A Study Of On The Road From Sartrean Existentialism

Regarded as the King of the Beat Generation,Jack Kerouac became eminently distinguished for his novel—On the Road.The novel injected new vitality into the most tedious fifties in the postwar America.Up to today,it has been well welcomed by the young readers,and discussed and studied by domestic and overseas scholars from a myriad of perspectives.With French philosopher Sartre's Existentialism as theoretical basis,this thesis attempts to make an analysis of the two protagonists—Dean's and Sal's worldly feelings,their attitudes towards sex,woman and family as well as their understandings of authentic existence.First,Sartre's doctrines of "the world is absurd and life is anguish" as well as the human being's basic feelings of "solitude" and "bad faith" are applied to analyze Dean's and Sal's different worldly feelings resulting from their different family backgrounds and growing environments.Then the study is focused upon their different attitudes towards sex,woman and family,which is theoretically supported by Sartre's "man is condemned to be free" and taking responsibility for the freedom.In the light of Sartre's primary doctrine-"existence precedes essence",this thesis probes into the symbolic meanings of the "road",together with what Dean and Sal have learned during their journeys,aiming to reveal that though the road of life is shot through with the unknown,the authentic existence of a human being will be realized as long as he bravely embraces challenges,continually reshapes the self and unfailingly holds hope.