On The Road Part 2

Rather than Sal remaining in his dull and boring life style, holding on to all sense of responsibility, he took a chance. Society and the right handed older generation would have found this to be insulting and disrespectful and believe that remaining in one’s place is more important than seeking out inspiration; but Sal yearned for the excitement of the road. This tremendously fabulous lifestyle was only brought out of mere imagination by Dean who enticed Sal that the road called for greater things. "Somewhere along the line I knew there would be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me." So with this childish and irresponsible vision in mind, Sal left the safety of his home with no more than fifty dollars in his pocket. Rather than having planned out this gigantic and long trip to the other side of the continent, like most reasonable people would have, Sal went on a series of hitchhikes and bus rides. Finally, upon arriving in Denver, he meets back up again with Dean, Carlo Marx and a few other friends. This is where the first step in defying society’s standards takes place. While in Denver, the group attends multiple parties, giving Sal a taste of the “Beat” life.

Not only would the former generation disagree with Sal’s initial decision, but have been disgusted by the careless attitude of both Sal and Dean. Sal’s original plan had been to make it all the way to the West and manage to do that with not much money. Of course, once someone tastes something so sweet, they can’t stop. So Sal leaves once again and heads for San Francisco where he meets up with Remi Boncoeur and Lee Ann. Offered a job as a night watchman, he is unable to take it seriously and drops it as quickly as he received it and hits the road again.

All this time, the idea of the perfect girl runs through his head and he can’t help but wonder when he will find her. "Oh, where is the girl I love?" Now, society doesn’t look down upon romance, but hooking up with multiple random strangers would be perfect means for outrage. On a bus ride to Los Angeles, Sal meets Terry, a cute little Mexican girl who happened to be sitting on the same ride as he. He completely forgets his purpose and leaves with her to Bakersfield and then Sabinal, her hometown. He becomes employed as a cotton picker on a field and later decided that he is not cut out for this kind of thing, so he redefines his goal and leaves Terry behind. This “moment of passion” defies the morals of the former generation as they believed that premarital sex was a sin and monogamous relations were the only way to go. However, rather than staying with her, as the acceptable behavior would have deemed, he takes a bus back to New York, winding up where he started.