Previous
Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
A reader might expect that a novel about young men hitchhiking across North America to drink, party, meet women, and visit friends would be light and cheerful. But On the Road has moments that trigger profound frustration, sadness, and reflection in readers. Sal's reflections on social norms and attempts to either buck or adhere to these mores make the novel often feel hopeless.
Additionally, the characters' irresponsibility, especially Dean's, can provoke frustration. For instance, Dean spends the novel searching, both actively and passively, for his father. Yet Dean himself abandons not only his many lovers, some of whom he marries or promises to marry, but the children produced by his relationships. Even as those children need his emotional and financial support, he borrows money to travel and party with Sal, who does nothing to encourage Dean to change his lifestyle and rarely criticizes Dean's choices within the narration of the book. Nor is Dean the only character who acts this way.
The characters' disregard for others, criminal activity, and purposeless travel might make the reader disdainful of Sal and his friends. But the novel itself also belies the perception that Sal is careless or unfeeling. For instance, a more sympathetic reader might argue that, by noticing and recording the obstacles the abandoned women face, Sal proves himself an observant and caring man. The same characters who behave badly are also often caring and deeply loyal, Sal especially. Readers may also have more sympathy for these seemingly irresponsible characters because of the time period the book is set within: some 21st-century Americans look back on the late 1940s as deeply racist and misogynist, as well as disturbingly conformist.
Within this framework, Sal's willingness to associate with and befriend Black people is admirable and ahead of his time. Sal also associates with drug users, beggars, and others who could not or would not be part of polite society. On the Road is at times virulently homophobic, but (although it's not obvious from the 1957 version of the text) most of Kerouac's male acquaintances and friends at this time of his life experimented with homosexuality, including Neal Cassady (represented in the novel by Dean Moriarty). Additionally, Kerouac's close friends Allen Ginsberg (in the novel called Carlo Marx) and William Burroughs (Old Bull Lee) were openly gay. With this information in mind, readers might interpret Sal's homophobia as self-loathing, or as an insider's grim idea of humor.
Sal's disdain for the authorities, and his determination to generate his own meaning rather than adhere to the purpose of life as outlined by others, can be read as uncommon virtues. Many readers will find themselves alternating between disgust and admiration for the characters' actions and beliefs.
Related Themes:
