On the Road Essay: The Motif of Inadequacy of the Language

The Motif of Inadequacy of the verbiage in On the Road Henry Glass, a kid clear out of a penitentiary in Indiana who takes a raft to Denver with Sal Paradise, tells him about his brush with the Bible in jail, and then explains the dangers of the phenomenon of significance (I firmly believe that Kerouac intended no destingstructionist subtext in the personation nor is it likely to be an neo-Marxist attempt to explicate the class conflict mingled with the signifiers and the signified) Anybody thats leaving jail soon and starts talking about his release epoch is alludeing to the other fellas that have to stay. We will take him by the neck and say, Dont signify with me Bad thing, to signify--yhear me? (256) The use of the learned news show by an eighteen form old jail-bird is truly funny. The comic effect here is based on the discrepancy between the standard meaning and contextual use of the word to signify. There is a number of episodes in the novel with the same conforma tion of humor in the opening chapter of the novel, which describes his first visit to New York, doyen comes up with some absolutely moronic tirades. E.g., talking to Marilou, he mentions the want to postpone all those leftover things concerning our personal lovethings and at once bring down forecasting of specific workplans. . . (Kerouac 5). Or, when asked directly by Sal, whether he needed to con him for a place to stay, he starts talking about Shopenhauers dichotomy at heart realized (ibid.). Deans (mis)use of language can be somewhat redeemed by his intellectual virginity and his genuine desire to be like his high-browed friend indeed, be earnest is important, and can excuse almost anything. But what should one think about the way Carl... ...rist--the heroes of the generation--never published (Krupat 407). Neither did Neil Cassidy, the silent genius backside the movement but he by the example of his life provided the nonpareil which made Kerouacs gospel true. Works Cit ed Ashida, Margaret E. Frogs and Frozen window pane. Prairie Schooner 34 (1960) 199-206. Blackburn, William. Han Shan Gets Drunk with the Butchers Kerouacs Buddhism in On the Road, The Dharma Bums, and Desolation Angels. Literature East and West 21.1-4 (1977) 9-22. Suzuki, D.T. An introduction to Zen Buddhism. Ed. Christmas Humphreys fwd. C.G. Jung. London Rider, 1983. Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York Penguin, 1979. Krupat, Arnold. Dean Moriarty as Saintly Hero. On the Road. Text and Criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed.Scott Donaldson. New York Penguin, 1979. 397-411.