American Literature (H) Margaret Gray

mgray@idyllwildarts.org

Honors Am Lit, Summer Reading Assignment: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Firstly, please do not watch the film based on On the Road (or at least wait until you’ve finished the book to do so, if you must). Annotate as you read, and use the questions below to guide your reading. Plan on discussing these questions in class. Assignment: Please respond to 5 of the 8 questions. I expect your responses to be 1-3 paragraphs in length. Some answers may be longer or shorter than others, just be complete and use evidence from the text, properly cited, to support your point.Due: At the beginning of our first class meeting

1. Sal Paradise sees himself as an outsider in America. Do you think On the Road remains the story of an outsider?

2. Sal refers to Dean as an “angel,” a “saint,” a “goof,” and an “idiot.” Which is true?

3. What does Sal think being free means? Do you think his ideas of freedom are accurate? Are they still applicable today?

4. Discuss Kerouac’s use of description of color throughout the novel.

5. Are the characters in On the Road happy in the present? Does this change throughout the novel?

6. Kerouac insisted that the Beats were really about a spiritual movement. Explain how spirituality is present (or not) in On the Road.

7. Bop plays a major role in the novel. Listen to recordings of the musicians referenced in the novel (one tune mentioned is “The Hunt” by Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray). How does hearing the music change your understanding of the characters?

8. Ultimately, Sal and Camille are the only characters that seem to sympathize with Dean. Do they see something others miss, or has Dean conned them?