The Dharma Bums-quote response

Page 172:
*I went out to the privy and, coming back, wishing to surprise Japhy with a Zen trick I threw the roll of toilet paper through the open window and he let out a big Samurai Warrior roar and appeared on the windowsill in his boots and shorts with a dagger in his hand and jumped fifteen feet down into the loggy yard.
--After hes says privy I am completely dumbfounded. To me, privy is used as the word for bathroom by Australians. I tought that Ray portrayed Kerouac whom in turn I believed to be English. I was shocked after I read that...and somewhat dissapointed. Privy is such a weird word to me that when I read that for some reason immediatly "YUCK" popped into my head. Other than that the quote really had no meaning to me.

Page 186:
* "You love her, don't you?" "You damn right, I oughta marry her myself." "But she's your sister." "I don't give a goddamn. She needs a real man like me. You don't know how wild she is, you weren't brought up with her in the woods."
--Japhy turned out to be quite the disturbed and disturbing man. Not only does he get fed up with his sister's fiance because he thinks that the guy sucks, but he has it in his head that he ought to marry her instead! This is incest and inbreeding. Another thing it is is disgusting and the fact that Japhy portrays one of Kerouac's real live friends frightens me. However, if that is how he really feels abotu his sister, then I believe he should pursue his dreams and invest in true love as logn as his sister truly felt the same way. Individuals need to learn to be happy with themselves and treat themselves with respect , once in a whiel giving in to their sheer desires.

The Dharma Bums-quote response

Page 150:
*"I sit and smoke a pipe and drink tea and hear the wind beat the slender eucalyptus limbs like whips and the cypress windrow roars."
-- This is in a letter Japhy wrote to Smith on his way over. To me this sounds like paradise because of the way he describes his life so casually. Not only does he get to lounge around all day and just lay back and relax on his little straw mats in California, but he gets to drink his calming tea and listen to the music mother nature supplies him with. That to me is ideal in the sense that I love nature and living organisms and sitting outside lounging around, all curled up and cuddled with my favorite drink sounds heavenly.

Page 166:
*"I cooked up a nice pot of beans for you." "You did?" He was tremendously grateful. "Boy, what a relief to come home from work and don't have to cook up a meal yourself. I'm starved."
-- Meaningful and beautiful is what this quote is. Ray had made and cooked a bean meal for Japhy and brought it to him. Today, had anyone done this for anyone else I am aquanted with would find this very odd and would not be the least bit thankful. I suppose since Japhy is Buddist this might have something to do with his beign very grateful. It makes me happy to know that there are some people in the world who are grateful for what they have/get. Knowing that the characters int eh book prtray real people is a comfortign peice of information.

Alcoholism

The abusive consumption of alcohol is known as alcoholism. Almost like a disease, the effects of alcohol on a body can be fatal. Not only do you put your liver to work in a way that over stresses your body, but you can also die from the poisoning. Alcoholism tends to be a problem for people who seem to be having social/personal problems. A person who has an abusive spouse, or abusive parentals tend to have more depression related problems which in turn leads to the alcohol. When a body shies away from social help and strays to alcohol in order to forget about their problems, then what that person needs is serious psycological help. The fact that a substance can take over a life is frightening. The fact that that substance can end a life is even more frightening. Alcohol has always been a favorite in the pleasure department. In the 1920's men would drink all the time in order to get drunk and go wild, beleiving that the drunker they were the more fun they would have. Today substance abuse still exists. This is shown in the novel "The Dharma Bums" as seen by man character Ray Smith who portrays the author himself, Jack Kerouac. Kerouac battled with alcohol in real life just like Smith portrays him to. Smith, when in conversations with another character, often refers back to wine. As you read you begin to see how much of an alcoholic Ray really is. Not only does he constantly rave about wine, but he constantly drinks it. One example of this is on page thirty seven where Ray and another character, Japhy, are discussing their plans about a mountain climb they want to take: "...Do we bring wine?" Ray asks this of Japhy due to his curiosity about what they are bringing. Japhy sort of chuckles and explains to Ray that that would not be an okay thing to do and Ray immediatley becomes dissapointed.

Paper Topic

****ALCOHOLISM****

The Dharma Bums-quote response

Page 122:
*: Everything is possible. I am God, I am Buddha, I am imperfect Ray Smith, all at the same time, I am empty space, I am all things. I have all the time in the world from life to life to do what is to do, to do what is done, to do the timeless doing, infinitely perfect within, why cry, why worry, perfect like mind essence and the minds of banana peels."
--Obviously Ray is on drugs or something when he says this becuase he seems to be making perfect sense and sounds very sophistaced and logical when out of nowhere he brings in banana peels as his metaphor. This makes no sense whatsoever and is completely bogus. The fact that he says this makes me smile though because it is really meaningful if you read it thoroughly.

Page 128:
*"That's my third knife this month those bastards stile from me."
--This is a funny quote from the guy that is hanging out with Ray. They are both once agian drunk and they had visited a whore house where a Mexican cop then came and took away the man's knife. It is funny because he had already had two knives taken away. One wonders why a man must have that many pocket knives.

• Using travel as a way of learning about alternative lifeways.

-- Going to interview a woman named Shirley. She's lived in about three or four different countries and loves to learn about alternative lifestyles and cultures. Some of these countries include Japan, Germany, and the Phileppeans.

The Dharma Bums-quote response

Page 94:
*" I had worked the blood clots right out of exixtance. I felt very happy."
-- Ray is talking about his bad circulation and his clotting again. Apparently his climbing the mountain had completely cleared the veins in his foot of all clots and so now he is therefore clot free. Smith is now ecstatic because he had always ahd a problem with blood clotting and now he's clear.

Page 96:
*" Good, I'll get Morley's car andbe over to get you first thing in the morning, but right now how about some of that wine?"
-- Ray says this to Coughlin after they are both already drunk. This shows, once again, how much of an alcoholic Ray Smith really is. In this story one of his particularly favorite drinks is wine and he is constantly talking about drinking it.

Page 118;
* "Just stand on your head three minutes a day, or mebbe five minutes. Every morning when I get up whether its's in a riverbottom or right on a train that's rollin along, I put a little mat on the floor and I stand on my head and count to five hundred, that's about three minutes ins't it?" "Just do that every day and your phlebitis will go away like my arthritis did."
-- A bum and Ray are discussing the factors of how to treat phlebitis. The funny thing is that Ray lets himself be taugh by a bum on how to cure himself. A completley sensible person would undertand that the process the bum explains is complete bullcrap. There is no way in heck that standing on your head could cure an inflammation on the inside of a vein wall. THis quote is funny because of the techniques shared.

The Dharma Bums-quote response

Page 51:
*"No'm...just climbing Matterhorn." "Matterhorn, why I wouldn't do that if somebody paid me a thousand dollars!"
--This conversation is between Japhy and the waitress at the little restaurant that the men go to for breakfast. They are discussing why the men happen to be there since they are not dressed like hunters. When Japhy informs the woman of their destination and goal she is shocked. Not only does she scoff at him but then she hints that what they are trying to do is nearly impossible with her criticism. Not intending to come off as rude, however, the waitress is simply implying that what they are attempting to do is crazy because it will be a hard goal to reach. The men plan to follow through with climbing anyways which symbolizes that people should not be easily influenced by other's opinions unless they truly want that opinion. People should do as they please if there is a certain goal they desire to pursue.

Page 66:
* " Okay Smithee and now how's about we relax and enjoy ourselves and cook up some supper and wait for old Morleree?" So we unpack our packs and laid things out and smoked and had a good time.
-- Japhy says this when he and Ray are discussing how their hike went and is goign to continue. What strikes me as odd is that earlier in the novel, Smith had mentioned wine to Japhy and wondered whether he could bring that on their trip with them. Japhy had told Smith no because they wouldn't need it nor would they desire it. The fact that they wold desire some smokes as opposed to alcohol is interesting, however makes much more sense when it comes to carrying a heavy pack.

The Dharma Bums- quote response

Page 29:
* "Pretty girls make graves."
-- Referring to Ray's feelings on the topic of lust, this relates to the scene where Princess enters the cabin with the men, who are enticed by her. She is a young, blonde, twenty year old girl who likes to please the men, Japhy in particular. Ray used to be a man who loved women and was all about having fun, but having realized that death is the final outcome he decides to take the pure route in life and give his feelings towards lust up. That is why his philosophy is the above quote.

Page 42:
* "Is thrombophlebitis a peculiar rhythm for piss?"
-- Morely says this while Ray, Japhy, and himself are having a discussion. This quote just seemed to jump out because of the hilarity behind it. Not only is does this word have nothign to do with the process of elimination biologically speaking, but the fact that these three men in particular even brought the word thrombophlebitis up is quite comical.

The Dharma Bums- quote response

Page 5:
* "Practice charity without holding in mind any conceptions about charity, for charity after all is just a word."
-- Ray Smith, as we later find out is the main character's full name, reminds himself of this as he shares his wine, bread, and cheese with a true Dharma Bum he meets freight hopping. The bum happens to be eating sardines out of a can and therefore Ray feels inclined to share his offerings with the man. Ray does this happily and without thinking, though, which points to the quote that helping someone out is not a hassle. The word charity seems to influnece people's thinking that it is liek a chore to aid those less fortunate. The quote proves that is it quite the opposite in the sense that helping others should be fun and not a pain to do.


Page 18:
* "..that showed his belief in the simple monastic life-no chairs at all, not even one sentimental ricking chair, but just straw mats."
--Ray is describing Japhy's hut. The man seems to live with the bare necessities of life, literally. All that you find in the twelve by twelve home were straw mats, his ruck-sack with all of his pots and pans, a pair of never before worn, Japanese shoes, and a pair of socks. Other than that the house was pretty much empty. This is different from a typical modern home which tends to be overfurnished with many lavish items.

Are These Actual Miles - quote response

*Page 584:
"Leo has an urge to cry out a confession."
~ The narrator says this about Leo because he is remembering an occurance of last winter when he had brought another woman home while his wife and kids were away. The way the narrator shows how guilty Leo is feeling that the time proves that he really does love his wife even though he cheated on her.


*Page 590:
"They run everywhere in her flesh, dozens, perhaps hundreds of them. He remembers waking up the morning after they bought the car, seeing it, there in the drive, in the sun, gleaming."
~ In this quote the narrator is implying that Leo is stroking and thinking about his wife, Tony's, stretch marks. This in a sense is used as a metaphor because Leo is remembering when they first bought the car, which was a convertible. This is a nice, gleamy, new car. Perhaps he is remembering when he first met his wife? The way he describes Tony's body is that she is now all old, used up, and stretched out. The fact that he cheated on her symbolizes all of the miles that he and his wife have gone. Too many miles on an old car add up and the result is getting a new car with less miles. Maybe the woman he cheated on his wife was liek that new car? The first quote leads to how he feels awful about the cheating and this quote shows that he actually loved that car. The tie between the two seem to be that he loved both his wife and the car, but when he felt that they were old, he needed something new and enticing. When he starts to touch his wife's aged body and recalls the first day withthe convertible it shows his true compassion. The end of the story lead up to the symbolism and methaphorical meaning behind the title.