On the Road 643In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” Keats contrasts the
world of nature with the world of art. Examining
the illustrations on an ancient piece of pottery, the
speaker is struck by the way in which art has fro-
zen a beautiful moment in time, arresting both the
progress of seasons and the advance of death. Unlike
the trees in “To Autumn,” the painted trees on the
urn will never feel the touch of winter: “Ah, happy,
happy boughs! That cannot shed / your leaves, nor
ever bid the spring adieu” (21–22). Likewise, the
humans depicted on the urn will never grow old and
die, but will remain “for ever panting and for ever
young” (27). Ultimately, however, the poem expresses
ambivalence toward art’s interruption of the natural
cycle. The human figures on the urn seem trapped
rather than liberated by immortality—“Bold lover,
never, never canst thou kiss” (17)—and the poet
dubs the urn a “Cold Pastoral” (45), acknowledging
that the frozen trees and figures lack the vivacity and
warmth of real life.
Keats’s poems, like the work of other romantic
poets, express admiration for the natural world and
portray nature as a means of escaping the troubles of
modern life. Unlike other romantics, however, Keats
emphasizes the mortality rather than the regen-
erative aspects of nature. Rather than reminding the
poet of his individuality, nature in Keats’s poetry
reminds the poet that he is part of the natural world
and thus is bound to die.
Siobhan Carroll
kErouaC, jaCk On the Road (1957)
On the Road is the quintessential American travel
novel. It has inspired countless readers to drop
everything and hit the road in search of themselves,
enlightenment, or just a cheap buzz. Its (now some-
what dated) romanticized version of life on the road
is irresistibly tempting for anyone with even the
faintest hint of a travel bug. It is also a love letter
of sorts to America, highlighting the adventure and
fascination inherent in her vast landscapes.
The late 1940s and 1950s saw the beginning of
the interstate road system in America, which even-
tually connected all major cities through a series of
linked roads. Although not an interstate, Route 66,
which provided a direct route between Chicago and
California, was part of the U.S. Highway System.
Published in 1957, On the Road was a major factor in
the romanticization and mythologizing of these new
roads, as it showed how the roads connected people
from all social and economic classes. Sal Paradise
and his friends have the country opened up for them
in a way unavailable to previous generations.
The novel has never been out of print, and is a
staple of the American high school reading list. It is
particularly popular with young people at a cross-
roads in their life: They identify with the choices
Dean Moriarty and his friends must make as they
mature. Dean keenly observes that his travels are
directly related to his maturity: “I was halfway across
America, at the dividing line between the East of my
youth and the West of my future. . . .”
On the Road presents several different themes
throughout the various strands of the story line.
Most evident is the idea of freedom—freedom from
responsibility and perhaps from “adulthood.” The
novel also questions and redefines the notion of
the “American dream,” which took on a completely
new meaning in postwar society. The relationship
between the individual and society is also examined:
To what extent should we follow what is expected of
us by society? The examination of these considerable
notions helps make the novel an intensely personal
read.
Georgina WillmsThe american dream in On the Road
The year 1945 saw the end of the fighting of World
War II. Soldiers returning to America had witnessed
some of the harshest combat the world had ever
known. The sheer amount of casualties is a testa-
ment to the extreme horror and brutality witnessed
by these men. Returning home, they sought the quiet
and normalcy that they had left behind—regardless
of whether that had been their reality before they
had left for war. This quest for normalcy, combined
with the advent of the suburbs and a zeal for mate-
rial possessions, led to a new lifestyle ideal—a new
“American dream.”
The idea of an “American dream” was by no
means new; versions of it had been around since
Europeans first settled the New World. In general,
it involves some degree of “success,” usually material