Response to Mona's post

       Mona, I agree that there does seem to be a hidden sense of sadness throughout the novel, but I think our characters are trying their best to fight it. It is this sad undertone that makes the novel so much like real life; the characters are in a constant struggle against the melancholy world that they live in. In Frisco, in Denver, and throughout his travels on the road, Sal sees bums asking for dimes. It is mentioned so many times that it almost becomes part of the scenery. They represent the ever-present sadness. The character Major is described as a Hemingwayen writer who hates everybody, and Carlo Marx writes apocalyptic, mad poetry.
        The only time the characters seem to forget their sadness is during parties. Their spirits lift when they are with people. At the party in the old miner's shack, Major yells out happy new year and shows affection toward everyone. Sal writes that he had not been drunk, but merely intoxicated on the happiness he felt at the party.
       The morning after, however, everyone feels down and dejected. They realize that their happiness was short lived, and now they must return to every day life. Sal writes "We lay on our backs... wondering what God had wrought when He made life so sad" (p. 52). Just like us, the characters feel a looming sense of sadness. In my opinion, this is what makes the story seem so real.