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When one thinks of Jack Kerouac, a number of things come to mind – poet, the beat generation, a rebel. But in his book, The Dharma Bums, it seems the reader is treated to a different version of Kerouac´s life, one that newer fans of this author may not have known before. Though it´s never implicitly stated that this book is a sort of memoir, a reader can be fairly confident that the character of Ray Smith never strays far from the author´s true nature.

The Battle for Enlightenment

From the title itself, a reader can see that this book is going to deal with the idea of Buddhism in some way. Ray Smith, the main character and narrator, is a practitioner of Buddhism, as is his friend Japhy Ryder. This devotion to Buddhism takes both of the men on journeys that aren´t quite as simple as the Buddha might have chosen. In the beginning, we see Ray as a wanderer, a vagabond that doesn’t seem to have any aspirations to settle or to become a part of anything. The first response to Ray´s chosen lifestyle is one of curiosity and one of wonder. How can this man simply live each day not knowing where he will sleep or what he will do? This question is the main focus and the main attraction of The Dharma Bums. In posing this quandary, the reader begins to ask themselves what is important as well. As a person, the reader wonders, do I really know what is important or is Ray´s approach to life something that is more one of avoidance than one of embracing life´s fullness? Perhaps this question is never fully realized in the story, but perhaps it isn´t meant to be answered either.

The Conflict of Lust and Desire for More

With some interludes of sex and the time period´s desire for sexual freedom and expression, Ray becomes concerned that giving into one´s lust is not only a betrayal of his Buddhist ideals, but also a betrayal of himself. Though at first, he is unable to control his impulses, he realizes that perhaps Japhy´s desire to let go of everything may not be as admirable as it seems. Ray eventually learns to listen to his own senses when it comes to his desires, but at the same time gives into his desires to be alone – and with a startling realization at the end. Though Ray seems to be a typical soul searcher, his constant internal dialogue allows the reader to see that it´s not the easiest path – as other books might have you believe. This is a story of growth and of change, but not in the ways anyone in the story might have expected them to take place. But isn´t that the way life is? After all, Kerouac himself could not have expected his life to turn out the way it did. Perhaps the morale is that we can not expect anything. Perhaps Ray is right – we don´t know anything about anything. And that in itself is a gift this book shares.