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"It was a completely meandingless set of circumstances that made Dean come, and similarly I went off with him for no reason." (pg 116)

Does a road trip have to have a prerecognized meaning? Have you ever just started driving somewhere for no good reason at all?

"The radio had been fixed and now he had wild bop to urge us along the night. I didn't know where all this was leading; I didn't care." (pg.124)

Earlier Sal mentions that the drive up to New York would be miserable because, among other things, that the radio was broken. How important to you is the music you listen to on a road trip? Is it just something to entertain you or you try to match your music with your mood. In the story, how important is "bop" and why is it frequently mentioned?

"Cowboys went by in baseball caps and earmuffs, looking for cows. Comforatble little homes with chimneys smoking appeared along the road at intervals. I wished we could go in for buttermilk and beans in front of the fireplace." (p. 160)

At one point along their trip they drove through Texas in one of the worst winters Texas and the West had ever seen. Sal describes what he is seeing through his window. Do you think these images remind Sal of his home and bring about a longing to go back? He describes these homes as 'Comfortable', why do you think that is? Is the current state that he is in

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“This was the new and complete Dean, grown to maturity. I said to myself, My God, he’s changed. Fury spat out of his eyes when he told us of things he hated; great glows of joy replaced this when he suddenly got happy; every muscle twitched to live and go.” (p.113)

Has Dean really changed? Is Sal just saying this because he idolizes Dean’s passion for living and sees him in such a high regard that he wants to see growth and maturity and maybe even wisdom in Dean? Has much changed for Dean since Sal has met him (he is back with Marylou, unsettled, on the road, wandering the country, ready to take off at any moment without an obvious purpose or final destination)? What do you think?

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"Now, Dean, I want you to sit quiet a minute and tell me what you're doing crossing the country like this." (pg 145)
When Old Bull Lee directs this question at Dean, he has no real answer. Is it Dean's free spirit that causes him to roam the country and never settle in one place for a very long time? Does Sal's spirit also feel the need to roam or is it Dean's inlfuence that keeps on the road?