The Dharma Bums- Jack Kerouac

If you are familiar with any of Jack Kerouac's work, you will know that it isn't exactly his gripping plots or thrilling story lines that make his novels classics. Instead, it is his way of portraying his narratives in a beautifully poetic, in-the-moment stream of consciousness, that keeps you hooked onto the end of each of his magnificently crafted tangents.  Kerouac does not write fiction; so you will find scarce elements of symbolism, plot development etc. That we are taught to decipher. Instead, we are presented with a work that portrays simple earnestness in it's best from, direct, in 'the moment' from a man who genuinely experienced each event.

The Dharma Bums follows Kerouac on his journey to find enlightenment; a self-proclaimed Buddhist, he defines himself as a 'religious wanderer'. However here Kerouac is less of a storyteller, but more of an avid listener; Kerouac recalls his time following a young character named 'Japhy', a fellow Buddhist who follows the paths of the 'Zen Lunatics', we begin in the height of the San Francisco Renaissance, Kerouac portrays the manic life held within poets clubs, "packed with pounds of poet meat", and follow this character to the top of Mt Matterhorn, a silent paradise, and a huge juxtaposition to the swinging life of the city below. 

The first Kerouac novel i read was "Big Sur"; this being one of his later works, by this point he had developed a level of depth and poignant honesty within his writing that, for me, had come to define him. His later works are less about telling the events of his travels, but instead, exploring his own psychological development, which by "Big Sur" verged on Alcoholism. What i mean by this is, despite predominantly being a 'travel book'- which follows Kerouac journeys. It is not the events that capture us and draw us in- yes part of the reason we love these books is because of Kerouac's depiction of the Jazz age, fully embracing a free lifestyle. Yet, it is Kerouac's writing and exploration or characters, and himself, that become the most beautiful parts within these novels. 

Now, there are some elements of this style of writing within "The Dharma Bums", but what is notable in variation from this work and "Big Sur" is in the vibrant sense of 'life' in Kerouac's writing; Kerouac's writing within the 'Dharma Bums' is undoubtedly optimistic. Here Kerouac is still young minded, he looks forward rather than looking down, which, frankly, is refreshing within our society that is so keen in expressing the darker half of the paint pallet- regarding emotions. 

I Urge you to read this and not be influenced.