In Dharma Bums, Ray's quest to discover some sort of religious definition and in that definition some measure of beatitude seems to be dominated by Ray's relationship to physical settings and his social interactions. Japhy's spirituality, however, seems o be defined within himself and has been discovered through Japhy's isolation form society, rather than Ray's practice of immersing himself in many societies and ideas.
Ray seems to regard San Francisco as his home and his final stop on his way to gaining a clearer view of religious definition and enlightenment. In an effort to find this definition and enlightenment, Ray takes journeys that can be equated with pilgrimages (especially his trips to mountains, which can represent a classic religious experience). Despite this quest for his "true" religion, Ray still faces a struggle between his more traditional Western values and the far more radical experiences he faces in the society he finds in San Francisco. This struggle seems to comment on the culture that surrounds Ray in San Francisco, which is at odds with his experiences during his journeys all over the continent and into the mountains. All of Ray's major religious experiences or encounters (as well as with the idea of beatitude itself) come to him when he is away from that which he considers to be his home, or at least hisresting place: San Francisco.
Dharma Bums is the only text we've read so far that shows the San Francisco Beat culture on a truly personal level. While all of the texts have been involved with or come out of the Beat era, Dharma Bums gives an insight into the social interactions from this era of San Francisco culture.
Question: Does Ray's involvement with Japhy seem to bring him closer to finding any kind of religiou identity? Can Ray's involvement with Japhy be considered in any way as the catalyst for the events in the book, or is Japhy's character simply coinciding with Ray's quest for religious identity and beatitude? What do you think of the relationship between Ray and Japhy overall?
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2 comments:
I really like the point you made towards the end, about Dharma Bums being the first account of the beat generation from a personal perspective. It is interesting to follow these characters and become involved with their dialogs. It is especially entertaining to be inside Ray's head and follow him through these dueling worlds he is apart of.
I like how you have analyzed Ray's charachter to be a person that has a deep relationship with his physical settings and his social interactions. His strong ability to be able to identify with both i too believe contributes to his religious beliefs of gaining enlightenment.
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