On first impression, On The Road is a novel about two young men named Sal and Dean who travel the country in search of good times. Sal and Dean, the two protagonists of the novel, are young men on a quest for adventure. Pink, an unlucky man caught in a world of rock, drugs and sex is the subject of this film. At closer look, though, you can find that many of the themes are similar. This paper will explore and explain some of these themes.
Four themes will be examined: Life is a Battle, Claw Your Way Through This Disguise, Freedom and Just Another Brick in the Wall.
I will start off by addressing the first topic: Life Is A Battle. Deans entire life was a fight. He’s never known a home, or anyone who could depend on him and care for his needs. He was abandoned by his father and spent most of his adult life trying to find him. Dean traveled by railroad car across the nation. He was emotional unstable. Why is a questionable. It may have been his drug addiction or chemical imbalance. Dean married a lot of women, though he could never stay with them for long. The story was, love em and let them go. The second theme came from a Pink Floyd quote. You will need to break through the mask if you wish to learn what is behind those cold blue eyes. Dean tried being normal for the whole novel. He tried marrying and raising his many children. The itch was there every time. Dean always kept a suitcase under his bed, ready and packed.
Pink and Dean were similar in certain ways. The same thing happened to him. He pretended to become someone he wasn’t. Pink had a successful career as a musician. He led a carefree life of drugs, alcohol and sex. Pink appeared to be content with his lifestyle. Though he seemed happy to the outside world, Pink was unhappy inside. It reached a point that he was so close to suicide that he locked his self in a room at a nearby hotel.
Freedom is a common theme that runs through both media. Dean was on the road. He did not have any responsibilities. He has left his daughters and wife to pursue her own interests.
Pink’s freedom was drugs. Pink needed to escape the celebrity life on tour. The reality was not as bleak as it seemed. Dean, on the other hand, was able escape reality for several years until he passed away.
The final issue is conformity. It is equivalent to becoming another brick on the wall. In the film, the child had to conform with expectations. He was forced to conform, whether it was in regards to his education or health as shown by the doctor’s scene.
Sal was conforming to the expectations of society since his early youth. He joined the military and began college. Dean was not expecting to be the same. He was a man of his own set of rules.
Sal finally adopts Deans philosophy of life, refusing to conform to the society’s expectations that he be married with children. Pink, the older Pink, also breaks rules. He joins a band, and becomes involved with drugs and lewd girls. They all have their own rules, and they all suffer for it.
On The Road & The Wall have many similarities, as can be seen in this example. On The Road as well as The Wall went to extremes to avoid being just another brick on the wall. Although I think it’s important to stay true to oneself and your values, those who risk everything to find happiness are not to be dismissed. In youth, everyone has the right be crazy and wild. It’s how we teach the next generation from our mistakes.
