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Definition of Stream of Consciousness
Stream of consciousness is a style or technique of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character's extended thought process, often by incorporating sensory impressions, incomplete ideas, unusual syntax... read full definition
Stream of consciousness is a style or technique of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character's extended thought process, often by incorporating... read full definition
Stream of consciousness is a style or technique of writing that tries to capture the natural flow of a character's... read full definition
Stream of Consciousness
Explanation and Analysis:
Kerouac's most famous novel was based upon his real travels and experiences, and as such, the book often reads like a memoir. The first-person narrator relays his journeys with precision: he states how and where he travelled, who he met along the way, how much he spent and for what, and the things he saw with an authoritative amount of detail. There are a litany of eccentric characters, whose voices Kerouac inhabits with slang and dialect. The novel proceeds mostly chronologically, and the reader sees everything through Sal's point of view.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Denver to Frisco:
In Part 1, Chapter 11, Sal describes his journey to San Francisco with a stream of consciousness style that emphasizes the speed of his travel and the associations he has with the American cities he sees. His imagery illustrates more about the time of day and weather in the places he drives through than any specific characteristics of the cities themselves.
Unlock with LitCharts A+The bus trip from Denver to Frisco was uneventful except that my whole soul leaped to it the nearer we got to Frisco. Cheyenne again, in the afternoon this time, and then west over the range; crossing the Divide at midnight in Creston, arriving at Salt Lake City at dawn—a city of sprinklers, the least likely place for Dean to have been born; then out to Nevada in the hot sun, Reno by nightfall, its twinkling Chinese streets; then up to Sierra Nevada, pines, stars, mountain lodges signifying Friso romances [...]
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