I am researching Jack Kerouac and am wondering if there is any
precedent for discussing "On the Road" as a kind of Christian
allegory, with Dean Moriarty as a Christ figure, who Sal follows as an
apostle of some kind.I see a lot of textual evidence for this, but
can't really figure out what this means in the context of Kerouac's
overall spiritual quest. Also, to what extent can Kerouac be
considered part of the American Transendental Tradition of Whitman,
Thoreau, and Emerson?

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Clarification of Question by terenzi-ga on 10 Jan 2005 12:08 PST

As far as the transcendental part of the question, I am not looking
for an answer that includes all of the Beat writers or poets. I am
looking specifically at the religious and spiritual part of Kerouac's
writings- and how his buddhist tendencies and general lack of
spiritual fulfillment correspond to the early American writers.

You may want to consider reposting this as two separate questions. The
"Christian allegory" question and the "transcendental tradition"
question are two distinctly different research projects; bundling them
together in this way makes it necessary for a Researcher to answer
both, or neither.

Thanks a lot. I am new to this-- I just reposted it as two questions,
is there anyway for me to remove the original question, to avoid
repeat or incomplete answers?

To expire the original question (this one), click the grey button in
the upper right that says "Cancel Question."