The Absurd And Revolt: The Metaphysics Of On The Road

On the Road by Jack Kerouac is a story of two young men, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty. They rebel against the conventions with their seemingly crazy behaviors. The novel is a Beat classic and has great influence on the values and life styles in America.The thesis tries to analyze this novel from Camus's philosophical concept of"absurd""revolt"and the"creation of values". Besides chapter 1 the Introduction, and Conclusion, this thesis includes three chapters, expounding the absurd heroes'journey form confronting the absurd, revolting against the absurd to creating values.The Introduction gives a brief introduction to BG, Jack Kerouac, and On the Road; has a short literature review of the study of this novel abroad and in China. What follow are the presentation of Camus's philosophy and the purpose and the significance of this study.Chapter two analyses the absurdity after explicating the concept of Camus's absurd. The protagonists meet absurdity fro-m death, self and society. Confronting absurd is the starting point of the search. Knowing the absurdity of existence, the absurd heroes begin their revolt on the road.Chapter three discusses how the absurd heroes revolt against the absurd. From Camus, absurd man has no prigiven rules, daring to say no and trying to live life to its full. The absurd heroes in On the Road deny the prevailing middle-class value and authority. They expand their life experiences with sex, drug addiction and fast driving. Besides, they strive to get identical recognition by joining the subculture.Chapter four explores the values behind the revolt. First, the values for selves are their searching for identity, freedom and authentic living. And then there is value for the whole human humanity. Their stories show that choosing to revolt and finding true self, living authentically is possible and necessary. Based on the above analysis, the author draws the conclusion that the absurd heroes meet absurd in existence. They try to revolt, shoulder the responsibility of being a man and at last create values for selves and the whole human being.