Sal Paradise, main character in the book On the Road by Jack Kerouac, is a young writer living the American dream of the 1950s. Sal and his friends, all crazy writers (notably Dean Moriarty, whom he considers his hero), hitchhike from the East Coast and drive back to the West Coast during the summer. They organize their plans to meet in different cities across America. At the end of the book, they even travel to Mexico. During their journey on the road, alcohol, drugs, music and sex are heavily represented. Additionally, it is common for them to "knock up" women and let them hit the road in search of other women, whom they promise to return to visit to get married, knowing that they will not be able to keep their promises. As the book progresses, we can read that they realize that what they are doing is irresponsible and surreal. Sometimes, after having fun at the expense of others, they feel remorse and guilt over their actions. They leave problems in their wake only to run into other problems in other cities involving other people. (Reviews consulted on goodread.com) Finally, as the budget tightens and they cannot pay for the car, gasoline, food and a bed, they will try to find uninteresting jobs and sometimes even live on the street. These young writers represent the post-war Beat Generation. In my analysis, I will cite a few extracts from the book that particularly caught my attention. Most shocking is when the narrator, Sal, refers to African Americans as blacks or people of color. This may be common after the events of World War II, but it still stirs up some anger in me when I read these words. Second, Sal perfectly sums up the morality and history of...... middle of paper ......k, she had worked as a nurse to wounded soldiers in hopes of meeting Robbie and apologizing . When he came back from the war, she tried to get in touch with her sister and Robbie, to ask their forgiveness for the biggest mistake she had made years ago. In her interview, she said she gave them the closure to their lives that they deserved. But Cecilia and Robbie didn't get the chance to see what it means to reunite after the war and live together. Briony was unable to apologize and it will haunt her for the rest of her life. She changed the ending of the story to make herself feel better and less guilty. But I don't agree with his point of view. This may make her feel less responsible for their tragic end, but it doesn't change anything for Robbie and his sister. Briony is the best example to demonstrate that the smallest act can have the biggest consequences.