Jack Kerouac's Sal in "On the Road" Transcends the Barriers

no

Abstract

                                                                                                                                              Abstract

    In Jack Kerouac's narrative "On the Road" the main character Sal drove across the United States of America. He transcended geographical and cultural barriers. The study examines the Narrative to clarify how the road represents an open world for the individual to recognize the fact of the self and the world. Sal had the opportunities to engage with people from different cultural backgrounds and have spiritual connection with landscapes. Consequently,, the road provided Sal With opportunities to realize different relations that involve him and direct his attention to man's relatedness to the natural world. Several principles help examine the Narrative under focus: Emerson's Self-Reliance, Naess’s Self-realization and Deep ecology. The paper concludes that Sal became aware of the fact that there is commonness between humans that transcends the apparent differences between peoples. Moreover, he realizes that without being a member of the unified whole world, one cannot realize himself as an individualized entity. The individual has a recognizable presence within its integrated world.