On The Road

May 7, 2009

I find it weird that Sal finally has a decent job in Denver but is still not happy. He is so jealous of the minorities whom to him has very simple and easy lives. Finally Sal once again decides that he needs to find Dean and see how things are going with him. Sal spends the night with some wealthy woman who gives him 100 dollars for his trip to see Dean. Sal arrived at Dean’s door and 2 o’clock in the morning to find that Dean was just as miserable as him. Camille was making his life hell. She is constantly crying and he can”t get Marylou out of his head. The very next morning Dean is thrown out, and Sal and him are left once again trying to decide where to go. They ended up deciding to head back east.

Its weird because this seems to be the first time Dean and Sal really see how much their friendships mean to each other. I can’t believe Dean left the woman that he was so mad about just a little while ago and left Marylou for, especially the fact that he left his little daughter behind.

I thought it was funny that Dean was flirty with the gay man, and trying to get money from him. Also that he was so attracted to the midget. But i guess that who Dean is just a crazy man who doesn’t care about what anyone thinks. But then when he got hit on by some random guy at the bar he freaks, and steals a bunch of cars. Unfortunately the last car he takes and crashes was a detectives, so once again Sal and Dean were on the move. But Dean has gone crazy lately and doesn’t care about anything, sleeping with random girls and breaking the law. He causes a huge mess one rainy day because he was going 110 mph and flipped the car. Ironically the farmer the came to help had the prettiest daughter they had ever seen.

They finally make it to New York where Sal’s aunt says Dean can only stay a few days. That night they do what the always did, went out to the bar, where Dean met Inez. Within only a couple of days Dean already wants a divorce from Camille even though their second child is on the way.

It seems thing start to turn around a little bit, Sal’s book finally sells to a publisher, and he decides to head west, but this time without Dean. Dean decides to stay in New York living with Inez, working hard to support them and pay his child support. But of course once Sal reaches Denver he gets word that Dean is on his way to meet him. Dean wants to get his divorce and has been told it is a much quicker process in Mexico.

There trip to Mexico is filled with the normal, drinking, drugs and sex. The meet a very nice man named Victor, who showed them the ropes. Sal becomes very sick, and Dean just decides to get his divorce and return to NY, and leave Sal with Stan someone they picked up in their travels.

Finally Dean moves to California  and Sal lives in NY for a little longer, where he met Laura. Laura and Sal decided they are going to move to California and when Dean hears this news he rushed to their house. But they aren’t ready to leave just yet and Dean is left standing alone because Sal and Laura were on their way out.

This book seems very repetitive, with no really major conflict. Sal is constantly traveling, drinking, smoking, and having sex. All along he is searching for something to make him mature, and finally he finds Laura who seems to be that something. Although it seems like she may be the reason him and Dean aren’t as fond of each other, it seems like it is time for Dean and Sal to both move on with their lives.


On The Road

May 4, 2009

Dean is really confusing, even time we see him he has different plans. Sal on the other hand has gone back to school, and meet a very nice young girl named Lucille. Sal even goes as far as saying that he thinks that Lucille may be the one. But as soon as Dean shows up, Lucille seems to dislike the way Sal is acting. And Marylou is flirting with Sal, which really aggravates  Lucille. Dean and Sal end up doing what they seem to do best, going from bar to bar and getting drunk.

They then plan for another trip west. And when they get out west Marylou will no longer be Dean’s, she will be Sal’s. This kind of confuses me why Dean is so eager for Sal to be with Marylou. So they set out on their trip, and it seems like they have been pulled over at least 5 or 6 time now, costing them so much of their precious money. They have to resort to picking up hitch hikers for gas money, and stealing food and cigarettes when the chance arrives. One time they pulled into a gas station and the attendant was sleeping, so they quietly filled the cars tank and were on their way.

They run into a little trouble when a drunk driver on their side of the road forces them off into the mud, only to get Sal to stop so they could ask directions. Unfortunately the car became stuck in the mud. The trip continues and Dean becomes madder and madder as the novel goes on. He now feels the need to takes off his clothes, and makes Sal and Marylou join, just to see the shocked look from passing cars and trucks. 

Once in California Dean leaves Sal and Marylou for his new girl Camille. Marylou really isn’t feeling Dean’s plan of her and Sal. They stay at a cheap hotel for a few nights, until Sal is left alone when Marylou runs off with some guy.

Sal goes to Camille’s to prepare for his trip home by himself.

I still don’t like how there are so many characters, I am always confusing them. And i feel bad for Sal nothing really seems to work out the way he wants. But it seems that when ever Dean and Sal are on the move together they are completely content with life.


On The Road

April 16, 2009

Sal Paradise finally makes it to California. Here he meets up with his friend Remi, who lives with his”girl friend”, Lee Ann. Remi is an old friend for off the walls and finds every little thing that Sal seems to do extremely funny. Lee Ann on the other hand is a very annoying character. She is all about money, and seeing how her and Remi are living in a shack she is pissed about life. I love Remi’s character because he does so many crazy things. For example, when he first meet Lee Ann be blew $100 dollars on her just to impress her, when that was all the money he had in his name. The funny thing is Lee Ann was just a gold digger, and she actually thought that he was what she was looking for.

Remi and Sal are funny together, they seem to always be doing something crazy. Remi worked as a cop (he could care less about he job and arresting people, it was just for the money) and he managed to get Sal a job as well. These two would always be up to mischief on their night shifts. It seems like so much fun, partying with the residents whom they had received noise complaints about or breaking into place and stealing. But Remi has a good heart he would always give like when he stole groceries, only to give half of them to a shelter full of children and mothers. But things starting turning sour and Sal was on way again.

I’m starting to feel bad for Sal, nothing is really going as planed. He was hoping to make a life here but instead hes on his way back home. He finally meets a Mexican woman, and they really hit things off. It seems like Sal is really just looking for somewhere where he can fit in and be loved. Terry (his new woman) is exactly what hes been looking for. They spend weeks together and plan on going back to New Jersey together, but it doesn’t work out and Sal once again is on his way back home.

He finally is back at home and I think that he might make this journey again. There seems to be something that Sal desperately needs to find, and i don’t think its waiting for him in NJ. But i guess ill have to wait to find out. 


On the Road

April 13, 2009

My book is On The Road by Jack Kerouac. This book is about a man from New York who has always dreamed of going west. In the first part of the book Sal the main character sets off for his long journey to Denver, CO. His trip is filled with random encounters with all types of people. Sal seems to be a simple man just going with the flow of life. He seems to get along with who every he meets, and has only three things on his mind, Denver, girls, and alcohol. 

This book has shown me how different things were back in the 40′s and 50′s, everyone seemed so free, constantly just traveling. And everyone seems so generous, for example, the two teenagers that picked up every single hitch hiker in their path. Today picking up a hitch hiker is almost unheard of and a crazy idea. This book makes me wish i could take a trip like this, it would be so fun and exciting. 

One thing that confused me is Dean’s and Carlo’s late night talks. It seems kind of weird that two men would talk almost every night for hours. I also don’t like how there are like five new characters every page, things get confusing and many times the characters are just random acquaintances.


Ras the Exhorter, Tod Clifton & the narrator

March 27, 2009

Ras the Extorter and the Narrator have a very different way of fighting for the same cause. Ras seems to think aggression and force is the way to achieve equality. Where as the narrator believe hope lies with the brotherhood in their peaceful protests. These two characters of comparable to Washington and DuBois, two of the great African-American rights activist. The Narrator being Washington, and Ras being Dubois. But although they seem to disagree on how to achieve equality both share a similar goal of fighting for their race.

Tod Clifton on the other hand is more similar to the narrator. He was originally part of the brotherhood, and it seems that him and the narrator are going to be able to fight together as one with the help of the brotherhood. But then next time we see Tod Clifton he is selling sambo dolls in the street. This confuses the narrator as to how this man’s moral and self respect could have fallen so quickly, but maybe he realized he was in a losing fight and decided to give up. It seems that Tod and the narrator deal with the same problem, they were just a tool for the brotherhood. And just when they thought that they were going to be able to change things, reality set in. They learned that the brotherhood was for their own cause, which was not for the better of black community. The only thing that is different between these two is how they dealt with their let downs. Tod went as far as to mock his race by selling the stereotypical dolls, where as the narrator choose to disappear and live his life with no one knowing who he was. Overall is seems these to men where the same man both very intelligent and motivated, but the whites took away anything and everything they were.


The 21st Century

March 17, 2009

I believe that the Invisible Man remains one of the most widely taught novels about African-Americans because of its relation to the way things were. This novel portrays the way of life for a African-American in a way that many young kids could not believe. The novel shows racism at its worst, but now a days its hard to believe things were ever like that only a couple decades ago. Now with Barak Obama as president it seems that racism has greatly diminished. People today seem to be much more excepting then they use to be, but that’s not to say that it racism is completely gone. I think this book is taught to remember the past, learn from our mistakes, and make the world a better place. 

 


Liberty paint

February 25, 2009

I beleve the part of the novel containing liberty paint company show irony and symbolisim in many ways. First of all their slogan is “If it’s optic white it’s right” and “our white can cover anything”. These quotes show that although the invisible man in now in the north he is still facing the racisim. Also it is very ironic that to make this amazing white paint one uses brown paint mixed with a little gray. I believe that this is a symbol to show how the balcks make the whites seem more superior.
Another thing that was ironic was how when the invisible man tried to make this paint he was unable to, at first he used the wrong chemicals, but even when he used the right ones the white paint wasn’t as white as when the white man made it. I think this goes to show the reacuring themes in this novel that blacks are believed to be below whites and arn’t worth anthing.


Two Selves

February 5, 2009

W.E.B. Du Bois theorized that the black American has two selves, a white one and a black one.  How does Dr. Bledsoe exemplify that principle?  How does the main character exemplify that principle.

I think Dr. Bledsoe exemplifies the principle or two selves very well. I believe that Dr. Bledsoe’s white self is the man who is powerful,  well dressed, and in charge. As the principle of the school he has control over a group of people, like the whites have control over the blacks. This is why when he talks to the narrator he may have come off a little strong or mean. The other self of Dr. Bledsoe is his black self. This part of Dr. Bledsoe obeys and is strongly degraded, by the whites. The white people seem to take away the strong “White self” of Dr. Bledsoe, and leave him as powerless as his students are when they talk to him.


Sim. & Diff.

December 17, 2008

In some ways Oceania is similar to present day civilization, and some ways it is very different.

Simiarities

  • Police
  • Apartments
  • Not everyone likes Gov’t
  • Gov’t run by many people
  • Social Classes
  • People are under the law

Differences

  • Choice
  • Freedom
  • Opinions
  • Nothing is true in Oceania
  • Gov’t is like dictatorship
  • Thought police
  • More technology in Oceania
  • Privacy

Greater Book

December 4, 2008

I beleive Hamlet is a greater book than Pride and Prejudice, beacause it has way more action and is interesting to both guys and girls. Also Hamlet has been around for much longer the Pride and Prejudice which has to mean that Hamlet really is a great book, where as Pride and Prejudice was able to be debated in the class.