The novel On The Road written by Jack Kerouac is a book that can be read
as a quest taken by Sal Paradise who sets out to test the American Dream by
trying to pin down its promise of unlimited freedom by following the example of
Dean Morairty. In the book “ the road” becomes a symbol of freedom or escape
for Sal and his friends. The road symbolizes an escape route from the dictates
of society: helping them break away from responsibility, their mistakes, and
sorts of commitment. Sal chases the dream back and forth on the highways between
the East and West coasts, and find that the dream has little staying power that
it’s merely a “sad paradise” when he finally catches up with it in New
Orleans, Denver, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.