Seeking On The Road-A Character Analysis Of Sal In On The Road

On the Road is the masterpiece work of Jack Kerouac, who is one of the most important writers of the Beat Generation. Because the protagonists described live a life which is different from the life-style promoted by the mainstream society, the novel has led much controversy since its publication. However, with the passage of time, On the Road has been increasingly recognized by the readers as a representative work in anti-traditional culture and pursuit of freedom.Represented by Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise, the new generation of the vagrants starts their travel eagerly, like the pious Christians. Dean and Sal are not content to earn a living without working, but keep on working on their way of moving, and traveling in work. With extreme miqratory behavior such as drinking, drug-taking, and love-making, they vary their life experiences and hope to be saved by God. For them, nomad life does not seem sad and miserable. Adversely, they deem it an interesting way of enjoying life. Only in this way of tramp will they relieve their sense of loneliness inside and seize the time to find the freedom in life. Hence, these outsiders of society as the differentialized men will wake up and go farther to build their new ideas and beliefs, and quest the true meaning of life.The book's narrator, Sal Paradise, is seemingly too enthusiastic and naive. A careful examination of On the Road, though, shows that Kerouac deliberately exploits the naivetéof his narrator, organizes the four trips as distinct stages in the narrator's growth, and carefully borrows classic American motifs to measure the novel's incidents and characters.In the book On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Sal's constant movement with his friends made him realize who he was and what he wanted out of his life. Towards the beginning of the book, Sal went along with his friends' traveling because Sal idolized Dean. It was Sal's admiration for Dean that prevented him from seeing what Dean was really like. Instead of doing what was best for himself, Sal just followed Dean. Whenever Dean mentioned word of traveling West, Sal went with him. After a while, moving was no longer something Sal and Dean did for fun. Moving became necessary for survival. Moving was a way for Sal and Dean to avoid their problems. When they were on the road, they did not have to worry about work or their families. This made both Sal and Dean feel restless and this desperate desire to move was the one thing that bound Sal and Dean to each other. Also, Dean represented everything Sal wanted. Dean was full of confidence and was always in love, two things which Sal lacked. Sal finally does gain some confidence later on in the book when he realizes that he had the power to hurt Dean's feelings. Sal gaining more confidence in himself was one of the factors that lead to him discovering who he really was. Another factor that led to Sal building his own morals was when grew more respect the obligations and responsibility. Sal grew tired of farewells and moving in general. He realized he was not like Dean. His place was at home where he finally found a girl he loved. Sal's constant movement with Dean led to him discovering who he was and where he truly belonged.This paper aims to study, from the character analysis of Sal Paradise, the narrator of On the Road, which is to break way from the shackles of tradition and explore individual freedom. "Road life" is not only an alienation from the tradition; it is also a transcendence of the material life. The protagonists in On the Road, through their pursuit of individual freedom, their preservation of self-identity, their exploration of self-fulfillment and the pursuit of self-existence, construct a spiritual world which is widely different from the values of the mainstream society.