The Dharma Bums

by

Jack Kerouac

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The Dharma Bums: Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Ray insists on sleeping on the back porch in his sleeping bag, rather than on his mother’s couch. At night, he dons winter clothes and heads into the woods with his dog, Bob, and a few other dogs from the neighborhood. They find the tree where Ray has left a straw bed for meditation. He meditates alongside the dogs, savoring the total silence, falling into a state of what feels like blessed calm. Thoughts about the universe’s unity and ephemerality drift in and out of Ray’s mind. He meditates for about an hour before returning home to his sleeping bag.
Ray intentionally chooses to live in sparser accommodations—the back porch rather than the couch—because it allows him to be in nature and test his ability to withstand suffering. In North Carolina, his plan is the same as everywhere else: he finds a spot in nature to meditate and then spends his time introspecting. In fact, by meditating everywhere he goes, Ray can better perceive the world’s essential unity, because he can see what ties together all the places he visits.
Themes
Enlightenment and Nature Theme Icon
The next day is Christmas Eve. Watching the midnight mass in New York City on television, Ray realizes that he’d rather be right where he is: at home with family. He reads them out a few Bible verses. He essentially has the rest of the week to himself, so he meditates in the woods, reads, plays basketball, cooks for the family, and writes poetry and prayers. He hears preachers giving sermons on the radio one Sunday, and another night, he feels a flash of depression and starts yelling, “I’m gonna die!” Suddenly, he understands how Rosie felt before she committed suicide and realizes that everyone knows they’re mortal, no matter what their religion says.
Although Ray is planning to live a life of solitary Buddhist meditation, he still loves his family and appreciates the Christian tradition in which he was raised. Nevertheless, his unorthodox lifestyle—and his family members’ jobs—mean that he generally spends his time alone, reflecting, introspecting, and transcribing his thoughts as poetry. In doing so, by recognizing and accepting his own mortality, Ray confronts what Buddhism suggests may be the greatest obstacle to overcoming his suffering: his attachment to life itself.
Themes
Enlightenment and Nature Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
Literature and Authenticity Theme Icon
Quotes