Same Old Story

It has come to a point where this book has become annoyingly repetitive and I have lost some interest in reading it. It seems to always be Sal going up on his standards of living and then Dean comes along and messes it all up. It’s a bit pathetic how much of a follower Sal is. He is just a little lamb following his shepherd, but he doesn’t understand that the shepherd is leading him towards a wolf cave. His life could be all settled by now. He could have a wife, a stable home, a stable job, money to feed himself, and maybe even children that could become his little following sheep. I also hate how Dean always gets in the way of Sal staying with the right people. He’s missed opportunities in the past to have good friends that stand as decent role models, but something about Dean always brings him back. Like the most recent one, Old Bull. This character shows Sal the importance of hard work by telling him that nothing you buy will be as good as something you make because if you make it yourself you know you will have put in all your efforts into it for your own advantage. Or the fact that you sometimes need to listen to yourself for a second and realize that your unconscious might be telling you something important, and although this message was shown by betting on horses, the subliminal and deeper meaning is between the lines. That is the problem with Sal. He doesn’t read between the lines and doesn’t listen to his unconscious. He hears, but doesn’t listen. There are moment when he just wonders to himself “what the hell is happening and what the hell is Dean doing.” Like when Dean just decided to get naked mid highway and explore the ruins. It was understood from the begging that Dean was a free spirit, but this is just getting weird. He is basically a symbol for all that seems to be wrong. He takes from people, he cheats, he pretends to love a cheater, he uses everyone for his own advantages, and he misguides the lost wandering souls for his own enjoyment.