I have never been the biggest of fans of Kerouac's writing. Well at least the prose part of it; Truman Capote once (in)famously denounced it as 'typing rather than writing'. What has always intrigued me rather is the tremendous appeal that lies in his body of work - an appeal that cuts across geographies and time. Watching the trailer of Walter Salles' upcoming adaptation of On the Road reminded me of the times of reading Kerouac.
I have read two of Kerouac's novels - the generation defining crazy ride On the Road and the calmer, more subtle and mature The Dharma Bums. Although both the novels have very different ideas and settings, there is somethings that struck me as similar and significant in both of these. While On the Road feels much like a crazy pursuit of pleasure and revolt against established norms, The Dharma Bums is pursuit of 'Truth' using the (then very new to West) Eastern philosophies, particularly Zen Buddhism. However the undercurrent of themes of identity and purpose and a restless pursuit of both of them is what unites his work.And I guess that's why his appeal is so universal. Anyone who has wished earnestly for the fulfillment of their dreams but saw the coming inevitability of 'the real world' can relate to these themes. Youth is so much about that restlessness and lack of purpose, whether you are in 50s America or millennial India, isn't it? And Kerouac was one of the first ones to not only capture this phenomenon, but also to live it - more than a little over the top.
Much of youth is spent in the reconciliation between this naive idealism and the practical and mundane realities of grown up life. Do we then grow old by quietly resigning to pragmatism, rather than by just crossing a random age threshold? I don't know, but perhaps as Kerouac would say
“The best teacher is experience and not through someone's distorted point of view”
