Identity In Jack Kerouac's On The Road

One of Jack Kerouac’s most memorable novels, On The Road, written in 1951 but published in 1957, is a highly influential response to the current events of that time. Scars of World War II had started to heal and society, fed up with the sense of danger and terror, rightfully decided to give in to conformity and passivity. However, some of them rejected such an approach, believing that there is much more to life, rather than blissfully accept the monotony of everyday experiences. Kerouac could be seen as one of the pioneers of a group that took such an unconventional approach – the beat generation. His novel reflects on many various topics such as the issues of racial segregation, worn out life of the American citizen, passion, music, sexual freedom etc. However, there is another topic which is gradually developed throughout the novel and that is mysticism. In this essay, we will see how Kerouac developed identity through notions of …show more content…
To completely understand the characters’ seek for purpose and their spiritual transformation, it is best to start by pinpointing the ideology the beat generation supported. The name itself, the beat generation, was allegedly coined by Jack Kerouac himself during his conversation with another American author, John Clellon Holmes. (Ginsberg: 17???) Seen by many only as young delinquents, the youthful beat generation advocated raw emotions, complete openness and nakedness of both soul and mind, emphasised spirituality and opposed the rising consumerism and conformity of that time. (PerizRodriguez: 82) Thus, the journey of spiritual transformation of the two main characters, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, becomes self-explanatory. The very need for spiritual fulfilment is born from the need of change. The necessity to change his life Sal implies with the first two sentences saying “I first met Dean not long after my wife and I