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A review by hypocrisis
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
adventurous
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
couldn't get past the racism, pedophilia and misogyny (unfortunately?).
Selfish and self-destructive characters like Dean Moriarty can only be romanticised as 'angel(s) of terror' and prophets from the safe distance of a reader ...or a protagonist who's in a permanent state of intoxication.
I'm sure it was groundbreaking at the time, but the lifestyle described doesn't appeal to me, even though i do give into 'madness' at times and love 'kicks'. Maybe I'd get it if i had a real connection to american culture and jazz, or if i had a driver's license lol. Maybe I'm too stuck in my middle-class ways to see it, but i didn't get the point of all these roadtrips just to do the same thing with the same people all over again.
Selfish and self-destructive characters like Dean Moriarty can only be romanticised as 'angel(s) of terror' and prophets from the safe distance of a reader ...or a protagonist who's in a permanent state of intoxication.
I'm sure it was groundbreaking at the time, but the lifestyle described doesn't appeal to me, even though i do give into 'madness' at times and love 'kicks'. Maybe I'd get it if i had a real connection to american culture and jazz, or if i had a driver's license lol. Maybe I'm too stuck in my middle-class ways to see it, but i didn't get the point of all these roadtrips just to do the same thing with the same people all over again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, and Addiction
Minor: Toxic friendship and Sexual assault