On The Road (Ep 2.16)

I apologise for not being regular on the blog, but my reading time has been recently curtailed due to a horrendous mix of work, pregnancy and midwife appointments.

I started reading Jack Kerouac's On the Road way back in February, and finally got around to finishing it in July (awww, just 5 months of hibernation!). Ironically, it was also one of the more interesting "cult classics" I have read lately. I recommend all escapists to read it at least once as the road trip that Sal Paradise (the author's persona itself) and Dean Moriarty (the catalyst to the road trip) undertake is the ultimate in material escapism. As you might have guessed by now, the book is all about a road trip that Sal undertakes (most likely Jack Kerouac too) across the USA and Mexico. Wikipedia has an interesting map of his cross-country trips.

The book is such a classic, and Kerouac such an icon, that the book and author are mentioned at least twice in Gilmore Girls (as far as I know) and also in another book I read recently - The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. In the pilot episode (which I have never managed to catch as I always miss the beginning of reruns), Lorelai and Joey (a guy who tries to hit on her) has this conversation:

JOEY: Yeah, I’ve never been here before. Just passing through on my way to Hartford.
LORELAI: You’re a regular Jack Kerouac.

As always, Jack Kerouac is the ultimate in road trip symbolism.

In There's The Rub, an episode I adore, here goes a conversation (argument) between Jess, Rory and Paris:

PARIS: Well it's true. The Beats' writing was completely self-indulgent. I have 1 word for Jack Kerouac: Edit.
JESS: It was not self-indulgent, The Beats believed in shocking people, stirring things up.
PARIS: They believed in drugs, booze, and petty crime.
RORY: Well, then you could say that they exposed you to a world that you wouldn't have otherwise known. Isn't that what great writing is all about?
RORY: That was not great writing. It was the National Enquirer of the 50's.
JESS: You're cracked.
PARIS: Typical guy response. Worship Kerouac and Bukowski, god forbid you pick up anything by Jane Austin.

The Beat Generation is a group of American writers who were popular in the 1950s, and the beat culture dealt with drugs, sexuality, eastern philosophy and of course, road trips. Jack Kerouac was perhaps the most famous of the beatnik era - and hence the reference. Bukowski is sometimes included in the list, but not considered a strong member.