The Search for Self and Identity in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road :: On The Road essays

Quest for Identity in On the Road In Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road, the author tries to convey to the audience that everybody is naturally dishonest and morally deceitful. Morals are defined by one's religion, the laws of the country, or some combination of the two. One's identity captures and plays out that individual’s moral. My morals follow the Christian beliefs, Texas state laws, and the laws of the United States. Although one's own morals can change, basic things such as stealing and murder are wrong and illegal by federal law. Numerous characters performed many acts proving this point such as Montana Slim, who says in order to get money, follow a man down an alley and rob him, or Dean, who never feels remorse for beating Mary Lou after a fight. These along with other characters display such actions that show that everyone is morally deceitful. In Part 1, Chapter 4, Sal tells Montana Slim that he only has enough money to buy some whiskey. Slim says to Sal, "I know where you can get some." "Where?" "Anywhere. You can always folly a man down an alley, can't you? ...I ain't beyond doing it when I really need some dough." (27) At this early point in the novel, Sal is still figuring out who he is and what life is like on the road. He seems like a young naive schoolboy being bullied by an older, wiser kid. Slim knows what he is talking about because he has been on the road for some time now. He has probably robbed quite a few people throughout his experience on the road. This act is, by law, wrong and dishonest. In Part 2, chapter 6, while Dean, Mary Lou, Ed Dunkel, and Sal stopped at a gas station on the way to New Orleans, Dunkel casually steals three packs of cigarettes. The way the narrator says it is that he stole them without even trying. He then justifies it by saying that they were fresh out (139). The language used is just so "non-chalant," as if stealing was no big deal. Stealing, like robbing, is illegal and morally wrong. The part that is most disturbing is that Dunkel feels that stealing cigarettes is okay, that it is necessary for survival just like food or water. Stealing food or water in order to survive can be justified, but not cigarettes.