On the Road
On the Road was Jack Kerouac’s most famous work. Practically true, albeit with pseudonyms, it was the tale of his journeys west, of the beginning of counterculture, of his experiences with jazz and drugs and sex. Often people read it for the excitement of the story, for the latent dream of every young person, to go off with nothing, to hitchhike, to reach the golden shores of fabled California on nothing except five dollars and your own merit. But, Kerouac’s archetypal status in this respect allows us to see the things he despises as contradictory to his culture of rebellion.
The moment in which Kerouac makes it most clear that the American System is causing him problems is when he is offered a job at a circus. Most people remember the passage for the famous question. “You guys are going somewhere or just going?” But, Kerouac, when offered a circus job, realises that he would feel like the devil himself if he ran a game at a circus, and the kids came hoping to win prizes, and it was all a scam and they never felt hope. Granted, Kerouac was able to avoid the job, and continue with his mission, but the thought of payment and money still appealed. But, that money that appealed to him could only be obtained by taking it away from others, giving up his adventure, and becoming a normal, functioning member of society. Even the circus, notorious for being full of unusual types of people, offers an end to the quest for individualism and a source of conformity for Kerouac.
Another episode is when Kerouac is depressed in California with a handgun, seeing all these people who he refers to as "flits." It is clear that he has been pushed into hard times. He has worked jobs he hated, he has been forced to carry a gun which he wasn't entirely content with. He thinks, albeit briefly, of shooting the people around him, showing the deep depression he has slumped into. The American System had 'beaten' him down. America drove a rebellious youth into depression, even while he was living in California. This shows the emotional pressure applied to those who want to be different.
Sometimes, the different end up in states worse than simply depressed; sometimes they are literally incarcerated by the American System in a more literal sense.
The moment in which Kerouac makes it most clear that the American System is causing him problems is when he is offered a job at a circus. Most people remember the passage for the famous question. “You guys are going somewhere or just going?” But, Kerouac, when offered a circus job, realises that he would feel like the devil himself if he ran a game at a circus, and the kids came hoping to win prizes, and it was all a scam and they never felt hope. Granted, Kerouac was able to avoid the job, and continue with his mission, but the thought of payment and money still appealed. But, that money that appealed to him could only be obtained by taking it away from others, giving up his adventure, and becoming a normal, functioning member of society. Even the circus, notorious for being full of unusual types of people, offers an end to the quest for individualism and a source of conformity for Kerouac.
Another episode is when Kerouac is depressed in California with a handgun, seeing all these people who he refers to as "flits." It is clear that he has been pushed into hard times. He has worked jobs he hated, he has been forced to carry a gun which he wasn't entirely content with. He thinks, albeit briefly, of shooting the people around him, showing the deep depression he has slumped into. The American System had 'beaten' him down. America drove a rebellious youth into depression, even while he was living in California. This shows the emotional pressure applied to those who want to be different.
Sometimes, the different end up in states worse than simply depressed; sometimes they are literally incarcerated by the American System in a more literal sense.