Of course, not everyone is going to be convinced by our short answer, so now that we have that off our chests, let us put it another way to you: This book is more than just a book. The short answer goes like this: (ahem) Why?! Because it’s On the Road, one of the most quintessentially American novels ever written, that’s why! Pardon us? What’s that? Why should you care about On the Road? Well, Shmoopers, we have two answers for this one: one long, one short. What is On the Road About and Why Should I Care? Heck, this book is so famous, even the manuscript went on tour. The novel unfolds like the most epic travel guide ever, which is just one of the many reasons that it’s one of the most important books in American literature.

They ramble, they cavort, and, most of all, they keep moving, all in way that seems to indicate that it’s most definitely the journey-not the destination-that counts. The story follows Sal Paradise and his pal Dean Moriarty as they crisscross the country, venturing even into Mexico in a quest for the next big adventure. That was no real coincidence either, as many of the characters are in fact based on real, live figures in the Beat movement, like Allen Ginsberg (represented as “Carlo Marx” in the book) and William S.

More importantly, it put Jack Kerouac, and the rest of his Beat buddies, squarely on the literary map. Published in 1957, On the Road was both a critical and commercial success. What? You’ve never done that before? Well, maybe we get a little carried away sometimes, but after you finish this book, you’ll totally get where we’re coming from. In the world of Shmoop, the road is about rushing headfirst toward the horizon, arms outstretched, yelling “Okay, world! Here I am! Show me whatchu got!” Urn:oclc:800940400 Republisher_date 20120719153231 Republisher_operator Scandate 20120718164233 Scanner your idea of being On the Road involves Willie Nelson or Chevy Chase, then, buddy, you’re way, way off. OL17740193W Page-progression lr Page_number_confidence 96.15 Pages 262 Ppi 500 Related-external-id urn:isbn:0847989887 Urn:lcp:onroad25thannive00jack:epub:b470143c-988e-4c5d-8c5b-b525123c12ec Extramarc Brown University Library Foldoutcount 0 Identifier onroad25thannive00jack Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3jw9jp2h Isbn 0451131185ĩ780451131188 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary_edition Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 12:21:48 Boxid IA1611003 Boxid_2 CH108401 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Edition 25.

On the road by jack kerouac