This summary analyzes relationships in Jack Kerouac's novels On the Road and The Dharma Bums. It discusses the friendships between Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, and Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder. It argues that Sal and Dean's relationship seems to transcend friendship at times, with hints of intimacy between the two men. Meanwhile, Ray and Japhy's bond is more virtuous in nature. Overall, the document draws various binaries between the two sets of friends, such as Dean representing impurity and Japhy representing purity. It also analyzes the different ways each man fulfills familial roles for Sal and Ray.

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Zachary Schneller
ENG 407
Dr. Holladay
Final Paper
Binary Varieties and Everything in Between: an Examination of Friendship
A pivotal relationship exists between a lonely person and the perceived “other” that
would evaporate loneliness and complete a circuit connecting two people together. This
imagined other could fill the void left by a departed person or relieve someone of the painful
deprivation of being alone for too long. In the case of author Jack Kerouac, through the medium
of On the Road and The Dharma Bums, has tried to fill the void possibly because of his dearly
departed brother. Jack Kerouac’s characters Sal Paradise and Ray Smith, arguably fictional
doppelgangers of Kerouac himself, find notably male others in Dean Moriarty and Japhy Ryder.
These pivotal friendships between the two surrogate Jack Kerouacs and two different male
counterparts serve and present the ends of friendship in different avenues. A sort of binary exists
between the two male arguably-more-than-friends in profound ways that has Sal and Ray
experiencing unusual roles within these relationships. Japhy is like an angel guiding Ray to the
literal mountainous level of purity and enlightenment while Dean is like a corrupt devil dragging
down Sal south to Mexico and filth.
When evaluating the strong bonds between the sets of friends the question arises which
friend is closer to the respective surrogate Kerouac, and the answer is, despite the moral
wrongness of the character: Dean Moriarty. It is because at times Dean seems to function more
than a friend and rather a brother or even a lover: “Later, they enter into a kind of marriage (after
wives, distance, and distraction have kept them apart), when Dean’s wife throws him out”

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(Larson 43). Despite all the female relations Dean has, Sal and Dean’s bond seems to transcend
the traditional boundaries of friendship and they insert themselves into a kind of marriage. This
marriage is especially strange most notably because it is an ever-shifting long distance
relationship that can be construed as atypical of long distance relationships themselves. Rather
than stay stationary, the two lovers are always moving away each other, toward each other, and
with each other all while taking place on the road. The two even consummate their bond in New
York: “The signifiers of their own ‘strange’ marriage then continue as their drive to New York
serves as a kind of honeymoon” (Larson 43). They seem mutually conscious of their union
because of their deflections of various sentiments of homosexuality. Sal remarks about a man
who he says is a “tall thin fag” and Dean calls a car a “fag Plymouth” (Kerouac 207). It is clear
each man is aware of their relationship and yet are nervous to confront the sheer reality of being
homosexual and therefore rejecting any sort of label. Furthermore Sal even enters the fray as a
possible breadwinner in a very real partnership: “Resolutely and firmly I repeated what I said –
‘Come to New York with me; I’ve got the money’” (Kerouac 189). This is incredibly suggestive
of a joint domestic venture. This further deepens and complicates the relationship between the
two men.
It is true that Japhy and Ray’s relationship can be construed more than a typical
friendship, too. A strong bond is formed early on; however, it never reaches the intensity of Sal
and Dean’s relationship. In an unusual way, Japhy and Ray’s relationship becomes elevated to a
pseudo homosexuality: “For a joke I’d give him a gift of a huge flower from Alvah’s yard.
Solemnly a day later he’d bring me a little bouquet of flowers picked in the street plots of
Berkeley” (Kerouac 57). I say this is like a homosexual relationship, but that is not fully the case.
The initial gift giving is reminiscent of couples giving each other gifts, but the act is not merely

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one-sided because Japhy actually returns Ray’s sentiments. I think a spectrum can be drawn to
where this relationship lies. On one end or extreme is blatant homosexuality and on the other is
strictly homosocial. I would put the marker more on the homosocial end because the two friends
are exchanging flowers and not acting as lovers act (exchanging kisses and whatnot) and the
relationship does not become elevated beyond that. I would not say the same for Sal and Dean
for reasons already mentioned.
Keruoac’s doppelgangers are followers in both On the Road and The Dharma Bums as
well as submissive to the dominant roles of Dean and Japhy. A binary can be drawn from both
books in an oddly dominant/submissive version of role-playing. Sal and Ray are the submissive
willing devotees in a non-existent power struggle between them and their stronger male
counterparts and they recognize the dominant power of the alpha males and thus refuse to sway
that relationship.
Sal’s curiosity is ultimately what leads him to be attracted to the role of a follower. Early
on he recognizes his own inclination to follow: “I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life
after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are
mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who
never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman
candles“(Kerouac 5-6). Not only does Sal follow, but also he follows a specific type of person.
He will not just follow anybody. This shows what attracts him: insanity. Insanity is desirous for
Sal and Dean fits the bill for him magnificently. Sal’s conception of madness, which is
something he does not fully understand, eventually reaches fever pitch volatility when Dean
rejects him in Mexico.

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The attractive madness disillusions Sal and in the end and he ultimately rejects it at the
novel’s conclusion: “‘D’you think I can ride to Fortieth Street with you?’ he whispered. ‘Want to
be with you as much as possible, m’boy, and besides it’s so durned cold in this here New Yawk
...’ I whispered to Remi. No, he wouldn’t have it, he liked me but he didn’t like my idiot friends.
I wasn’t going to start all over again ruining his planned evenings as I had done at Alfred’s in
San Francisco in 1947 with Roland Major’” (Kerouac 306). His journey at first places reverence
toward Dean at a very high level and that level fluctuates throughout the novel and eventually
declines at the very end. A certain sense exists for Sal that he is settling down and he realizes
Dean’s fast ways will not conform to this new way of life for Sal. He proves to be a round
character because he really has changed at the end of the novel and has arguably matured to
some extent.
Ray Smith enacts a similar yet different form of devotion when it comes to Japhy Ryder.
While Sal is attracted to madness, Ray (very unlike Sal) is attracted to virtuous qualities in
Japhy: “Something earnest and strong and humanly hopeful I liked about him…I noticed the
strong Buddhist and idealistic feeling of Japhy” (Kerouac 10). The enticing madness Sal
encounters in Dean is not present in Japhy. Dean stands for lower, dirtier modes of living
because of his grimy origins and Japhy stands for the almost opposite sentiments of virtue and
idealism. A gap exists between the two alpha males in terms of what they stand for. This means a
similar gap exists between Sal and Ray over what attracts them thus creating a disparity between
their characters. The discrepancies between all four males are not quite binaries. More of a gray
area is present then merely shades of stark black and white, which is as it should be for the sake
of creating round characters. Despite the differences of attraction, the Kerouac surrogates are
drawn to their alpha male counterparts as followers to their leaders: “In the way he did things,

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hiking, he reminded me of Mike my boyhood chum who also loved to lead the way” (Kerouac
43). Japhy’s dominance is mirrored through Ray’s childhood experiences and shows how Ray
possesses a history of playing the role of a follower. The Kerouac surrogates have a similar need
for a significant other in their lives, which deviate from the conceived norm of what exactly a
significant other is. Both men have a perceived feeling of a void being filled via the alpha males
suggesting perhaps someone or something was lost before being “saved” or someone or
something has gone on for too long.
The four men’s relationships foster not only homosocial bonds and dominant/submissive
binary roles but also extend to the roles of family. Sal equates Dean to a brother numerous times,
so rather than explain a plethora of examples it is simpler to explain one: “Somehow, in spite of
our difference in character, he reminded me of some long-lost brother; the sight of his suffering
bony face with the long sideburns and his straining muscular sweating neck made me remember
my boyhood in those dye-dumps and swimholes and riversides of Paterson and the Passaic”
(Kerouac 7). Again Kerouac draws on a childhood reference to explain character. Because the
brother is long lost perhaps Sal has suffered a loss much like Kerouac’s actual loss of his other
brother, Gerard. In fact a void has opened before Sal from the very beginning of the novel, so
perhaps it is right to assume this is the right way to account for Sal’s feelings: “My wife and I
split up…everything was dead” (Kerouac 1). Dean fills this void in a variety of ways one of
which is fulfilling Sal’s need of a brother. Japhy’s role as a family member is notably more
complicated because his role is not that of a brother nor strictly that of a male: “Japhy was very
sad, subdued, I’d never seen him so quiet, melancholy, thoughtful his voice was as tender as a
mother’s, he seemed to be talking from far away to a poor yearning creature (me) who needed to
hear his message he wasn’t putting anything on he was in a bit of a trance” (Kerouac 16). Role

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fulfillment in this scenario obviously is more complicating. Ray is equating himself to be like a
yearning child who is wishing of instruction from another: a mother. Japhy is perhaps capable of
maternal love or affection or in this case tenderness. Like the act of exchanging flowers as gifts,
this maternal situation falls beyond the spectrum of a normal friendship. It seems Ray is
substituting important figures in his life for Japhy. Japhy fulfills multiple roles in Ray’s life just
as Dean does to Sal.
The significant alpha males utilize methods of friendship for different ends. Dean uses
Sal and takes advantage of him early on: “He was conning me and I knew it (for room and board
and ‘how to write,’ etc.), and he knew I knew (this was the basis of our relationship), but I didn’t
care and we got along fine” (Kerouac 5). Again the reader witnesses the acquiescence of Sal in
the face of Dean who lacks sincerity in their friendship because of his selfish motives. Sal
acknowledges the relationship is built on deceit and dishonesty on Dean’s part, which spells
disaster later on, but he is blissfully unaware of the consequences such a friendship can procure.
Emphasis is put on Sal’s naïveté. Dean further uses Sal later on but for a completely atypical
reason that places Dean in a confusing role to define: “Suddenly Dean leaned to me earnestly and
said, ‘Sal, I have something to ask of you - very important to me - I wonder how you’ll take it -
we’re buddies, aren’t we?’ ‘Sure are, Dean.’ He almost blushed. Finally he came out with it: he
wanted me to work Marylou. I didn’t ask him why because I knew he wanted to see what
Marylou was like with another man” (Kerouac 130-131). The unusualness of the situation is the
scene it set unambiguously in a gay bar, which prompted Dean to open up to Sal possibly
because he felt comfortable enough to express his bisexuality among a variety of men. Dean’s
feelings toward Sal stem from his opulent sex drive and he is somewhat attached to Sal at this
point to an extent that he would be willing to expand his sexual fantasies. In a way Dean is using

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Sal again to satisfy his fancies, but he does so in such a way that can be construed as slightly
selfish and yet genuinely intrigued. This level of intrigue is based on a curiosity aroused from a
fantasy.
Dean’s friendship based on dishonesty, loose morals, and his libertine characteristics can
be sharply contrasted with Japhy’s virtues. In The Dharma Bums Japhy’s friendship with Ray
can be interpreted as more legitimate because his virtues and motives are not malicious: “‘Japhy
I’m glad I met you. I’m gonna learn all about how to pack rucksacks and what to do and hide in
these mountains when I’m sick of civilization. In fact I’m grateful I met you.’ ‘Well Smith I’m
grateful I met you too, learnin about how to write spontaneously and all that’” (Kerouac 41). The
emphasis on this casual conversation can be placed on what Japhy has gained from friendship as
a sort of end developed through interaction. Japhy’s end in friendship is more authentic than
Dean’s I feel because of the casual way he says it. He enacts a sort of “aw don’t mention it”
response when Ray opens up to him. This adds to his purity as a character. In fact, Ray’s
intended ends of friendship are more prominent than Japhy’s and those ends will be gained if
Ray acts as a student. It is easy to see which relationship between the four men in the most
beneficial and I would side with Ray and Japhy because of all the spirituality and meaningful
moments that emerge between them. The takeaway from that relationship is much greater than
that of the other.
The question of purity versus impurity arises when discussing the dominant figures in
Kerouac’s respective books. Dean makes Sal feel impure because of Dean’s own impurity:
“Every one of these things I said was a knife at myself. Everything I had ever secretly held
against my brother was coming out: how ugly I was and what filth I was discovering in the
depths of my own impure psychologies” (Kerouac 214). Filth inspires and breeds filth in this

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scenario. Dean’s dirty ways have poisoned Sal and it causes him to temporarily rail at Dean. A
state of corruption emerges from Dean to Sal and in the process Sal is forces to confront his own
griminess inspired through the holy con man. I do not think Sal is aware of Dean’s powerful
influence at this point. Eventually Sal rectifies his own feelings of Dean at the end: “When I got
better I realized what a rat he was, but then I had to understand the impossible complexity of his
life, how he had to leave me there, sick, to get on with his wives and woes” (Kerouac 302). The
mention of Dean as a “rat” further emphasizes his impurity and equates Dean to griminess in the
form of a rather low animal. And yet even at this moment Sal sympathizes with Dean because he
realizes Dean just had to get on with his life after being stranded. Japhy is referred to as being
pure thus diverging the two dominant figures: “Everything was far away from the easy purity of
being with Japhy Ryder in that high rock camp under peaceful stars” (Kerouac 91). Now a
definite binary can be sketched between Japhy (high) and Dean (low). The virtues of both men
are starkly contrasted. Dean is associated with low virtues such as lechery and libertinism while
Japhy is pure and even saint like. Also, the two men lead Sal and Ray to opposing territories.
Another binary can be drawn from one man leading Sal south and Ray north both in terms of
territory and elevation (Mexico versus Matterhorn). The two men symbolize opposites on
obviously different levels.
Yet another binary can be drawn between the two men: angel versus demon and by
extension heaven versus hell. Their contrast again speaks volumes to the nature of the respective
followers. Emerging from this contrast is again what qualities attract the men to one another. I
stress the importance of the difference between Sal and Ray. Dean tempts Sal through his
devilish ways and Ray is drawn to Japhy because of his interior angelic loveliness. Kerouac uses
demonic language to represent Dean: “There were triumph and insolence in his eyes, a devilish

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look, and he never took his eyes off mine for a long time. I looked back at him and blushed”
(Kerouac 189). Sal’s blush is indicative of attraction to Dean. Sal becomes self-consciously
aware in that pivotal moment of their of friendship that Dean finally knows about Sal’s fixation
and how does Dean react? He responds with a devilish glare that is contemptuous of Sal and
despite this Sal still blushes. Perhaps a masochistic part of Sal is getting off on the demeaning
quality of the devil Den’s glare. The demonic Dean is discussed further: “When Sal says…that
‘the devil himself has never fallen further,’ we may either dismiss the analogy as hyperbolic or
say that the analogy connects Dean not with the Devil but with the devil’s falling” (Dardess
204). I would venture to argue that this statement is not entirely correct because despite the
devil’s falling the thing that does the falling is ultimately still the devil. Dean’s devilishness
imbues him with inherent characteristics such as his living embodiment of sin. His sin is made
up of his libertine existence toward women and his inclination to criminal acts. Japhy embodies
opposing features against the devilish Dean. Kerouac utilizes angelic language in his description:
“He claimed at once that I was a great ‘Bodhistavva,’ meaning “great wise being” or ‘great wise
angel,’ and that I was ornamenting this world with my sincerity” (Kerouac 7). Japhy associates
Ray with angelic, virtuous, and spiritual language. Throughout the book Japhy is referred to a
Bodhistavva and this equates him to a Buddhist angel in the world of the book’s merged
religions. Japhy’s religion in of itself puts him on a higher plane of spiritual existence whereas
Dean does quite the opposite.
Opposition and the presence of another is a cornerstone of On the Road and The Dharma
Bums. Jack Kerouac has created surrogates to replicate himself into his books, which has been
assumed for the purposes of this paper. Both men yearn for kinship and they do find it in the
form of dominant male counterparts. From here the men engage in complex role-playing.

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Relationships include that of the dominant and submissive. That binary represents the
relationship between follower and leader as well. The places these men lead Sal and Ray warrant
a special significance as well. Dean leads Sal south among brothels, lechery, and their own
mutual impurity. Japhy leads Ray north geographically and above elevation-wise as well as to a
higher plane of spiritual existence. Sharp contrast can be assessed from this facet of the
relationship. Japhy and Dean are also equated as various family members that continue and
deepen the relationships between the men. The men are also pseudo-represented as lovers at
various times. Not only that, but deeper revelations are available to be realized. The alpha males
represent heaven and hell as well as angels and demons via Japhy and Dean respectively. These
relationships end up in different places, and it is easy to say which one is more beneficial and
worthwhile in the very end.

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Works Cited
Carden, Patricia Paniccia. “ ‘Adventures in Auto-Eroticism’: Economies of Traveling
Masculinity in On the Road and The First Third.” What’s Your Road, Man? Eds. Hilary
Holladay and Robert Holton. Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2009. 35-59.
Print. 77-98.
Dardess, George. "The Delicate Dynamics of Friendship: A Reconsideration of
Kerouac's On The Road". American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism,
and Bibliography: 46.2 (1974 May), pp. 200-06.
Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. New York: Penguin Books, 1957. Print.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York: Penguin Books, 1958. Print.
Larson, Eric Lars. “Free Ways and Straight Roads: The Interstates of Sal Paradise
and 1950s America.” What’s Your Road, Man? Eds. Hilary Holladay and Robert Holton.
Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2009. 35-59. Print.