Book Ruminations: The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac (Part Two)

During my adolescent years, I regarded books as something that "got in the way of video games." As I matured, I realized my folly and began devouring as many books as I possibly could. This is not a review, but merely my thoughts and musings whilst reading The Dharma Bums.

Previously I wrote about Kerouac's writing style, called "spontaneous prose," as if I knew what I was talking about.

I was very wrong.

I've just begun reading Desolation Angels by Kerouac, a book that begins towards the end of The Dharma Bums, and then continues after the events of The Dharma Bums, if that makes sense. Desolation Angels is spontaneous prose. It's basically one long, run-on sentence. It's beginning to make me feel crazy, which is what seems to have happened to Kerouac.

During the course of The Dharma Bums, there are glimpses of insanity in his writing. He doesn't mind that he's showing the reader this side of his self, and in fact it appears this is a way that sort of relieves his mind, helps him cope with...whatever it is that's going on upstairs.

So what is The Dharma Bums? Dharma, as it relates to Buddhism (Kerouac was Buddhist, at least during this portion of his life), is essentially the character of a Buddhist. When you marry that meaning with "bum," you have a pretty good idea of Kerouac. He was a bum, no questions about it. But he also thought of spiritual things, and viewed the world as one great, big void. That is, nothing is really happening. Everything is just a perception of the mind.

The book begins with Kerouac hopping trains, sleeping under the stars, and buying and drinking booze. But he writes about these sort of things as if he is living a life of grandeur, that he is better off because of his bum lifestyle. And you don't realize it at first, at least not until Kerouac meets up with his friend, Japhy, that Kerouac never writes about or views himself as the main character. He's more like a side-character, and Japhy, at least for this book, is easily the main character.

Again, it's something that you don't notice right away, but after a bit you begin to see it.

Before I forget, Japhy isn't really his friend's name. It's Gary Snyder. But Kerouac changes his name, along with own name (Ray Smith, he calls himself), in The Dharma Bums. I'm not sure why, but I can speculate: It gives the book more of a novel feel. Instead of reading about real people, you're reading about real people in some sort of show, always pretending to be someone else. But they're not. They are themselves, but with a different name. Confused?

Back to the grand, bum lifestyle. Without giving the entire book away, Kerouac does several "major" things during the course of the book. Most of the book is a hike that Smith (Kerouac) and Japhy take, right up Matterhorn Mountain. It's quite humorous, but Smith is very near the top and decides to stop. He's tired and he's afraid of falling off the mountain. Japhy of course continues to the top, lets out a shout, and then comes barreling back down the mountain, right past Smith.

At this point Smith has a revelation: You can't fall off mountains!

Smith, following Japhy's lead, begins running down the mountain, feeling ever so foolish for even entertaining the thought of falling off.

I don't want to talk too much more about the book, as I feel that would be giving it away, as it were, but as far as recommendations go, if you're looking for something a bit autobiographical, but with a novel-like feel, pick this book up. Just go with the flow of the prose, and don't worry about the lack of punctuation.

Just don't become a bum yourself. It's not as glamorous as the book makes it seem.