On the Road to Spiritual Enlightenment
... Buddhist religion, but is hoping to put off changing his life for it as long as possible. This makes Goldbook out to be very selfish and indifferent. The characters in On the Road are very much alike to the ones in The Dharma Bums. Because Jack Kerouac is represented as characters in both novels, their attitudes are similar. Sal Paradise is Jack Kerouac, an adventurous young man, in this novel. He is full of life and ready to find something worth living for in this sometimes cruel world. Along his many journeys across the United States he stumbles upon hopefulness to establish a good life eventually. Paradise’s religion is not really mentioned in the novel, but his spirituality is obtained in other ways. Dean Moriarty is a reckless, energetic young man who is kind of an inspiration for Paradise. Dean Moriarty is to Dharma Bums what Japhy Ryder is to On the Road. He does not have very much in life, and has been through some hard times, yet he still manages to keep his head on straight and be optimistic through many situations. Paradise, although not pessimistic, is also not as joyful as Moriraty. He keeps his fears and concerns within him, which ultimately helps him through life. The ongoing theme throughout both of the novels is the search for spiritual enlightenment through many different attempts. In The Dharma Bums, Ray Smith tries to obtain enlightenment but comes across many distractions along the way. He has not had sex in a year at the beginning of this novel, which leaves him feeling very frustrated and vulnerable. He feels that sex is unnecessary while trying to be enlightened. The drastic nature of Smith's religious choice means that his Buddhism is a constant source of internal strife, in contrast to Ryder's matter-of-fact, intuitive acceptance of Eastern ways. Ryder is living as a Buddhist, but Smith is “wrestling with” (Kerouac On 76) Buddhism, and thus his experience with it is far more intense than Ryder's, even though Ryder is an 'expert' and Smith a novice. Japhy Ryder seems to be enlightened already, but really is far from it. His late nights of “Yabyum” (Kerouac Dharma 23). with girls he does not know is only filling a space of loneliness and boredom. Ryder is actually disconnected with himself and does not know what he wants out of life. Goldbook willl never reach enlightenment as long as he remains selfish and unwilling to change. His lifestyle of sex, drugs, and immoral activities will never allow him to succeed in spirituality if he does not open his eyes. He is unconcerned with reaching enlightenment and it is very apparent. While hitchhiking throughout the United States, Sal Paradise loses touch with who he really is inside. Because he travels so often, he must adapt to the different societies and their expectations if he wants to stay there for an extended period of time. His love life also distracts him from enlightenment as well. Rita Bettencourt, Lucille, and Terry are all girls that Sal cared for and that distracted him from discovering enlightenment. Dean Moriarty has so many activities going on in his life that he does not have time to think. He is married three times. His first marriage is to Marylou, a pretty, not-so-smart blonde from Colorado, his second is Camille, who lives in San Francisco with his children, and the third is Inez, a sexy brunette in New York. Dean is very careless, but always manages to get by somehow. He is reckless with his life, and it seems as though he does not even care about what he is doing. Obtaining spiritual enlightenment in The Dharma Bums differs in each of the characters approaches through the book, but ultimately is defined when Ryder and Smith decide to climb the Matterhorn, a mountain in the High Sierras. The climb to the peak is the most “poignant and symbolic” (Sussman 15) image in the novel. Smith clings to a rock near the peak, which is a Buddhist metaphor for failing to give up your vain desires. Ryder makes it to the top of the mountain alone. Later, Smith follows Ryder’s footsteps and decides to travel to the Cascade mountain range and experience it on his own. Smith become...