied as not being lost. However, in not being sure of what that something is, I believe they may never find it.