I don’t believe Dean Motiarty is the main character. I believe Sal uses him as an idol that is the reason we read so much about him. Sal gets a rise out of people who live freely and enthusiastically, and Dean is someone, Sal believes, who lives this way. By learning so much of Dean, as a reader you are able to see who Sal is in comparison. We know Dean lives a different lifestyle that Sal wishes to be a part of. Dean represents fearless spirituality. Dean isn’t afraid of the cross roads, it’s as of he goes with life, in Sals eyes. Through the book you can notice the people who interest Sal the most are the people who show freedoms and a care free attitude, for instance the cowboy in the diner with the greatest laugh in the world. It is exited Sal as of that’s the feel he was longing for in the West and couldn’t find it in the East.
Professor Laura Westengard
Email: lwestengard@citytech.cuny.edu
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I agree, Dean is more of Sal’s inspiration then to say the “main character” of the story. I also like how you mention that Sal is interested in people who have freedom and a care free attitude.
Great reading, Meghan. You point out that Sal is interested in the cowboy who laughs, and this is a really important observation. Laughter functions throughout the novel, actually. Sal is always pointing out people who have laughs that he admires and then he notes that Dean develops a new kind of laugh near the middle of the novel. This must represent the “freedom” and “care free attitude” that you mention, don’t you think?