Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Focus people!
While I applaud free discussion, and certainly encourage a dialectic, I wish we could get off the whole "this book is good" thing and begin to analyze it like literary critics. Let's get serious. From this point on, there will be 1. no name calling and 2. some serious work done on this page. Do you think you can post your ideas, or would you like me to give you a detailed list of questions? Let me know tomorrow.
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8 comments:
no questions please. personally it think its nicer to post our own ideas
Hey it's Samantha Rosenbaum and I do not know if I am doing this right but I will continue on doing what I'm doing. Ms. Siegal was right this book is a very quick read though! I do not know how I only read 12 pages for an hour the first day because the next day I read up to page 60 in only 70 minutes! The book 'On the Road' has a lot of Walt Whitman quantum ideas so far about change and movement. Sal is always going, always needs to be doing something. I do not think there was one chapter where Sal sat for a minute! Although in the book its mentions he gets tired a lot, it never really mentions him lying down for a long period of time. But that’s what I like about the book and the character of Sal, he just keeps going! It is even quoted in chapter eight that Sal says to himself " I just won't sleep, there were so many other interesting things to do". I also like Jack Kerovac word choice in the book. The words are really simple yet work well for the idea of movement. I really enjoyed how Sal compared his destination, Denver to the Promised Land in chapter three. Not only was that hilarious but it made the reader feel how determined he was to go to Denver. I also liked the quote in chapter three that the owner of the carnival said which was "You boys going to get somewhere, or just going?'. I'm not really sure what it means exactly but it is just a quote that made me really think. I also think that quote describes Sal’s intentions of traveling, Sal is trying to get somewhere (Denver) but he's kind of just taking one day at a time, taking in life. One memory of Sals' in chapter four was so funny. It was the one about his old acquaintance Big Slim Hazard who saw a ho-bo when he was younger and told his mother "Ma, I want to be a ho-bo someday." I just it just got to me because first of all it was just something that only a kid would say and also growing up in a town where my friends and peers want to be lawyers, doctors, and all high end jobs and here 50 years ago in this fictional book this kid wanted to be (and later did become) a ho-bo. It was great! What was really weird in chapter eight was when I, the reader, found out that Carlo keep a journal of everything that Dean did and said. That made me think of Carlo as a strange and sad man, which is maybe what Kerouse wants the reader to think. I have a question about the 'machine' that Dean and Carlo talked about in chapter eight. What is the 'machine'? I really enjoyed the quote "Beyond the back door was a view of mountainsides in the moonlight. I let out a yahoo. The night was on." in chapter nine. I felt when Sal let out the yahoo it really expressed his emotions on life and he just wanted to get it out to the beautiful mountains. Also expression his emotions 'opened up' the night, it got the night to begin. I have another question this time if concerns why Ray Rawlins punch Argentinian twice ? I know I the book it mentions him as a wild one but I do not understand his reasons for punching and re-punching Argentinian. I enjoyed the quote "We where on the roof of America and all we could was yell, I guess---" in chapter nine. It reminded me of my friends and I today, we feel like we are on top of the world but then again were teenagers so could 'express our emotions' in any way but sometimes we get consequences. Last but not least I really liked Sal's thought on life 'for life is holy and every moment is precious.' in chapter ten. Although the 'every moment is precious' part is a little corny it really showed me another part of Sal. Sal up to that point in the book never seemed to appreciate life, more he was trying to get away from it but that quote showed readers that he does enjoy life.
Hey it's Samantha Rosenbaum again. I am commenting on chapters eleven and twelve. I know that we are not supposed to say if we like it or not but I must say that I did not like chapter eleven so much. Out of all the chapters I found this one boring. Anyway one part about chapter eleven that I did like was when Sal quoted "he at least had learned to laugh almost better than anyone in the world, and I saw all the fun we were going to have." This quote shows how one characteristic of you can determine what one thinks of you. I do not know if I'm saying that right but I can relate to Sal. If a person is happy than I will know that that person and I will have a good time that day, but if the person if upset than I know that person and I will probably have a bad time that day. A question that I have concerning chapter eleven is what is or where is Okinawa? It says on page 65 "Most of them were bound for Okinawa." Is Okinawa a good thing or a bad thing? The conversation “Why do you have to steal all the time?" “The world owes me a few things, that's all." between Sal and Remi really (in my opinion) showed what kind of a person Remi is. His opinion on stealing showed this back round and the way he feels towards the world. Personally I do not believe two wrongs make a right but it appears that this is Remi's concept. Chapter twelve I loved! What i thought was really funny and really sad at the same time was how Sal thought Terry was a hustler and how Terry thought Sal was a pimp. It's funny because they both thought they were getting them into trouble but it was also sad because it just shows how no one trusts any one. They both liked each other and yet they kept an eye on each other because they were 'scared' of the other one.
Hey it's Samantha Rosenbaum. I don't know why my comments aren't showing up on the webpage like everyone else but I will still continuing posting and figure it out on Monday. I just finished part one and I can not believe Sal is back where he started from! He traveled from New Jersey to California to New Jersey. I guess everyone has to go home once in a while. I have two questions about chapter thirteen. First question is what is a SP? My second question is why did Sal just decided to leave to New York with out Terry. I know that it would of been complicated for Sal and Terry to travel together to New York but that was their goal. It seems like the morning when Terry delivered Sal's breakfast in the farm house that he just spontaneously decided to head for New York. Was it the fact that he knew the money was there? I was a little confused about this event. I also really liked the character Rickey, Terry's brother. Although he was a drunk and seemed to accomplish nothing, he really added interest to the chapter. The quote "We're all in this together" in chapter thirteen was a great quote for Sal. Sal felt so alone and 'non-connected', so the fact that Ponzo said this to him (who was a stranger to Ponzo at the time) really made Sal (I believe) feel good. The statement " I swore and swore. I looked up at the dark sky and prayed to God for a better break in life and a better chance to do something for the little people I loved." by Sal really made me angry. If he really wanted to make money than he should try to settle down. It doesn't have to be in New Jersey it can be in a place he likes, even loves. I thought he was on the road for experience, to 'live' not to make money. Plus he if he wants to accomplish something he should depend on himself to do it not God. "I felt like a million dollars; I was adventuring in the crazy American night." stated by Sal was an amazing quote. I agreed with this quote, the feeling of being out and adventuring is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I was really confused in chapter fourteen who the Ghost of Susquehanna is. I'm pretty sure he is a ho-bo and crazy but how did Sal encounter him? I loved the thought of Sal's in chapter fourteen that went 'I might have gotten a ride with an affluent fat man who'd say, "Let’s stop at this restaurant and have some pork chops and beans." No, I had to get a ride that morning with a maniac who believed in controlled starvation for the sake of health.' I thought it was hilarious.
Hey it's Samantha Rosenbaum. Part two was great! Some part could of been removed and were non-necessary but otherwise I loved reading about all these new characters, especially Bull. Part one and two are different but they both carry the concept of 'going'. "I just go along" quoted by Ed. I really enjoyed reading this part of the book because I like the feeling that Marylou, Dean, and Sal really had no direction. I mean they did have a destination (San Francisco) but they did not know what to expect along the way. For example when the car got suck in the mud while Sal was driving. Although it was not an adventure they were prepare for that and it resulted in misery for all three of them. I must say I did not like the character Rocky, Sal's brother. Sal is such a strange character and I would think that his brother would be interesting, but Rocky was a plain and boring character. Anyway I am confused why Carlo Marx did not talk for the first two hours when he meet up with Sal and Dean. I must say that Dean's views on proving that God exists are really confusing. Sal even thinks that they don't make sense. But I think because of his point of view on god just shows another view of Dean, as a spiritual guy not just all crazy. "We only live once" quoted by Sal. I really thought that quote describe Sal’s adventures with Marylou and Dean. They only live once they might as well go and experience. I really like the character of Bull, like I said before. 'The things he learned were what he considered it be and called "the facts of life,"' a quote describing Bull. I like Bull as a character, I like the fact that every one respects him (even Dean) and I like that he is a slow, mellow guy. It’s pretty ironic that his character was placed in the book because its all about movement and going and Bull is a pretty laid back, slow pace guy. The quote 'What I accomplished by coming to Frisco I don't know." quoted by Sal was what I as the reader expected him to think. Sal did not have any goals to come to San Francisco, just to take a road trip until school starts again. I didn't think he wanted to accomplish anything. I know he wanted at some points to be with Marylou but as the trip went on he knew it was not going to happen (that was his only real idea).
Hey it's Samantha Rosenbaum. Today in class Ms. Siegel told us to focus on youth, tomorrow, and togetherness in the next six chapters. "The Novel that defined a generation" a quote that is posted on the back of On the Road. Although this quote may describe some generation I do not think it describes the youth generation. All the characters expect the children of the few women characters (Terry, Camille, Frankie) are all in their twenties. Being twenty is NOT old at all but when I think of youth I think of teenagers and children not married men and men out of college. I was able to focus on the idea of tomorrow in the previous chapters. The idea of tomorrow was found when the rich girl gave Sal a hundred dollars for him to go to San Francisco from Denver. He just went to San Francisco with out even thinking. He just took off, he went, and his 'problems' would be solved tomorrow. The idea of tomorrow also appears when Dean told Sal the story of when he took bad tea. The first day Dean felt amazing but the next day (tomorrow) he faced reality. I found the idea of 'all in this together'. The idea of Dean and Sal in something together was said by Dean “Sal, the time has fi-nally come for us." The idea of together was also shown in the statement "All these women were spending months of loneliness and womanliness together, chatting about the madness of men." When Sal and Dean decided that they would sick together by finding Dean's dad, going to New York, than going to Italy was also showing the idea of they were in this together. "Now we had a number of circumstances to deal with in Denver" also proved the idea of togetherness: Sal and Dean dealt with the same things. Anyway I must say Chapter four in part three was very confusing. I felt chaos in that chapter, I as the reader never really developed or understood what Dean and Sal were doing or going or enjoying. I was also confused about the driver (the 'fag') who was taking Sal and Dean on the road. Were they hitch hiking or did they pay for car service?
Hey it’s Samantha Rosenbaum. I have a few questions about the previous chapters we had to read tonight. First question is concerning Chapter seven when a phone call came for Sal and he said it was from his women friend complaining or from his middle cousin proving he is a con-man from the letter. I am so confused about this little situation. Another question is concerning chapter eight, was Sal and Dean hired as a chauffer to drive those to college boys? Anyway the quote "You and I, Sal, we'd dig the whole world with a car like this because, man, the road must eventually lead to the whole world" quoted by Dean. I think that this quote really describes the intentions of Dean and Sal while they are ON the road. When they are in their SAD moods they do not feel this way all the time. What I thought was ironic was the statement said by Sal "Ah, man, we're sure going home now." This was ironic to me because of the book's idea of going and now Dean and Sal have this idea of a place called 'Home'. "West was accomplished and done." a thought of Sals'. I really did not understand where Sal was coming from. I personally believe Sal and Dean did not accomplish anything in the west. I mean they did not have any major goals so I guess they couldn't of accomplish anything because they had nothing in mind. The fact that Dean made Chicago from Denver in seventeen hours really shows Dean character; hyper, fast, and crazy. "Herer were the children of the American bop night" this quote in chapter ten has two major themes of the book. First of all it has the theme of America and it has the theme of youth. I found this quote really sumed up Jack Kerouse intentions.
Hey it's Samantha Rosenbaum. One that I found hilarious was when Dean and Sal had the following conversation "You me we'll end up old bums?" "Why not, man? Of course we will if we want to, and all that. There's no harm ending that way." I just thought it was so funny because they thought of the opinion of retiring as bums. In this day and age people retire by going to Florida and planning a small goal, but Dean has the intentions of becoming a bum when he's older. There were some parts of the song that Sal sang in chapter two that really described his life for the past few years. The song consisted parts such as "Ain't no home for me" and "Home I'll never be." These two segments of the song are very true about Sals' past few years. Although Sal always has his Aunt's house in New Jersey and later Long Island to go to, he never really has a true home, or a place where he feels settled. That is why Sal keeps traveling because he can not go back to place called home. A thought of Sal's was "I was having a wonderful time and the whole world opened up before me because I had no dreams." In an unusual way the fact that Sal has no dreams lets him do what his doing (traveling across the country, partying, etc). If Sal did have major goals than he would have to start maturing but since he has no dreams he can pretty much do whatever he wants because he has nothing to be disappointed of. "O sad American night!" This sentence holds two major themes or ideas of the novel. The sentence has the idea of sadness and it has the idea of America. Dean said "I want to get on and on-- this road drives me!!" This quote is really ironic. Usually humans drive on roads but in this sentence Dean is figuratively saying that this road drives him. This means that the idea of movement and traveling moves Dean to do what he is doing. Another sentence quoted by Dean was "I'd just like to get naked and roll and roll in that jungle." I think that this sentence really describes Dean. The sentence shows that Dean wants to be his true self (being naked) and shows his personality (he will try doing anything with out knowing the danger; jungle). A really sad part of the book was the whore house in Mexico. The girls who worked in the whore house were so young but they had to do it for their families. It was so sad to see what people have to do to support their families. I only have one question; did Dean get to New York by the truck? And if he did get to New York from the truck than (even if they did not have the money) why couldn't Sal and Laura go with him?
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