Sal is on a mission, his dissatisfaction proves that he does not know what his mission is nor where it will end but he is on a journey to find himself throughout the entire novel. His state of discontent only dissipates when he looks to the future and is in the act of motion. He has no home because the road is his home, the road is his sanctuary. He finds peace in the chaos of unorganized motion and the drugs, alcohol and relationships on the way are secondary to the motion. I believe that there is no greater feeling for him than the feeling of being in action because while in action (journeying down "the road") one loses their conscious thoughts. When in action, it is easier to allow emotion, instinct and the rawest form of your human being take over. Therapy is usually the act of expressing conscious thought but Sal's therapy is the act of repressing consciousness in favor of the action and chaos of the road.
-Zack Meier
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Restless Dissatisfaction
"I cursed, I cried for Chicago. 'Even now they’re all having a big time, they’re doing this, I’m not there, when will I get there!'- and so on."
"Now I could see Denver looming ahead of me like the Promised Land, way out there beneath the stars, across the prairie of Iowa and the plains of Nebraska, and I could see the greater vision of San Francisco beyond, like jewels in the night."
These two quotes from Sal seem to summarize the reason for his constant motion. He is dissatisfied always dissatified, and he is in a constant state of looking foward to the future. Some say that humans enjoy the journey, not the end result and as Sal's travels progress he is looking foward to the next place instead of enjoying his journies and remaining in the moment. In Sal's mind there is no happiness to be found on the road, only a constant state of anxious suffering. An attitude of dissatisfaction that carries the burden of unnecessary foresight
-Zack Meier
"Now I could see Denver looming ahead of me like the Promised Land, way out there beneath the stars, across the prairie of Iowa and the plains of Nebraska, and I could see the greater vision of San Francisco beyond, like jewels in the night."
These two quotes from Sal seem to summarize the reason for his constant motion. He is dissatisfied always dissatified, and he is in a constant state of looking foward to the future. Some say that humans enjoy the journey, not the end result and as Sal's travels progress he is looking foward to the next place instead of enjoying his journies and remaining in the moment. In Sal's mind there is no happiness to be found on the road, only a constant state of anxious suffering. An attitude of dissatisfaction that carries the burden of unnecessary foresight
-Zack Meier
Monday, March 5, 2012
What's The Point?
This entire book begs the question, "What's the point?". What is the point of staying in place? What is the point of friendship? What is the point of humanity?
The entire book rejects the idea of a plot, or the idea of organization. This can be attributed to the constant flow of words with which it was written, but it is due to a more profound reason than that. The point of rejecting a classic novel structure, the point of friendship, the point of movement and purpose all lie in the same place. All of these things lay within a person and purpose can only be accessed when in the flow of nature.
The idea of "flow", the idea of constant movement and the quest to achieve true humanity has been ongoing throughout human history but this novel demostrates the quest in the modern world. In order to truly become human, one must reject the inherent organizational skills that make us human. Society and civilization are not pushing us foward, rather, they are holding us back.
-Zack Meier
The entire book rejects the idea of a plot, or the idea of organization. This can be attributed to the constant flow of words with which it was written, but it is due to a more profound reason than that. The point of rejecting a classic novel structure, the point of friendship, the point of movement and purpose all lie in the same place. All of these things lay within a person and purpose can only be accessed when in the flow of nature.
The idea of "flow", the idea of constant movement and the quest to achieve true humanity has been ongoing throughout human history but this novel demostrates the quest in the modern world. In order to truly become human, one must reject the inherent organizational skills that make us human. Society and civilization are not pushing us foward, rather, they are holding us back.
-Zack Meier
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