The novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac is often characterised as a travelogue. To a certain degree, this might work since the author made some travels around the United States before working on the Novel. Even the routes of his trips resemble to some degree the routes within On the Road. In 1947 Kerouac travelled from New York to Illinois, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, California and back to New York. In 1950, he took another long trip, which led him from New York to Denver, Texas and Mexico. Nevertheless On the Road is more than a description of autobiographic experiences on the road. Other critics underline the autobiographic role of balancing accounts with his friendship to Neal Cassidy who serves in the alias of Dean within the novel. Others criticized the novel as being no more than a manifest for the Beat culture, a “puff piece” for a life as tramp, consuming drugs and departure from a “normal life”. This work will try to point out some of the meanings and allusions hidden in the novel. Chapter 1 will set On the Road in connection with earlier “hobo-literature” to elucidate Kerouac’s ideals of a life as a tramp. As a kind of travelogue On the Road is about movement and thus about space. Chapter 2 will show what space or the change of space means for the novel and how it constitutes the matter of time within the novel. Chapter 3 focusses the “dynamics of friendship” - the development of the protagonist’s friendship. The last chapter deals with the quest for experience, which is one of the most prominent intertextual ingredients in the novel. On the Road was frequently referred to as “novel of initiation” or description of a spiritual pilgrimage.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- On the Road and the tradition of hobo-literature
- Time and space in On the Road
- The dynamics of friendship in On the Road
- The spiritual pilgrimage
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This work aims to analyze the intertextuality and allusions present in Jack Kerouac's On the Road, uncovering deeper meanings and connections within the novel. The text explores the significance of hobo-literature and its influence on Kerouac's portrayal of tramps and the road. Additionally, it investigates the role of time and space, the dynamics of friendship, and the spiritual pilgrimage theme as integral elements within the narrative.
- The Influence of Hobo-Literature on On the Road
- The Significance of Time and Space in the Narrative
- The Dynamics of Friendship: The Development of the Protagonist's Relationship
- The Spiritual Pilgrimage: The Quest for Experience
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter examines the tradition of hobo-literature and its connection to On the Road. It explores the different depictions of tramps, from the comical to the tragic, and analyzes how Kerouac's portrayal of Dean Moriarty aligns with these literary precedents.
Chapter two focuses on the theme of time and space, emphasizing how movement and change of location constitute the novel's narrative structure. It investigates how Kerouac's descriptions of travel contribute to the development of time and the evolution of the characters.
The third chapter delves into the dynamics of friendship, specifically the evolving relationship between the protagonist and Dean Moriarty. It explores how the changing dynamics of their connection affect their individual journeys and their shared experiences on the road.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key terms and themes explored in this work include hobo-literature, intertextuality, allusion, travelogue, time and space, friendship, spiritual pilgrimage, and the Beat Generation. The analysis examines the novel's relationship to earlier works and the cultural context of its creation, uncovering the various layers of meaning embedded within Kerouac's prose.
- Quote paper
- MA Guido Maiwald (Author), 2007, Jack Kerouac´s "On the Road". Intertextuality and Allusion in the Novel, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/214764
