On the Road | Teen Ink

On the Road MAG

By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment

   There are many ways to describe a scene effectively, which makes it very difficult todo in a way to give the reader a genuine feeling of the moment. Any writer whouses the right literary techniques, comparisons, and realistic characters tobring you into his world has succeeded. Jack Kerouac is one of thosewriters.

There have been many poetic tales of people's searches for theirtrue selves. This is a timeless topic; even children's tales touch onself-discovery. The topic carries into modern prose through the stories of JackKerouac.

Kerouac is most famous for On The Road, his realistic portrayalof a group of people not limited by their social class, people who were freespirits. They were bohemians in post- World War II America looking for theirplace in life. This book is a story of their hitchhiking journeys throughAmerica, in search of the missing elements in their lives; it is a book filledwith romanticism and darkly humorous adventures.

Although fiction, it istold from a first-person perspective since it is based on Kerouac's life. Afterdropping out of college, he teamed up with friends and hitched across thecountry, searching for inspiration.

Kerouac's world is full of peopleliving life on their own terms, people who are not encumbered by jobs ormortgages, or even the law. Our society today seems more ro-botic and tied tocomputers and TVs, which makes Kerouac's writing on some levels enchanting andnovel.

The poetic beauty of Jack Kerouac's work is undeniable. Hisdescriptions of mountaintops and morning dew in a field are as lyrical as prosecan get. It is as if he is an artist, painting a picture with the most vibrantcolors. Yet the story is always balanced with the realistic darkness of itscharacters.

Jack Kerouac knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote. Hisconfidence is felt throughout. He writes with the same openness and truth that isattributed to his beatnik characters. He shows his love for the road andunplanned adventures in a book that was typed on a 120-foot long roll of paper.That, in a way, shows Kerouac's ideal - much like the typed version of On theRoad a person's journey only ends when you stop, and there is nothing left towrite about, which is truly optimistic.



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i love this !