Kerouac's 'On the Road'

A possible reason to enjoy and write about Kerouac's 'On the Road' lies in its use of hyperbole and folkloric feel. Kerouac delves into the antiquated art of telling a "tall tale" when he writes on the road and, more importantly, sketches the bigger than life character, Dean Moriarty. Kerouac speaks of highs and lows in life, surrounding his narrative on the characters, based on real people, that enter and exit his life like a stage show. Carlo Marx, who is understood to be the real world Alan Ginsburg, plays the angry, mad poet, designing words and spitting phrases that come off as anti-American, anti-imperialism, and anti-society. He is only one example of a character who reigns supreme in his own right, and holds his ground in the reader's mind, even though he never gets the attention that other characters do, like the illustrious, Neal Cassady (Dean Moriarty).

The tall tale is important to keep in mind when reading Kerouac's 'On the Road' as it could be compared to a debaucherous Paul Bunyan tale. Kerouac speaks of Dean, the crazy, maddest character of them all, infamously driving through the treacherous Sierra Nevadas without using either brake or gas pedal, but simply coasting, shouting "Whoo-ee" the entire way as his jalopy swings and dives around sharp turns and corners, nearly careening over the edge. Kerouac mentions that he feels safe, as long as Dean is at the wheel. This is only one small aspect of Kerouac utilizing the "tale tale" effect when describing his traveling days.

Another tall tale element derives from a wonderful paragraph written by Kerouac as he describes the fervor with which Dean travels from East to visit Jack in Denver. Dean has heard, through the grapevine, that Jack (Sal, actually, in the novel) is going to go to Mexico. Dean, who has finally decided to settle down with one woman and his child, picks up seemingly in an instant, and descend his magical character force upon the West. Kerouac describes this as following:

Suddenly I had a vision of Dean, a burning shuddering frightful Angel, palpitating towards me across the road, approaching like a cloud, with enormous speed, pursuing me like the Shrouded Traveller on the plain, bearing down on me. I saw his huge face over the plains with the mad, bony purpose and the gleaming eyes; I saw his wings; I saw his old jalopy chariot with thousands of sparking flames shooting out from it; I saw the path it burned over the road...destroying bridges, drying rivers. It came like wrath to the West. I knew Dean had gone mad again.

This paragraph manifests Kerouac's desire to paint Dean Moriarity as something transcendant of human quality, moving over the earth like a specter, like the "Angel" of death, doing what he is best at doing: going mad. Again. Kerouac uses descriptions like, "shuddering, burning, frightful," "huge face," and "jalopy chariot," giving Dean an otherworldly presence.

This would be a great paper topic, especially when combined with a polished understanding of what a tall tale is, and being familiar with some of the famous stories that have come to be known as "tall tales."