On the Road Dissatisfaction Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #16

Suddenly we came down from the mountain and overlooked the great sea-plain of Denver; heat rose as from an oven. We began to sing songs. I was itching to get on to San Francisco. (I.9.22)

As soon as Sal arrives at his destination, he wants to leave again.

Quote #17

My moments in Denver were coming to an end, I could feel it when I walked her home, on the way back I stretched out on the grass of an old church with a bunch of hobos, and their talk made me want to get back on that road. Every now and then one would get up and hit a passer-by for a dime. They talked of harvests moving north. (I.10.11)

Sal moves west with the same seasonal dependence of the men moving north with the harvest.

Quote #18

I saw the little midget newspaper-selling woman with the short legs, on the corner of Curtis and 15th. I walked around the sad honkytonks of Curtis Street; young kids in jeans and red shirts; peanut shells, movie marquees, shooting parlors. Beyond the glittering street was darkness, and beyond the darkness the West. I had to go. (I.10.13)

There is an element of the unknown in the West that appeals to Sal.