California Literature (Gasparino)

Spring 2010 The Dharma Bums Essay Questions

Directions: Choose only one of the following essay prompts; although some of the questions are open to contemporary applications, make sure to refer to the core text at least four times in your paper in an authentic fashion.  Using the MLA guidelines for both format and the proper citing of sources, your paper must be at least 3 pages. Papers must not exceed 5 pages.  Make sure your controlling idea is clear and well constructed, as it should drive your paper’s intent.  The paper is due next Friday, March 12^th.  The book is expected to be completed by Monday, March 8^th.

1.     This course or book by no means provides a strict history of San Francisco, or California in general, but serves as an example-rich study of myths, narratives, visions, and multiple life –styles that the city has generated:  San Francisco as a US frontier where the myths of Europe and the Americas meet the influx of Asia and the Pacific forces and forge creative energies, literatures, and social survival tactics of the future.  Discuss how these interacting elements play out in the lives of Ray Smith, Japhy Ryder, Alvah Goldberg, and others in the novel. 

2.     The Sanskrit word “dharma” can loosely be translated as “that which binds together.”  It is often viewed as the “cosmic bond” that keeps the universe in motion.  It is the upmost truth or greater purpose that each of us is connected to individually as we pursue our path during this lifetime.  This idea is illustrated in Kerouac’s works, particularly in The Dharma Bums and On The Road, as we follow the characters Ray Smith and Sal Paradise in their pursuit of their individual “dharma.”  Through their journeys, we witness their personal discoveries of this truth through their experiences with various people and places.  Like Kerouac, we are all also on our own journeys in pursuit of our personal “truth.” In this reflective response, explain how Kerouac’s pursuit of “the dharma” parallels your own.  Who are some of the “dharma bums” or “people of significance or wisdom” that have inspired you?  What have they taught you? What are some of the lessons that you have learned thus far that will guide you on your path?  What is your “dharma”?  Make sure to make direct connections to the text.  You must use at least FOUR of Kerouac’s experiences to compare / contrast to your own.  This response is a time to both personally reflect AND demonstrate that you have clarity of the text.  Thus, there should be an even balance of both. 

3.     Write a compare and contrast essay using Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums and another quest novel, such as Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley, or Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

4.     Write an analysis of Kerouac’s style, considering his use of narrative, imagery, other forms of figurative language, various forms of syntax, satire, humor, etc.

5.     Write a thorough discussion of both the “main-stream” and “counter culture” of our time, providing specific examples from different disciplines such as media, popular culture (film, music, art), politics, etc., discussing their various impacts on our society, and comparing your findings with the ways Kerouac conveys both of these polarities in his novel.