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On the Road Study Guide

by Jack Kerouac

On the Road study guide contains a biography of Jack Kerouac, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Jack Kerouac's On the Road is the defining work of the Beat Generation, a youth subculture of the 1940s and '50s that rejected the conformism of its time. It is a book of ideas and characters more than plot, and through the journeys of the main characters, the reader sees a picture of rebellious American youth and their attempts to subvert the cultural mandates they had been given in order to conform to white middle-class life. Kerouac's prose emulates jazz and the energy of the time. The book documents the four cross-country journeys of two friends, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty--the fictional alter-egos of Kerouac and the Beat writer Neil Cassady--and their cast of friends, acquaintances, wives, and lovers.

The book begins with Sal…

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On the Road Essays and Related Content

 

Posted By michael r #224783 at Jan 14, 2012 6:39 PM

 

Posted By sonia i #176199 at Mar 27, 2011 8:06 AM

How does Sal travel from Oakland to Bakersfield?

How does Sal travel from Oakland to Bakersfield?
Who gives him a lift?
What do we know of the narrator's sensations?
Why does Sal go to the bus station?
What is Sal's mood when he gets on the bus?
Who becomes his companion in this part of his wanderings?

On the Road | Answers: 1

 

Posted By tim m #67917 at Nov 06, 2008 6:57 PM

is "on the road" an adventure story?

what are some of the ways that "on the road" is an adventure story?

On the Road | Answers: 1