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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Dharma Bums, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Enlightenment and Nature
Counterculture and Freedom
Friendship
Literature and Authenticity
Inclusion, Exclusion, and Community
Summary
Analysis
Before leaving San Francisco, Ray has dinner with Japhy in Chinatown. Afterward, they see a group of Black preachers outside the restaurant and listen to one woman’s sermon. Japhy says that Christianity and Buddhism are incompatible, but Ray disagrees—he thinks that Heaven and nirvana (enlightenment) are just two words for the same thing. In fact, there’s a Buddhist temple under construction across the road; one day, Ray even went to help out the young men who were building it. But it’s a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple, so Japhy is uninterested—he only cares about Zen Buddhism. The preacher tells them that God will reward their devotion, and they part ways.
Ray and Japhy’s differing views on the compatibility of Christianity and Buddhism reflect their different visions of religion’s purpose. Ray thinks that all religions ultimately lead to the same end point, and that people should decide what kind of practices they want to follow as individuals. Meanwhile, Japhy seems to thinks that Buddhism is superior to other belief systems, so it’s important to him to fight for his belief system to reign supreme. This is also why he’s disinterested in the traditional Chinese temple: he considers Asian immigrants’ version of Buddhism less authentic than his own. Ironically enough, in his quest to find the most authentic version of Asian Buddhism, he ignores the actual Asian people around him.
Themes
Next, Ray visits Cody and his kids for a few days. Cody is devastated about Rosie’s death, and he prays constantly for her soul. After this visit, Ray catches the Midnight Ghost in San Jose. A railyard worker tells him that someone is waiting at the crossing to report train hoppers, so Ray gets on way past this crossing. He sleeps all night and wakes up in muggy LA, where he spends the day on Skid Row drinking coffee.
If Ray’s friendship with Japhy reminds him of the happiness and wisdom he stands to gain from pursuing a Buddhist lifestyle, his friendship with Cody reminds him of the other side of the coin: the agony of profound suffering, which Buddhists strive to overcome. Ray clearly aligns more with Ray’s countercultural worldview, as he abruptly gives up the relative peace and quiet of his life in California for the activity, adventure, and danger of life on the road.
Themes
Back in the trainyard, Ray meets a Buddhist hobo who cured his arthritis by standing on his head every morning. Ray tries this for his thrombophlebitis (blood clots in his legs), and it works in a few months. No doctor ever believes him, but he thinks that this proves the hobo was an enlightened Dharma Bum. When the Zipper train to Arizona passes by in the early evening, Ray climbs on top and realizes that all the train’s cars are totally enclosed, so there’s nowhere for him to sleep. He drops off the speeding train and, fortunately, lands safely on his feet. He can barely sleep in the smoggy LA night, but he stands on his head and feels much better in the morning. Then, he catches a bus east to Riverside.
The fellow Dharma Bum’s strange medical advice gives Ray more reason to think that Buddhism points the way to happiness and well-being. However, his mistake on the Zipper train also shows how dangerous and unpredictable his unconventional lifestyle can be. He is basically attaching himself to other people’s trips, so he has very little control over how he travels and has to be extremely adaptable and resourceful in order to stay safe. LA’s suffocating smog represents how cities (and perhaps modern civilization as a whole) are spiritually empty and full of vice in Ray’s eyes—in other words, it reminds him of why he’s leaving the city for nature.
Themes
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