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Jack Kerouac's On The Road

989 Words4 Pages

The Beats are a generation of young men who are looking for freedom and finding themselves. The Beats are often criticized for how they behave, which includes drug use, alcohol, and sex. From reading Jack Kerouac “On The Road”, he talked about different experiences he had faced with other Beat members on their different journeys across America that include these tensions between freedom and the over use of drugs, alcohol, and sex. The beats were a culture full of experimentation that encouraged the use of drugs, sex, alcohol, and self-expression, which overwhelmed the community norms idea of the US culture. The beatniks wanted to push the idea of them as being the mainstream citizens they should be. They had a passion to do things differently …show more content…

From then on Sal’s “beatnik adventure” began, hooking up with women, having wild parties, to the point of being broke. Being offered a job, Sal ignored this opportunity and partied all day, and spent most of his time with Dean and Carlo who were hooked up on drugs, talking about anything that comes to their mind. Sal thought of them as maniacs but lived freely and that is what he wanted. He wanted freedom from the life he has lived in the East working with no passion. Kerouac then described a trip to the mountains with various people, and partied even more, and got into fights. This lifestyle the beatniks had was more carefree; drinking, drugs, pointless sex, having no worries about tomorrow or what money they had. The beatniks did not think this lifestyle they lead was self-destructive in any way, that this is how American’s should live their …show more content…

Sal described an awkward moment he had hooking up with a waitress, he quotes " Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk - real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious”. (Kerouac, On The Road p.36) The community norms has changed the way teenage Americans think of sex as a casual thing they give in to, rather than getting the chance to spend time with each other, exploring each other’s soul, like the beatniks supposedly had done. After returning to San Francisco for a year, Sal goes on another adventure with Dean, Marylou, and Ed back to the

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