When I first started reading this novel, I just assumed that it would be yet another school book: slightly interesting, and the sort of book that just screams to be read in an English class. I didn't expect to be caught up so wholly in the tale of Sal Paradise. Kerouac's love for language, which becomes apparent in the first few pages, drives the story and draws the reader in, even if, like me, they don't typically enjoy books of this sort.
Kerouac's passion for language shows itself in the richness of his words, the lovingly crafted descriptions of the places he saw on his travels, and simply the fiery intensity his characters convey. While writing this post, I try (and only partially succeed) to keep his fervent passion for language from derailing my train of thought and actually keeping this post on topic.
While it may sound like a cheesy, overused cop-out, I sincerely feel as though Kerouac's love and passion for language is "most evident" everywhere in the novel. Every image, every paragraph, is so chock full of rich language and fervent thoughts that I can't pick out only a few. Everywhere you read, there's another painstakingly crafted image of the American West, or of a New York City night, or anything the story mentions. Through that, you can feel the experiences and desires and hopes of Sal Paradise and his gangs of friends.
The impact of all this is, of course, an immensely engaging story. The way it was written and told, you can almost feel the frenzy that Kerouac wrote it in, that three week burst of writing that resulted in this novel. The richness of his language makes the story feel as though some one was sitting there telling it to you through a megaphone. The story sweeps you up in the language, giving itself to you as a whole, and leaving you breathless and shaking when you put it down.
Kerouac's passion for language shows itself in the richness of his words, the lovingly crafted descriptions of the places he saw on his travels, and simply the fiery intensity his characters convey. While writing this post, I try (and only partially succeed) to keep his fervent passion for language from derailing my train of thought and actually keeping this post on topic.
While it may sound like a cheesy, overused cop-out, I sincerely feel as though Kerouac's love and passion for language is "most evident" everywhere in the novel. Every image, every paragraph, is so chock full of rich language and fervent thoughts that I can't pick out only a few. Everywhere you read, there's another painstakingly crafted image of the American West, or of a New York City night, or anything the story mentions. Through that, you can feel the experiences and desires and hopes of Sal Paradise and his gangs of friends.
The impact of all this is, of course, an immensely engaging story. The way it was written and told, you can almost feel the frenzy that Kerouac wrote it in, that three week burst of writing that resulted in this novel. The richness of his language makes the story feel as though some one was sitting there telling it to you through a megaphone. The story sweeps you up in the language, giving itself to you as a whole, and leaving you breathless and shaking when you put it down.
7 comments:
Zack! I answered this question too, and I feel like you did a much better job getting MY thoughts and yours across that I did, so thanks. haha
I'm glad we both loved this book so much because, like you, I was completely convinced I would only be mildly interested in these books. :)
Even though I'm not completely done with this book, I really don't like it. That said, I think you did a really good job of describing Kerouac's passion for language. HIs descriptions both make you visualize and romanticize the places he visits. I really noticed that when he is describing the West, the way he imagines it. "I had visions of a dark and dusty night on the plains, and the faces of Nebraskan families wandering by, with their rosy children looking at everything with awe." (19)
I also really liked the way you described his passion for languages as being shown "in the richness of his words, the lovingly crafted descriptions of the places he saw..."
Zachary--"frenzy" a great word to describe Kerouac's behavior, ideas--certainly his writing style. Did you know that he supposedly sat at his desk and wrote this manuscript in a week on a single scroll of paper--no paragraphs or spaces between ideas? Frenzied, indeed!
Much like you, I didn't expect the book to be nearly as captivating as it is. I began this book, while I was away earlier this summer, right before bed, thinking that it was something that I 'should probably do,' and was shocked when I had to force myself to put the book down and go to sleep a while later.
I think it was the Kerouac's evident love of words and the way he plays language with language that drew me into the book. In the first few pages alone, descriptions such as "a sideburned hero of the snowy west," and "waiting like a longbodied emaciated Modigliani surrealist woman in a serious room," and juxtaposition such as the word "sharp" right above the word "cut" and "smoky blue" right above "evil gray" that clued me into how wonderful the use of language would be in the book; and how much I would end up loving “On the Road.”
I loved the bit about Kerouac derailing you---has he influenced you beyond writing so far? We should really talk about this. Also, I started thinking about this after Question 3, do you find that you're not understanding when you're reading this? After Ginsberg's "our local mythological references" remark, I'm still figuring out my thoughts about these peripheral thickeners and what I'm missing out on. Another thought tangent I had in response to Question 3 was how much of a role shock factor plays in this book. I had never really thought about it in those terms until after that question, and I don't really like the idea of Kerouac being in the same category as blockbuster filmmakers.
About the wordmashing Kerouac uses so much: it always feels so new, and I never really think of them as description, they cut so close to the senses, and they're such full ideas on their own.
Zack I utterly and wholeheartedly agree with you! Whenever I read older books like this I don't expect the language to be that inventive--sure it might have been at the time, but now the words old authors strung together have become cliched. I was so shocked at how fresh the language is, even today.
And it isn't cheesy at all to say that the best part of this book is every part. It's too true. Literally every sentence in this book qualifies as evidence toward his beautiful writing. Every response on this blog to this question has used different examples--because its so easy.
KEROUAC 4EVR!! <3
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