Writing Sample

Wes Hartig
On the Road
9/26/2008


“Restlessness is discontent—and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.” This insight by Thomas Edison applies to the Beat lifestyle and philosophy in the mid 20th century. At a time when our country strived to return to the resting state of pre-WWII, the restlessness of the Beat generation had just begun. During the 1950s, America began buying goods that were not available during the war, which brought expansion, job creation, and prosperity. This growth and prosperity allowed men and women to assume their traditional roles, but the Beat generation did not conform to these norms. The novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac portrays this friction between groups through the tale of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty’s cross-country excursions. The middle and working class and the Beat lifestyle’s views clashed on several aspects of everyday life including attitude, self-expression and portrayal, occupations, and relationships, but the two factions eventually merge in the end.

As most Americans conformed to the norm of society in the 1950s, the Beat generation constantly challenged these norms by going out of their way to shock the mainstream culture and contrast amongst the crowd. The mid-20th century working class adopted the attitude to set the bar high and work toward their goals. This attitude represents direction, focus, and hard-earned success. The Beat lifestyle didn’t adopt these traits. For example, when Sal, Dean, and Mary Lou were on their way back to San Francisco for the second time, Sal walks into a grocery store and stole some bread and cheese with no remorse. It does not cross his mind that he did not work for the money to pay for the goods. The Beat lifestyle promoted self-preservation and a “whatever it takes” mentality. The desperation of this lifestyle is consistently seen throughout the story. Sal has to hitchhike constantly on his initial trip to the west. The notion of self-respect and self-dignity is neglected by the Beat lifestyle and this attitude is not consistent with the working class. Dean never has a true direction in life and he constantly says, “I dig life.” Another difference in attitude between the two factions is the notion of risk. Each day Sal and Dean put their lives at risk in some manner, whether it’s through picking up hitchhikers, drinking heavily, or smoking marijuana.

The way the Beat generation express and portray themselves are imperative to their cause: to challenge the norms of society. During the 1950s, clothing was fairly conservative. Men usually wore flannel suits and women wore dresses with high heels. Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty wouldn’t be caught dead in a flannel suit. Dean even drove for awhile completely naked just to see the reaction of the truck drivers he passed. Rock and roll surged in the fifties with Elvis Pressley dominating the scene. The Beat culture rallied around the jazz scene as Sal and Dean constantly bounced from one jazz place to the next all over the country. The two really take to a blind pianist named George Shearing who Dean raves about. The Beat generation expressed themselves through spontaneity and spirituality. Carlo Marx and Dean have scheduled talks in the middle of the night where they sit right across from each other and talk about abstract topics. In the movie on Jack Kerouac, we see how Kerouac separated himself from society by abandoning his broken Catholic beliefs and practicing Zen Buddhism.

Job security was an important issue to the working class in the mid-20th century. In 1955, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) merged to form the AFL-CIO, which represented 15 million workers nationwide. In On the Road, Sal’s aunt represents his rock. She is a respectable, kind woman who offers Sal refuge and continuously bails Sal out of trouble. On the other hand, Sal has no job security nor does he seek any. Sal constantly moves from job to job attempting to scrape up enough money for his next meal. Instead of accepting an occupation as a major part of one’s life, Sal and all his friends see work as a nuisance and a constraint. The Beat generation performed each job with cynicism and that caused for high turnover. In On the Road, Old Bull Lee talks about his job as an exterminator in Chicago, a bartender in New York, a summons server in Newark, and a teacher in New Orleans. Instead of seeking a stable source of income, Old Bull Lee and the others sought an unstable source of entertainment.
The common belief in the 1950s was that the man should be the breadwinner and the woman should be the bread maker. The women of the working class shared a few characteristics with the women of On the Road. For example, Marylou would sew Dean’s socks and make him food, while Camille stayed in San Francisco and cared for their children. At one point in the story, Carlo Marx asks Dean and Sal why they treat women like garbage and the two just giggle. This shows their lack of respect to women. Overall, women put up with a lot more than they do today. There were significant differences between the way the women of the working class and the women of Beat were treated. Firstly, the Beat lifestyle placed little emphasis on commitment within a relationship. Dean constantly romances with multiple girls in the same night. On New Year’s Eve, he has relations with three women in one night. Dean’s never afraid to hit on women in front of Marylou. For example, when Sal, Dean, Marylou, and the Dunkel’s arrive in New Orleans, Dean goes nuts over all of the pretty women there. It might be acceptable if other women were not in his presence, but Dean acts on his impulses with no restrictions. Dean is not the only one making rash decisions with women. Sal meets several women throughout his escapades and falls for them fast and hard. For example, Sal meets Terry on a bus to L.A. and the next day the two seem in love.

Many of the differences between the working class and the Beat lifestyle portray Sal and Dean in a negative light, but some of their differences are favorable. Throughout the 1950s, there was an influx of Mexicans, Japanese, and blacks. These minorities were the target of discrimination involving employment and property ownership. The Beat lifestyle welcomed minorities. Not only did Sal and Dean welcome minorities, but they traveled to Mexico. While in Mexico, they meet a man named Victor and Dean says, “That Victor is the sweetest, gonest, franticest, little bangtail cat I’ve ever in all my life met. Just look him, look at his cool slow walk.” Dean doesn’t judge Victor based on his race, but embraces Victor’s differences with awe. Dean’s reaction represents openness, which was not prevalent in mainstream culture.

On the Road’s popularity has spanned several decades based on its excitement, passion, and timeless lessons. Jack Kerouac takes Sal and Dean on an emotional and literal rollercoaster. No one can predict their next move, not even Sal or Dean. One minute their 1949 Hudson zooms across the plains at 100 mph and the next Sal’s on the side of the road with no ride and no money. The unpredictability gives On the Road a mysterious appeal.

Passion represents the number one contributor to On the Road’s success. Passion is timeless. The quest we all seek for happiness and success was sought by our parents and their parents as well. Sal leaves New York seeking inspiration to pursue his two passions: writing and love. Many people would evaluate Sal as a failure, but I wouldn’t agree with that conclusion. Is the failure Sal, who constantly perseveres hardships in search of happiness and fulfillment? Or is the real failure the man who dreads getting out of bed every day to go to his job, where he performs routine tasks with no enjoyment or self-fulfillment? I would choose the latter. In a sense, we should look at Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise as role models. Let’s face it, at some point we have all wanted to drop everything and start fresh. Reading about Sal and Dean’s adventures allows us to live out our passions through their experience.

The lessons learned from On the Road span multiple eras as well. Throughout the story, we observe Sal’s actions and thoughts of chasing his passion of love and writing. Although Sal’s means to the end meets several road blocks and detours, Sal subconsciously sets a goal and knows what he wants. Dean, on the other hand, acts as if he is in a Chinese torture device, where all of his limbs are getting pulled in different direction. Dean’s endeavors spread him too thin and his blind actions catch up to him. Instead of always being with different girls, Dean experiences loneliness toward the end of the book. Since Dean was constantly moving around, he feels as though it is hard to fit in anywhere. The underlying lesson is to dream big and take the necessary risks to reach that dream.

In On the Road by Jack Kerouac, we witness the disparities between the working class and the Bean lifestyle of the 1950s, which include attitude, self-expression and portrayal, occupations, and relationships. We also witness Sal get knocked down by life’s hardships and rejected on a consistent basis. We see Sal constantly get back up and pursue love with a purpose. In the end, all of Sal’s heartfelt attempts pay off as he finds Laura, the true love of his life. Sal embodies the notion of risk-taking. Although Sal’s actions often involve great risk, they also offer great reward. As Henry Glasgow once said, “There is danger in reckless change, but greater danger in blind conservatism.”

My Years as a Dayton Flyer

As an 18 year-old from Iowa, I came into my first year at the University of Dayton without any friends or any direction. I walked onto the varsity tennis team and immediately met a great group of guys. My first year consisted of three activities: schoolwork, tennis, and my new fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. The middle of my sophomore year I stopped playing tennis with the mindset of becoming more involved in other activities UD has to offer. I joined the newly created UD Triathlon Club, served the class of 2010 as the Junior Senator, and became more involved in Sigma Phi Epsilon as the VP of Finance. Through these activities, I was able to develop some great relationships and experience a different type of learning.

As an upperclassman, my focus shifted toward getting the most out of the opportunities within my majors, Entrepreneurship and Finance. I have been able to experience and perhaps contribute to the growth of the Crotty Center for Entrepreneurship through participating in the Junior Entrepreneur Mentor program, the Everest Real Estate Challenge, and the UD Business Plan Competition. After applying and being turned away from the Davis Center for Portfolio Management three times, I was fortunate enough to join the Flyer Investments team my senior year. In the midst of the largest economic recession since the Great Depression, it was an exciting period as our team allocated an additional $1 million of the University of Dayton’s endowment.

All of these experiences have molded me into who I am today. I will take all I have gleaned from UD with me as I begin my career as a Commercial Associate with Fifth Third Bank on July 12th, 2010.