On the Road

A key theme in On the Road is friendship. The close friendships that Sal forms with Dean and the other characters bind them together. The friendship group that includes Sal, Dean, Carlo, and Roland comes together in multiple cities at various times, which shows that the bond between them defies simple geography or opportunity. Sal chases off across the country in search of these friends, and when they’re not with him, he misses them terribly. Denver feels cold and empty to him without his friends, suggesting that friendship rather than some innate quality of the city is what matters. The many intertwining and interconnected friendships are the bedrock on which the narrative is built. The novel illustrates how these friendships give meaning to the places the characters visit and the journeys they take.

The closest friendships in the novel are often the most intense, and most involve Dean. At first, Carlo Marx is closest to Dean, and they have long, interrogating conversations that last until dawn. They share everything together, to the point that they may as well be talking nonsense. Though they extract meaning and substance from these sessions, anyone who watches is bemused and then bored. Friendships like Dean and Carlo’s are more meaningful to those involved. Similarly, Dean and Sal’s friendship means far more to them than to anyone else. On many occasions, Dean abandons his wives and children to spend time with Sal. Likewise, Sal abandons other relationships to spend time with Dean. They forgo sex and romantic relationships to go on the road together. The intensity of this friendship makes the novel’s end even more poignant. Throughout the narrative, Dean and Sal crossed the country to be together. Though Dean occasionally betrayed or annoyed Sal, they always reconciled their differences. However, the friendship ultimately burns itself out. Sal leaves Dean standing on a street corner and drives away. He makes one final journey, one that takes him away from (rather than closer to) Dean. On the Road celebrates the intense friendship between Dean and Sal but then mourns its demise.

Importantly, the most intense friendship in the novel is between two men who are searching for a substitute family. Sal lives with an aunt rather than his parents and only references family members in passing. Dean was brought up by his alcoholic father, who mistreated and abandoned him and still casts a shadow over Dean’s life. Both Sal and Dean find comfort in one another, replacing the closeness and the intimacy of a family relationship with their love for one another. They become brothers, in a sense, because they can give one another emotional support and share catharsis in a way that their families never could. In this family context, Sal’s constant appeasement of Dean’s unruly behavior makes more sense. Their relationship is deeper than two male friends. They’re family members, bound together by more than just their shared interests. Sal will never stop thinking about Dean in a way that is different to his other friends. Dean’s friendship came to define him and left an immutable impression on his life.