The reason for the inadequacy of language in On the RoadHenry Glass, a boy just released from a penitentiary in Indiana who takes a bus to Denver with Sal Paradise, tells him about his encounter with the Bible in prison, and then explains the dangers of the phenomenon of signification (I firmly believe that Kerouac did not intend any deconstructionist subtext in the passage; nor is it likely that this is a neo-Marxist attempt to explain meaning class conflict between signifiers and signifieds): anyone who leaves prison early and starts talking about his release date is "significant" to the other kids who have to stay. We will grab him by the neck and tell him: "Don't mean to me!" Bad thing, to mean... do you understand me? (256)An eighteen-year-old inmate's use of the word learned is really funny. The comic effect here is based on the discrepancy between the standard meaning and the contextual use of the word "mean". There are a number of episodes in the novel with the same kind of humor: in the novel's opening chapter, describing his first visit to New York, Dean comes out with some absolutely idiotic rants. For example, speaking with Marilou, she mentions the need to "postpone everything that remains of our personal loves and immediately start thinking about specific work plans...". (Kerouac 5). Or, when asked directly by Sal if he needed to scam him for a place to stay, he starts talking about Shopenhauer's "internally realized dichotomy" (ibid.). Dean's (bad) use of language can be somewhat redeemed by his intellectual virginity. and his genuine desire to be like his high-browed friend; in fact, being serious is important and can excuse almost anything. But what should one think of the way Carl...... middle of paper ......rist--the heroes of the generation--never published (Krupat 407). Not even Neil Cassidy, the silent genius behind the movement; but by the example of his life he provided the ideal that made Kerouac's gospel true. Works Cited Ashida, Margaret E. “Frog’s and Frozen Zen.” Prairie Schooner 34 (1960): 199-206. Blackburn, William. “Han Shan Gets Drunk with Butchers: Kerouac’s Buddhism in On the Road, The Dharma Bums, and Desolation Angels.” Literature East and West 21.1-4 (1977): 9-22.Suzuki, D.T. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. Ed. Natale Humphreys; after you. CG Jung. London: Rider, 1983. Kerouac, Jack. On the road. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. Krupat, Arnold. "Dean Moriarty as the Holy Hero." On the road. Text and criticism. By Jack Kerouac. Ed. Scott Donaldson. New York: Penguin, 1979. 397-411.