On The Road.

I chose this map of America, which details the personal journey of Jack Kerouac, a author in the 1950s/60s most famously known for his novel On The Road, because of the scale of the journey he undertook. He hitchhiked across America to San Francisco and back to New York. Kerouac undertook this journey as he had no steady job in New York, and he had friends in S.F. I find this map interesting personally as it shows his dedication to get across the country even if it means he has to get in stranger's cars. This dedication I feel, is a certain aspect that Americans have. They have this dedication to go places new, travel across this large expanse of land on little to no money, to drop everything they are doing to do something they want. I find this journey fascinating, because travelling across America is no easy thing. Yet to achieve it, and two more hitchhiking trips across America shows dedication, and that any goal can be achieved. The American spirit of not giving up and dedication until you reach your goal, is clearly shown in Kerouac's work and personal journeys. The drifter nature of Kerouac, was the roots of the Beat generation that encompassed 1950s America, with the rise of the jazz scene. Jack Kerouac was very much the spirit of the Beat generation.