"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

PLOT

SETTING

CHARACTERS

THEMES

STYLE

It lacks a central plot: episodic structure.

Wanderings across North America of two friends (Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty).

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The two young men are restless: they do not always a destination in mind.

Their journey is an exploration of jazz,sex, drugs and alcohol.


Dean Moriarty: He lives every moment with great intensity to overcome the sense of void and fear.

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Sal Paradise: the narrator. It stands for the author himself.

When Sal and Dean are on the road, they feel free to pursue any dream and to partecipate in any experience.

The road: symbol of freedom

The protagonists travel through countless cities across the United States and Mexico (New York City, Denver, San Francisco, southern California, New Orleans, and many others)

Pursuit of freedom, the power of connections between individuals, and the search for meaning.

Rebellion against a repressive, materialistic and conformist society

Spontaneous and episodic

Writing ment expressing whatever came in one's mind

Kerouac developed a non-stop typing style

Unsophisticated language ("Hip Talk", the street language)

Based on spontaneity and on monosyllabic words.