If there is a salient element in Jack Kerouac's On the Road, it is freedom. Freedom beckons the characters in much the same way that a gambling casino beckons those starved for an engrossing and possibly addicting pastime; it provides the opportunity to experience something more wonderful than the mundane existence of everyday life. The essence of freedom in On the Road is that it enables the characters to explore the world and look for what is exhilarating and enjoyable-better than the everyday life that they have experienced to date. Early in the book, the irrepressible Dean watches over Sal's shoulder as he writes and exclaims, "Man, wow, there's so many things to do, so many things to write!" (Kerouac 4). Dean's exuberance characterizes the allure of freedom in the book by highlighting the sense that the world is rife with opportunities to experience life more fully but that only through freedom can they be enjoyed. At this early point in the book, freedom is an ideal. The characters crave it because it holds such great promise of delivering a better life, although they are not sure exactly how. They simply know that in order to live beyond the boring and commonplace, they have to get out on the road and begin finding adventures.
As the novel progresses, Sal and his friends do enjoy the fruits of freedom. In a series of road trips, they visit the world, meet its people, and learn about life. The romantic call of the road continues to draw them away from everyday life into a sequence of adventures that they savor acutely, wanting more. On a trip to Denver in 1949, Sal walks the streets of the city, taking in the scene and reflecting on what he is experiencing. When a young black woman comes rushing up to him with the greeting, "Hello Joe!" and then draws away, realizing that he is not Joe, Sal laments, "I wished I were Joe. I was only myself, Sal Paradise, sad, strolling in this violet dark, this unbea<...