On the Road
(Jack Kerouac)

It is the winter of 1947 and Dean Moriarty has just been released from jail, married, and is on the loose in New York City. He meets a man named Sal Paradise who is a writer with a highly intriguing and intelligent bunch of friends.

Sal is somewhat infatuated with the idea of Dean, and they become extremely close friends. Over the next three years, Sal and Dean make many trips across the country to see one another and encounter many different, extremely colorful, characters.

They travel east and west and even as far south as New Orleans and Mexico. Along the journey, Sal and Dean get into a lot of trouble, work odd jobs to fund their trips, and form various relationships.

The real story here lies in the details, not in the plot itself. The characters, the various settings, the personal growth, and the relationships that are formed and broken are what make the story special.

Dean is reckless and spontaneous, a womanizer, and a man who cannot seem to find himself no matter how hard he looks. He falls in love quickly and out of love just as quickly, marries various women, has children all over the country, and leaves as fast as he came.

Dean is a drifter and will always be just that, whereas Sal learns a lot about himself. Sal was mightily intrigued by Dean and his spontaneous way of live when they first met, and, along the journey, he grows as a person.

Sal becomes confident in himself and his ability to truly live and survive in situations he never thought he would be in. He becomes a much stronger man along the way and eventually finds love.