Dear John,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Travels with Charley for two reasons. First, it is a captivating travel book that presents an interesting and insightful take on America. Second, I have had East of Eden sitting on my desk unread for like two months, sorry. I love to travel, especially abroad, so I was happy to read what you thought about the horridness of prejudice and the importance of being open to others cultures. I like when you write, “we do not take a trip; a trip takes us” because I have certainly felt this way while venturing abroad in the past. I am also a big Cervantes fan so your homage to Don Quijote is well appreciated.
In every novel my class has read so far this year, the road has been presented in some way or form in conjunction with travel either as a symbol of freedom or limitation. Therefore, after you mention the fact that everybody hungers to move, what specifically does the road mean to you? Does the road lead us to somewhere better or worse or perhaps neither? I find your ‘search for America’ a noble one, and one with emphatic purpose. I agree with you that it is important to find uniqueness in every state because there are so many diverse regions just within America itself. While you try to define what makes up America you become increasingly more concerned and disheartened. Of these preoccupations, you have doubts about the future of the American social life with our citizens becoming more obsessed with instant gratification technology everyday, worries about the large amounts of waste our cities generate, the ubiquity of pop culture across the states, and certain prejudices the country still holds. I think that even in 2016, well after the publication of your novel, these are things our country definitely needs to work on.
I am pleased with how open you act with the Canadian workers and people of all cutlers during your road trip. I think it is crucial to keep an open mind. I enjoy your lessons about failures, manliness, happiness and choices in life. These are things also taught and ingrained through travel. Would you agree?
Didn't you just love the redwoods? I just went camping in coastal redwoods this past weekend and brought your book along with me. “The vainest, most slap-happy and irreverent of men, in the presence of redwoods, goes under a spell of wonder and respect” is a solid quote.
You seem to find yourself lost consistently throughout the novel even stating that you handle reading directions horribly. You’re even lost in your home state of New York toward the very end of the book. It seems as if being lost all throughout the county reflects your feelings about the state of the county and the road trip as well. As you might’ve predicted, we as a nation have contributed massively to environmental degradation and myriad other issues around the world. We have done much wrong, but we have also done so much good and I still see hope for our future. Lastly, many critics have argued the accuracy of your travel accounts in this book. Just for us fellow Stanford students, can you divulge the truthful account of everything you did during your three month journey?
Dear TJ,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind letter! It is always nice to hear from a fan. It may be shameless self-promotion, but you should read East of Eden; it is a pretty good novel, if I do say so myself. I am glad to read that you are a fan of traveling. As I am sure you could tell from Travels with Charley, I love to travel, having felt the itch to take off from an early age. My recommendation: follow your travel desires and just get going as soon as you can.
To me, the road is about freedom, exploration, and meeting new people. I explained in my book that I wanted to travel to search for America. I felt disconnected from the nation. I was an American writer but felt like I knew nothing about the land I was writing about. I honestly don’t know if the road leads to better or worse things. For me, I was not really in search of a specific opportunity. I think for some the road leads them to better things and new experiences, but it leads others to loneliness and isolation. The mindset of the traveler is key; if you expect too much, you might be disappointed. You are right, I was a little doubtful of the future of America from what I saw. And today’s world just makes me think that it is going to get worse.
I think travel and the open road teach us lots of things. Traveling gives you the opportunity to think about your life and your decisions and reflect on your beliefs.
And yes, I love the redwoods. I am so glad that you have been able to experience their beauty. It is truly awe-inspiring. You picked out one of my favorite quotes from the novel; I am pleased that you like it, too.
I often feel lost in the world these days, but I try to remember my experiences in life when I have felt particularly connected to other individuals. My book is entirely accurate; anything I did not put in the novel was not worth mentioning, but I appreciate your curiosity.
All my best,
John