Journeys of Jack Kerouac and Bill Bryson - Cultural, Personal and Psychological - Essay Example

Journeys of Jack Kerouac and Bill Bryson: Cultural, Personal and Psychological Introduction In the first place the travel writers Jack Kerouac and Bill Bryson explore the landscape of America that reveal a lot about the people and their cultures, but the undertones of their journeys necessarily signify their journeys into a realm that is veiled from the physical sight of human. Whereas they travelled around the country physically, their readers are allowed to peep into their minds as well as the psychology of human mind through the author’s experiences. The readers of these two authors are continuously warned to be aware of the spiritual growth of the authors. But the spiritual growth of the authors in their writings is visible in their attachment with nature. Therefore nature plays a significant role to provide them with the scope to brood, assess and orientate their positions in the nature that essentially turns to be the sign of God’s magnitude. Also their journeys turn to be a cultural one on the point that they assess themselves not only from their cultural view but also from the vantage point of the people of any culture they encounter on their journeys. Spirituality in Bryson and Kerouac’s Journeys A close analysis of the writings of these two authors apparently reveals the fact that the description of Kerouac’s journey is the spontaneous interaction of human mind –that is lost in the wilderness and novelty of its surround, whereas Bryson’s description can never transgress the boundary of the conscious assessment of the facts of nature. Bryson carefully inspects, scrutinizes and looks into the veil of what reality offers. He appears to be a careful critic of what he sees in his journey, as his careful observation is evident in these line from “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail”, one of his famous travel books, "I have long known that it is part of God's plan for me to spend a little time with each of the most stupid people on earth, and Mary Ellen was proof that even in the Appalachian woods I would not be spared." (Bryson, 1998, p. 23) On the hand Kerouac explores into the realm of a beatific mind bewildered with the joy of spirit, as Nancy Sawyer Fox says, “On the Road’s action is a spiritual quest for a higher meaning in life” (Fox, n.d., p.3). Kerouac’s mind, lost in the exotic beauty of nature, appears to be in the following lines, "...you go out and suddenly your shadow is ringed by the rainbow...a lovely haloed mystery making you want to pray. A blade of grass jiggling in the winds of infinity, anchored to a rock, and for your own poor gentle flesh, no answer." (Kerouac, 1960, p.34) Cultural Implications in “On the Road” and “A Walk in the Woods Both the journeys of Bryson and Kerouac are cultural in the sense that their writings deal with various cultural aspects of the country. They are not the passive observers of these cultures existent within the territory of America, rather they are cautious analyzers –though Kerouac differs from this type to a significant extent, he is prone to be confounded by the cultural exoticism- who upholds and informs the readers about they see and think of it. Indeed how Jack Kerouac’s philosophy about what he views in his journey is the reflected in his writing style, publicly called, “spontaneous prose”. In his novel “On the Road” Kerouac is infatuated with various aspects of “Beat Generation” or “beatnik culture”. In this regard, it is said, “He brought the term “Beat,” meaning both “beaten down,” or outcast, and “beatific,” or full of spiritual joy, into common use to describe the condition of his generation” (Gale Critical Companion, n.d., p.63). Now in the “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail” Bill Bryson’s journey appears to be the one that leads the readers to the cultural diversity of America. On his journey he finds people from various cultures and he as a representative of the American civil society scrutinizes them, often become charmed by the aesthetic aspects of these cultures, mostly he attempts to uphold a comparative view. In his scrutiny of the culture he careful considers the scientific and historical background. Therefore finding the facts and figures of the cultural diversity of America, he takes his readers to the cores of these cultural. But here his cultural does not include any fancy Jack Kerouac is often inclined. In the novel “On the Road” Kerouac describes his journey as the real-life road trips and with the frantic energy of the drunken hippies. For Kerouac it is neither him nor his somber cultural life that bears the cultural significance in the novel. Rather it is his experiences gathered through the journey that bears the cultural significance. In another sense his personal experience of the middle class culture plays as a contrast to his experience, as Sal Paradise describes the beginning of the journey, “I first met Dean …..after my wife and I split up…..with the miserably weary split-up and my feeling that everything was dead. With the coming of Dean Moriarty began …..my life on the road” (Kerouac, 1957, p.1). This description reveals a bit of the commitment of normal life in society and its frustration. In the novel Sal often appears to be the representative of the American society in general. Consequently when the readers come into contact with the beatnik culture through Sal’s description they immediately become aware of the exotic aspect of this culture. Indeed the beginning lines of the novel convey the message to its readers that Sal’s old culture is dead and a new one begins. Psychological Implication of the Journeys of the Authors As to the psychological journey of the authors it can be asserted that the journeys of the authors signify changes from the old to the new. Whereas Kerouac deals with his experiences on the journeys as the relief from the barriers and restrictions of the society, and the realm of the “Beat Generation” means the entrance to freedom from the adverse effects of industrialization, for Bill Bryson the exotic experiences that his journeys offer him are a subject to critical analysis that he performs a member of civil society. In his novel Kerouac is disturbed with the interferences of the society; therefore the journey appears to be a way out of its restriction. In this regard, Nancy S. Fox (n.d.) says, “In Kerouac’s philosophy….society hinders inner growth because it places value upon material objects that obscure spiritual needs which is a backlash from the 1950’s decay of culture as a result of industrialization, commercialism….” (p.3). So it is evident that Kerouac travel psychologically from the old to the new and from restriction to freedom. He travels psychologically from the dead one the culture of those, “ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time….” (Kerouac, 1957, p.6) The philosophy Kerouac’s journey is always jovial and at the same time mystic, it is evident in the following lines, “Suddenly a green-rose rainbow appears right on your ridge with steamy clouds all around and an orange sun turmoiling . . .What is a rainbow,/ Lord?—a hoop / For the lowly . . . and you go out and suddenly your shadow is ringed by the rainbow as you walk on the hilltop, a lovely-haloed mystery making you want to pray.—” (Kerouac, 1960, p.23) But for the author Bill Bryson, this journey appears to be more of a psychological assessment of what he sees and what he thinks. The factuality and the touch of stern reality are so string in his writing that he every now and then takes his readers to the nature but he takes them in ways that ultimately proves the point that it is really a travel, as it is evident in the following lines: “A little claustrophobic perhaps, a little odd-smelling, but cozy and sturdy even so. This wouldn’t be so bad, I told myself. But secretly I knew that I was quite wrong” (Bryson, 1996, p.12). Conclusion Yet Bryson’s journey significantly differs from, as it is evident in these lines from Bryson, “Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town” (Bryson, 1996, P.2) that of Kerouac on the point that for Bryson the world is much more factual than for Kerouac it is. In fact Kerouac’s “On the Road moves with….frenetic energy as the real-life road trips and drunken episodes that are chronicled in a narrative that eschews extensive characterizations or plot development” (Gale Critical Companion, n.d., p.63). References Bryson, B. (1996), A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, Boston: Penguin, pp. 2-12 In these lines from the Chapter 1 of Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail” the careful assessment of his journey along the trail is reflected. He describes the beginning of it and presumes the outcome of his journey in scholastic manner. Also these lines reveal how nature can relate and evoke spirituality of human being. Fox, S. F. (n.d.) Twain’s River and Kerouac’s Road, [Online] pp. 2-3 available at http://ecommunity.uml.edu/bridge/review4/kerouac/fox.pdf (Accessed on 21 Oct. 2009) In this article Fox is primarily engaged with the philosophy of the travel writers Twain and Kerouac. She views Kerouac’s journey as an implication of the demand of the writers’ socio-political context. For her Kerouac’s journey signifies his philosophy that restrictions of traditional society grossly hamper the growth of human beings. “Jack Kerouac”, A Gale Critical Champion. [Online] available at http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/samples/sp675695.pdf (accessed on 21 Oct. 2009) This article discusses Kerouac’s writings that specially are referred to as “spontaneous prose” style. This style is completely suitable for the theme that Kerouac deals with in his novel. Kerouac, J. (1956). On the Road, New York: Viking Press, pp. 1-18 Kerouac, J. (1960). Alone on a Mountaintop, Lonesome Traveler, New York: Viking Press The lines from both of these two books of Kerouac refer to the author’s spirituality that is implied in his journey. For him the exotic experiences gathered from his journeys are both culturally and spiritually significant. Read More