The Dharma Bums  (English, Paperback, Kerouac Jack)

An autobiographical book with semi-fictional accounts of the author’s life in the 1950s, The Dharma Bums is the story of the adventures of Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder as they travel around America.

Summary Of The Book

The protagonist, Ray Smith, is the character who portrays the author, Jack Kerouac. Smith lives in California, and through a poetry jam, he is introduced to Japhy Ryder, a character based on the poet Gary Snyder. Ryder, in addition to being an absolute party animal, is a meditative Buddhist scholar. Smith and Ryder hit it off instantly, and they soon embark on their first ever adventure, climbing the Matterhorn Peak in California's Sawtooth Ridge.

The more time the duo spend with each other, the more Smith is influenced by Ryder. He begins to enjoy the simplicities of life, and embraces activities like travelling, hiking, and exploring. His stint of euphoria and contentment ends with the suicide of a close friend. He decides to leave his home and backpack across the country to North Carolina, where his family resides. En route, he has several unforgettable experiences, he experiences different meditation techniques and is introduced to many quirky people.

Upon reaching North Carolina, things begin to go downhill. Smith’s family often looks down upon him because he is unemployed and idly passes his time. Eventually, Smith leaves and starts living with Ryder in a shack owned by a friend, Sean Monahan. Soon, Ryder decides to leave for a Japanese monastery and the two walk to the coastline before parting. Smith, following Ryder’s advice, gets a job as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the Cascade Range, where he finds true happiness in a penchant for a simple, fulfilling life. First published in 1958, The Dharma Bums deals with the prevalent duality in Kerouac's ideals and practises, and his tryst with Buddhism.

About Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac, born in 1922, was an American poet and novelist.

He had also authored On The Road, Visions of Cody, Desolation Angels, Visions of Gerard, The Subterraneans, Mexico City Blues and Big Sur.

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Kerouac studied at Horace Mann School, and progressed to Columbia University, from where he dropped out.

After a brief stint with the US Navy, he authored his first book, The Sea Is My Brother in 1942, which was not published until 2011. His first published novel was The Town and The City in 1950, after which Kerouac began to write regularly. His regular abuse of alcohol led to his untimely death in 1969. Kerouac is still considered to be the face of the ‘Beat Generation’, a term coined by him to refer to American children born post World War II.