Goodbye Friend
Tao, Tao by Control
Tao, Tao by Control, a typical mexican song, marvelously represents the fourth part of the novel in which Sal, Dean, and Stan travel to Mexico. The group decided to go to the mariachis' homeland to live new vibrant adventures and have a blast. Tao, Tao represents the true Mexican spirit we can imagine during their amazing trip. Also, the happy rhythm of the song perfectly matches the characters' happy mood during their joyful time in Mexico. A mood that is particularly present when the friends experience prostitution in a whorehouse.
The final scene of On the Road in which Sal and Dean's path diverge is particularly heartbreaking. A strong link between the book's ending and Goodbye Friend by David Guetta can be established. The chorus of the song says, '' Goodbye, friend, friend, friend, friend, friend ''. It splendidly represents the separation of the two vagabonds. Sal and Dean were at a different stage of life. Sal met a splendid girl named Inez and matured. He was less interested in traveling. Dean was still overly immature and selfishly looking for fun. Also, those lyrics of the song are significant for the fourth part, '' Hold on to the moments we shared / Those are treasures that won't disappear ''. It makes us remember the magical moments Sal and Dean lived together in the last part. They made an enriching trip to Mexico, hit jazz clubs, crossed the United States, experienced prostitution, etc. Moreover, the mood of Goodbye Friend is unhappy and nostalgic just like the moment when Sal and Dean leave on their own side. This sick at heart scene keeps us in suspense because we desperately want to know if it really is the end of a powerful friendship or if they will see each other again.
An excerpt of Sal Paradise's life (Megane)
Mexico was the apogee of Sal and Dean's friendship but also the beginning of the end. This picture is particularly significant as we see similarities between the two friends. It's literarily an excerpt of their life as if they were inviting us in their daily life. There's a ton of charisma emanating from the photo, it's magnetic and we can better understand what attracted Sal to Dean, although we know that ultimately their differences and divergences of values will end their friendships. This shows perfectly what made their relationship so intense and wild: they lived in the moment and always to fully. They are here shown simply laid back with nothing on their mind, but there's is a substantial contrast between the two: as Sal gets a high fever in Mexico when it would be time for Dean to be responsible, he doesn't. Sal would have and as he gets better he realizes what a jerk Dean actually is, although he understands that it's just the way Dean is. That was the limit of their friendship and they will forever be a memory in each other's heart.
The novel On the Road ends as Sal Paradise talk about the sun going down in America. It is both the literal sun going down a symbol of the natural beauty and wonder that were loved by Sal and Dean so much and a metaphor for the ending of something also beautiful: Sal and Dean's friendship. Another meaning can be given to this ending: the end of the novel itself, the finish line of the story, but just like the sun eventually rises up again, we can understand from the ending that although the excerpt of Sal's life that we were given is finished, his story isn't, life goes on. There's something beautiful and intimate in those last few pages and it's as gorgeous and American as a dirt highway under the sunset.
“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? — It’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”
The quote I chose is directly from the book ``On the Road`` by Jack Kerouac. This book has multiple beautiful sentences that can resonate with you while you are reading it. I chose this one because, for me, this quote represents the ending of the book when Sal leaves Dean. While reading that part, I had this feeling that Sal was letting go of something to go explore other things. I felt like he was leaving Dean to open up to a world he had never seen. It is a sad scene to read because it must not be easy for Sal to let go of Dean and leave him, but I felt like it was for the better and it is also what I feel reading this quote.
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