Please respond to the following questions and to classmate responses. Feel free to check back and post again once the discussion has started.
How is On the Road written that is different from earlier, more traditional novels? What kind of effect does this have on traditional plot? Does the form help to express the themes of the novel?
Is Sal an honest narrator? Are there any inconsistencies in his narration? If so, what effect do they have on the story?
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On the Road is written is written very differently from other novels. Even though you know the characters sense of purpose for his travels, the conflicts are resolved relatively quickly, and it's pretty evident there won't be any huge climax to the story. Anyway this is just a recording of Kerouac's own travels, and generally when someone goes on a trip, it doesn't turn into some huge battle against a crazy obstacle that you see in other novels. This book just states what Kerouac realizes along the way, and inadvertently shows how he's changing because of it. All I can think is that this book is mainly just organized like a journal. The writer writes what happened, what they thought about it, and moves on to the next thing worth mentioning. In other books everything is included to advance the plot. His writing style explains more about the internal mindset of a person that's a part of the Beat Generation, and gives a good idea on how life is because of that. In books like Thousand Cranes, you have an idea about what their culture is like, but not why the characters follow it, or what they think about it. This is what Kerouac provides in his own narrative.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before, it's written more in the style of a journal, rather than a novel. This fits the whole era, and the ideals that they persued perfectly. In a journal, a person isn't concerned about the structure, just about the information that's put into it. They feel much less self-conscious about it, and feel free to write whatever they need to write. When the writer is less self-conscious about the format they can focus better on what they're including and come to better conclusions. This also happens with Kerouac in the book, since he rambles, and then says something that really matters. His style is noticable, and the fact that he's letting his ideas flow freely, and the theme of freedom is a big part of On the Road makes the reader take him much more seriously since he's following his ideals even in his writing. It also gives an interesting example of changing culture, and them taking artistic risks as a part of the Beat movement.
I think Sal is honest in his own mind, but looking at his mindset and comparing it to our own, it shows that he doesn't hold the same respect for all people that we try to achieve today. While reading Sal says some things that seem to favor men over women in various situations. Like in the beginning there was one woman who left Dean (I think it was), and they called her a whore. Sal had other situations like with Remi that trashed the nature of the women in the relationship leaving no blame on the man involved. So through his own biases, he is unconsciously leaving out important sides of what is going on around him.
How is On the Road written that is different from earlier, more traditional novels? What kind of effect does this have on traditional plot? Does the form help to express the themes of the novel?
ReplyDeleteDifferent from all the novels we have read so far this year, On the Road is pretty much just an account of Sal's travels from his own mind. It is not just that he is narrating it, but you read his inner perspective. Even though it is written from Sal's perspective, the reader can't help but think that the book is also being narrated by Jack Jerouac, himself. It is known that Sal's travels in On the Road are based off of Jack's adventures with his friend Neil Cassady. Opposite of what a "traditional novel" possesses, On the Road is a constant stream of Sal's personal thoughts and hopes for himself. This has a profound effect on the plot, because, quite frankly, there isn't really a solid plot throughout the whole of the novel. Sal recounted his experiences, in great detail, and went straight on to what happened to him next. There was no rising action or climax, no main conflict that stood out throughtout the whole novel. Like Jess said, all the mini conflicts are resolved quickly, leaving no time for a larger conflict to arise that spanned the whole story. Themes from the novel, like freedom and spontaneity are definately expressed more easily because of the way the novel is written. There is more freedom in Sal's speech, he says what he wants to say, because it is almost as if he is writing in a journal, just spewing out ideas. Also, his free-flowing style of writing helps to show that he is a laid-back, down to earth person who is really just recounting his stories.
Is Sal an honest narrator? Are there any inconsistencies in his narration? If so, what effect do they have on the story?
I think Sal is a very honest narrator. There is no plot he has to stick to, nor no one he has to impress with his writing. He speaks openly, his emotions are raw, and he lets the person reading know when he feels immense joy or crippling hopelessness. He speaks freely, but of course there are some inconsistensies in his narrating. For one, he skips from retelling a story involving his friends to talking of what happened to his friends in the future. This leads to some confusion while reading the novel, because of the jumping-around and spontaneity. Kerouac's style of writing is very different from anything I have ever read, but I really enjoying reading this novel. I think being able to understand Sal and all his complexities as a person really depends on if you can relate to both him as a character and Kerouc's style of writing.
How is On the Road written that is different from earlier, more traditional novels? What kind of effect does this have on traditional plot? Does the form help to express the themes of the novel?
ReplyDeleteMany of the other novels we read were clearly well thought out planned books. They had an obvious point, plot, climax, characterization, ect. On the road seems to be the most honest book we've read. As a reader there is an insight into who Jack Kerouac was. The book is raw, and a flow of his conscious thoughts at the time it was written. It doesn't seem as though he edited his thoughts much, and the honesty makes me appreciate the book a lot more then others. I think the theme of other novels we've read was either political, or worldly, or trying to say something about economics and government. On the road is more of a perspective on how life should be lived; freely and with out regret. It's almost like reading Jack's diary, or "sals" but really, I think we're reading about Jack. It's exciting and unexpected. I like the chaotic style of writing, and the fact that I feel like I'm really getting to know the author.
Is Sal an honest narrator? Are there any inconsistencies in his narration? If so, what effect do they have on the story?
I think Sal is a very honest narrator. I see on the road as an autobiography, and it's so much more real an honest then an edited, over worked novel with some sort of deep symbolical theme. His narration is consistent in that it's not consistent, if that makes sense. It's a true story of Sal's confusion on how life should be lived. Hes on a journey to find the meaning of life, and he's taking the reader with him.
On the Road is different from other novels because of its raw nature it brings to America. Like we were discussing it brought out sort of the underground America, and thats what a lot of people didn't know about. On top of that, Kerouac doesn't hold back anything, so when people are reading this about pot, sex, and alcohol, they are shocked because no one, thus far, has did anything like this and the majority of America didn't know how to react to it. I think it does really help the themes of the book. I feel like all of the characters live a very fast paced life, and I feel like that is how the book is. I also feel like the book is very random, and thats how it is written, because it is his diary, or journal like Jess said.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Sal is an honest narrator to himself. Like, to us he's telling us honest truth, but in reality we are only seeing it from his viewpoint. He keeps telling us that he's going to give his aunt back money, and we think she's cool with it because the money is back so quickly, but is she really okay with it, we don't get her account from this story, so how do we know that this is all true? How do we know what really went on between Remi and Sal? It is all what Sal tells us, and yes he's very honest with things, I think, but it's only his viewpoint, so he can twist things, leave things out, add things, like it's not all what meets the eye in some cases.
"In books like Thousand Cranes, you have an idea about what their culture is like, but not why the characters follow it, or what they think about it. This is what Kerouac provides in his own narrative." -Good point Jessica!
ReplyDeleteWhat does everyone think of the style? Does it work? Do you like it?
Good point Maeanna about how since we only get Sal's viewpoint, we can't be sure how his aunt or Remi really feel.
The style of the book is different from other types of writing in various ways. For one, the book is basically a series of events that the author is just repeating to the readers. The actual reading of the book can be dull and it fails to pull readers in, then again it does help to express the themes of the novel. The characters in the book seem very straightforward just like the plot.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Sal seems like a honest character in the sense that he is telling us the details of his life, which seems to be accurate. Sal doesn't seem like he had anything to hide from us but since there is a lot less dialogue than in traditional books we don't hear the thoughts of other characters throughout the book.
In my opinion I think the style of writing is ok if you don't like a clear story with a clear plot. The style does go along with the plot because it would be very difficult for him to capture every detail and everything said whilst he was on the road.
On the Road is different than other novels because it is written like a journal. When writing a journal, whatever comes to mind is what you write. There is no thought about what you're going to write. Jack Kerouac basically wrote about his journey to California, the experiences he had, and the people he encountered. It's not focused so much on culture and what is right in society, but its about the people and them doing whatever they want without having to think of how society might react to their actions.
ReplyDeleteI think that Sal is an honest narrator that tells it just like it is. I don't think that he is holding back anything from the readers. He's sharing his opinion with readers and letting those who wasn't there during the Beat Generation get an idea of what America was like during the 1950's.
This book is more like a journal so the style of writing is as planned out. It is more pure and raw thought than a fictional novel. It comes straight from Jack's experiences while traveling across America so it gives more of a first hand veiwpoint on America than other books where the author would write about other people. On the Road doesn't have a concrete plotline; it hops around. The book is more of a guideline of the ideals for the ideas of the counter-culture during post-WWII, and how we should live our life. Jack is searching for a meaning, a meaning of America, he is trying to fully understand America by being a free-spirit, and going with whatever happens.
ReplyDeleteSal is a very hones narrator because it is in such a diary form,it is from his first hand experiences. The book is inconsistant, but in a good way. It is less edited than a novel, but throughout his many stories the themes are clear. This is good because he doesn't have to stick to and twist a plotline in order to get his ideas across.
How is On the Road written that is different from earlier, more traditional novels? What kind of effect does this have on traditional plot? Does the form help to express the themes of the novel?
ReplyDeleteOn the road was written much better than grapes of wrath in my opinion. the book gives much less detail only when it need to and it spends a faster time talking about how Sal moves from place to place instead of describing a turtle about to get ran over in a whole chapter. The two books were written much different, i think it is because of the places the characters originated from sal was from the east and everythign seemed to move faster while the joad family, from the west, seemed to be crawling like turltes towards California.
Is Sal an honest narrator? Are there any inconsistencies in his narration? If so, what effect do they have on the story?
I dont think sal is an honest narrator the things he does seem to be way too out there. It seems like he is on drugs half the time. He just keep on moving and sometimes for get details and i think because of this the story moves faster. But then he is able to use it to twist the story around and make it seem like he is always on the move much more.
On The Road is starting to let me connect to the character more and from the character through the world. This is definaitly different because now, unlike Joads who represented a part of the US, Sal is a unique character traveling on his own pace. You dont see anything such as a moral of the novel because its really like a run on of thoughts. While researching for my presentation tomorrow, I found that many of the beat generation ran on this like, never-ending rant almost for all of their written work. I guess in a way, his style of writing in On The Road was really just a whole novel of emotions and adventures that he took. By using this method, a reader is able to an engage into the novel through his shoes. Also, with this, you never know where the story is going to lead you. One moment you could have your mind dead set on California then you have the detour to Denver. Its very unpredictable unlike the other novels.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there are things that he tells us what might be “impossible” but what is possible and impossible at this time. Sal, through my research, actually did travel across the United States and he truly did experience these things. In a way, yes I believe that Sal actually is an honest narrator because there is proof that he did travel and who is to say he did or did not. However, there were inconsistencies throughout the novel. Such as he wanted to leave California but he kept on traveling north and south of cali. This probably just showed that Sal traveled in cali a lot and learned a lot while being in cali.
On The Road has a different sentence structure, they don't connect, but flow from one to the next I think. Like you said in class, written as a "stream of consciousness." His reports on events that happened, one right after the other, like fellow classmates have previously mentioned, a rant. I think this has am effect on the plot where events happen very quickly, and jump to the next. This does express themes of the novel in the way Sal always wants to keep moving, and not remain in one place too long, like the narrative.
ReplyDeleteI believe Sal is an honest character, otherwise he wouldn't describe the embarrassing parts of his journey, like girls rejecting him, messing up his best friend's dinner, etc. This may be because I just take on his bias and point of view when reading from his perspective, so I don't suspect anything.
Oh and to your other questions, Mrs. Libertucci, I do enjoy this style of writing, I think it works because the jumpiness and quick events keep the plot moving and keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree with the statement, from the video clips, that he was a historian of the era because of his journal-like style?
ReplyDeleteI like how multiple people described his writing as "raw". Good word choice! I also agree with people that described his writing and that of other beat authors as "rants".