The Cabin at Big Sur

The cabin begins as a haven and sanctuary for Kerouac from the life of drinking and crowding fans that has defined his hometown. The first three weeks he spends there he describes as the happiest three weeks of his life. Later, it is the setting for parties and Kerouac's recognition of the contrast between his solitude and what he has invited to the place.

The Pacific Ocean

The setting for much listening and thinking for Kerouac, and the voice to which he is listening when he writes the poem at the end of the book entitled simply "Sea".

Alcohol

The drug with such a powerful hold over Kerouac that even while he is trying to recover from it, and even after he recognizes that it is destroying his sanity, he cannot free himself from it.

Kerouac's Earlier Books

Now having become the definition...