Part 1, Chapters 1 and 2 Summary

On the Road is the story of the travels of two young men who crisscross the United States in search of excitement and adventure. The story of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise parallels Jack Kerouac's own life when he partnered with a young man named Neal Cassaday, who is portrayed by Moriarty in the novel. The bohemian lifestyle and free spirited adventures of Moriarty and Paradise were magnetic for American readers in the repressed era of the 1950s. Kerouac's book gave rise to the Beat generation, which symbolized rebellion and self absorbed pursuits of pleasure and exploration.

It is 1947 and Sal Paradise is living with his aunt in New Jersey and attending college in New York City. Recently divorced, Sal is lonely, depressed, and in sore need of some excitement in his life. Sal's friend, Chad King, tells Sal...