Response to Chow

I agree with what you're saying Chow about Sal fighting relentlessly the need to grow up and face real responsibilities. I don’t think he’s quite ready yet to mature and become an adult with his life in track and somewhat figured out yet. There are moments though were I see glimpses of his yearning to find out who and what he wants to be and take on the lifestyle of not a nomad, like he’s been for this voyage, but a steady person that knows what he’s doing. For instance, although he did a horrible job at it, he took initiative and realized that he was indebted to his aunt and did the responsible thing and did what he could to pay her back. He also is finally starting to see that sometimes settling down for love can be a good thing, as he experienced with Terry. I also hope to see more of Terry in the future because I feel like she brought out a new and better man in Sal. A Sal that wants to be depended on by people rather than him being dependent on them. I also hope to see more of Remi. He was a very positive character from my point of view and I feel like his presence around Sal will have a positive impact and help Sal leave his old childish ways behind.

Response to Emily

I agree entirely with your idea of a different outlook on Sal's character. He has almost completely changed from the start of the book. At first, he showed little to no emotion and now he's begun to act like a real clown. He's actually taking on the characteristics of Dean in the sense that he is constantly getting drunk and is doing ridiculous acts that have heavy consequences which no longer concern him. He is a changed man and will continue to follow this act. However, how far is he willing to go? I do believe that sooner or later he will come to his limit and will have to make a decision: whether to cross it or turn back. With this sudden change of attitude, I believe he will turn back when the time comes but who knows. 

The Fight Within

After spending several weeks with Remi in his shack, Sal decides he needs a job, so Remi gets him one as a guard in the shipyard barracks. One night, before a group of sailors are to ship off in the morning, Sal attempts to keep order in the noisy barracks. Instead of keeping order, however, he ends up getting drunk with sailors and raising the American flag upside down the next morning-an offense he is told he could go to jail for. Later, Sal is becoming tired and lonely in San Francisco, and his relationship with Remi and Lee Ann starts to deteriorate. After a night of gambling away all of their money at a race track, Remi and Lee Ann have a huge fight and Remi decides to break off his relationship with Lee Ann and his friendship with Sal. He only asks that Lee Ann and Sal pretend that everything is normal when his stepfather comes to town in a week. Both agree. Instead of behaving, though, Sal runs into one of his old friends from Denver, Roland Major, and they both get drunk and ruin the night for Remi, ruining what is left of their friendship. Sal, feeling as if he has reached the end of the road in his trip, decides to head back East. These events only prove what I have been saying along: Sal is fighting the necessity to grow up with his will to remain young and wild. It is also evident that his young side is getting the best of him. Now, it is apparent that he is probably happy like this but, the real question that remains to be answered is: Is this new lifestyle good for him?

Response to Emily's

I find it so funny that all of us have pretty much come to the same conclusion on Jack. Every single person who has responded to my post has had the same view as me. You and Anike both believe that Jack is pretty much a worthless friend. I know it sounds harsh but it's true and I'm surprised that all of his friends have put up with him thus far. Honestly, if I had a friend like Jack, I would have kicked him out of my life a while ago because he is an irresponsible drunk who expects his friends to mommy him. I'm curious to see wether or not he learns his lesson and actually starts to work for what he wants rather than have his friends give him money and carry him through. Otherwise, if Jack continues down this path, I doubt he will get far.

Response to Mona

        Mona, I have to agree that I am also beginning to dislike Sal a great deal. Despite the fact that Remi is not my favorite character either, I was extremely annoyed when Sal could not be bothered to act as a good friend for one evening. Although Remi does not have many likable characteristics, he at least has a strong understanding of what he wants. Sal cannot seem to make up his mind; in one chapter he is falling in love with Lee-Ann, and in another he is running away with a Mexican girl he met on the bus. The only desire he is sure about in the entire novel is his wish to spend time with Dean. Sal's "follower" personality is probably what bothers me most about his character; I do not find him to be a relatable character in any way. Like you mentioned, Sal is waiting to have everything handed to him. He does not have the will or determination to work for what he wants. At this point, I am also itching to get back to Dean, just so I will not have to deal with Sal anymore.

Not Cut out to be a Cop

       When Sal lands a job with Remi as a cop, his character is revealed through contrast with the job's requirements. Sal's personality is almost perfectly opposite to the personalities of his co-workers. The man from Alcatraz is always dying to make arrests and takes his actions to an extreme just to prove a point. Sal could not have less personal opinions or feelings of self-rightiousness; he is often satisfied just floating around and not offending anybody. This is probably why he is so easy to get along with. When he knocks on the door of the room of some young men drinking and shouting in the middle of the night, he does not assert himself, even though he knows it is time to do so. He merely explains he could lose him job if the noise does not go down, and then accepts a drink when he is offered one. By the end of the night, Sal is completely drunk and raises the American flag upside down. In my opinion, this represents his skewed idea of what it means to be an American. 

       Almost everything Sal says about America seems to be clash with what many people regard as American values or the "American Dream". When he and Remi begin stealing food, Sal remarks that he believes everyone in America is a natural born thief. Remi justifies his actions by quoting Truman, "We must cut down the cost of living". Both men interpret everything around them in a way that best suits their desires. Remi describes himself as a sort of Robin Hood, and he is always getting into trouble. Sal goes along with whatever is happening, and does not really stick to one idea or another. His bland personality makes him easy to get along with, but it also makes him an uninteresting character. 

Answer to Mona's Post

I completely agree with Mona. Sal is an extremely unlikeable character. He would rather get drunk than try to help his friend impress his stepfather, like his friend begged him to do a few days before. Then after destroying his friend’s chances of impressing his stepfather, he does not even bother to apologize. He also dreams about stealing his friend’s girl. He thinks about running away with her, which is completely anti-heroic. These types of character flaws are almost impossible to like. If the man character is disinteresting and bordering on evil, it’s difficult to continue reading. I think that Jack is banking on the reader’s strong feeling for Dean for them to continue reading the story. I have serious trouble  finding any interest in Sal’s tale at all. With a difficult main character who collects even more difficult friends, it is  hard to continue reading the novel. I’m just hoping that Sal has some sort of dynamic change in his personality, but I’m losing hope fast.   

Sal, Who Has He Become?

Sal’s character continuously perplexes me. At first Sal seemed to be a man without any personality worth noting. All of his friends had enough personality for themselves and Sal, but as his travels continued he started to gain certain traits from his friends. All the traits seemed to be those which one would not like to acquire, such as recklessness, spontaneity, and irresponsibility. The first example of Sal’s newly acquired personality is his inability to keep a job. Sal’s first job, which Dean gets him, he does not even show up for. He drinks beer and sleeps in late and completely misses the first day, even though he desperately needs the money for food, travel, and to repay his aunt. Sal’s second job is as a cop. He ends up stealing food from the cafeteria, which is ironic because this sort of behavior is exactly what he is trying to prevent. He gets drunk on the job with a bunch of rowdy workers, and accidently hangs the American flag upside down, which he later finds out he could have been arrested for. Sal’s second flaw was his attraction to trouble making friends. Sal befriends the type of people who condone stealing, drinking, and cheating. They all talk crazy nonsense and they are all easy amused and irritated. A prime example is Remi. Remi teaches Sal that the world owes them something and if they don’t get it then they should take it. This is the reason Sal begins to frequently steal. Sal is always complaining about getting in trouble but if he really wished to stay out of it then he should probably have chosen a better group of friends.      

Sal's Developing Humility

This part of the book was a very fast read for me because I was excited to see how Sal and Terry’s relationship would develop. At first I thought Terry would be just another one night stand for Sal because that’s all that every other girl has been to him. I thought he just wanted her for company that night, but I enjoyed seeing how they developed to truly care about one another and how they stayed together and even made plans to go to New York together instead. I also like how Sal is becoming a humble character as opposed to before when all he would think about partying, drinking, and women. His demonstration of humility is visible when he realizes he has to take care of Terry now and her son; he is finally assuming the role of the responsible one in the group. He shows his eagerness to care for “his girl” when he gets the tough and barely profiting job of cotton picker, in which he is ecstatic to make some money and even feels bad that Terry and her son are helping him and even doing more work than him. I think his motivation for taking initiative to work is Rickey and Ponzo because they always procrastinate and leave everything for later and don’t seem to be able to do anything but drink and get kicked out by Big Rosey. The fact that Sal doesn't even understand what “manana” means but thinks it means heaven serves to me as a foreshadow that Sal is going to find what he is looking for soon in the future, and maybe not tomorrow per say, but maybe once he gets back to New York he will have something awaiting him that will finally make him happy for life.

My opinion on Jack

I'm really beginning to dislike Jack (Sal). He is incredibly immature and irresponsible and runs away from his problems rather than stay and find a way to solve them. He always expects more for him doing nothing and thinks that the world will fall into place by him just sitting their. During his time spent with Henri, Jack doesn't do much to help their situation except for being an extra burden and on top of that, he is "in love" with Diane, Henri's significant other. So pretty much, Jack takes Henri's kindness for granted and in return acts as an adulterer. "I walked by a jewelry store and had the sudden impulse to shoot up the window, take out the finest rings and bracelets and run to give them to Diane. Then we could flee to Nevada together. These were mad dreams." Jack doesn't even think about working for the Jewels! He doesn't even fantasize about earning them so he could give them to Diane, he just wants to steal them so as to exert as little effort as possible. 

Then there is the scene with Henri taking his father out to dinner and Temko acting completely rude during the gathering. Rather than Jack trying to tell Temko to calm down, "I gave up, I got drunk." When situations are too hard to handle for him, he shrinks to an immature child and cowers away from the problem. 

Here's the latest episode of On the Road Book Club

 https://vimeo.com/77009939