The Road and the American Experience

Introduction

The year 1945 saw the end of the fighting of World War II. Soldiers returning to America had witnessed some of the harshest combat the world had ever known. The sheer amount of casualties is a testament to the extreme horror and brutality witnessed by these men. Returning home, they sought the quiet and normalcy that they had left behind—regardless of whether that had been their reality before they had left for war. This quest for normalcy, combined with the advent of the suburbs and a zeal for material possessions, led to a new lifestyle ideal—a new "American dream."

The idea of an "American dream" was by no means new; versions of it had been around since Europeans first settled the New World. In general, it involves some degree of "success," usually material success. In the 19th century it became associated with immigrants coming to America, looking for "the land of opportunity" and its "streets paved with gold." (This is still a common image of the United States.) But in the aftermath of World War II, the "American dream" took on a new look: the returning soldier, leading a nice, uneventful life with a submissive wife and the newest and best material possessions (kitchen appliances, televisions, and automobiles being some examples of the technological advances that became "must-haves" for the suburban life (Horton, 2005).

However, not all returning soldiers felt this need for material wealth and success. Some aimed for a more aesthetic, pleasure-driven lifestyle. Very little mention is made of Sal Paradise's military career in On the Road, but we are told that he was in the war, in the navy. The attitudes and experiences described in On the Road are a reaction to the sense of normalcy craved by the middle classes. Sal and his friends are also searching for contentment, but in a very different way (Kozol, 1988).

Discussion

This anti-middle-class stance is manifested most clearly in the character of Dean Moriarty (based on Kerouac's friend Neal Cassidy). By having Dean is the son of a bum, and having him live the life of a tramp, Kerouac is making a clear statement about the unimportance of material things. Dean rarely has his own place to live, his car is the only thing of value he has ever owned, and he does not seem to make any concentrated effort to make a living. Yet he is viewed by Sal as a symbol of freedom and happiness; Sal aspires to be like Dean, to be thrilled by life without material concerns. If the American dream is a quest to find happiness through the acquisition of material goods, then Neal is the anti-American dream—happiness through the denial of materialism. If this is the case, then it must be noted that as the novel wears on Sal becomes increasingly disillusioned with Dean's lifestyle. He begins to see it as immature, self-centred, and indifferent to the needs, wants, and comforts of others (Posnanski, 2007).

It can be read as Sal maturing, wanting ...