The Aesthetic Response of the Dharma TrampsAfter the first chapter of the novel in which the narrator writes: "Just in my swim shorts, barefoot, wild hair, in the dark red light, singing, drinking wine, spitting, jumping, running, that's how we live" (7), I knew the book was going to be not only interesting, but also great. I wasn't unhappy after finishing it either. The Dharma Bums seemed to me to be one of the most fantastic books I have ever read; one that contains an incredibly simple and gripping plot, an introduction and overview of Buddhist philosophy and its followers from the 1950s, and also contains the most provocative insight and philosophy on humanity and life. After finishing the last page, I remember wishing that Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder's journeys would continue forever, but also feeling a sense of contentment that the novel's ending was exactly the way it should have ended. I think, however, that this novel may have been written for me. Kerouac specifically described the life I had been thinking about and justified it by saying that a lifestyle such as a dharma tramp needs no justification other than its purity and simplicity : of which Lao-Tzu would be proud. From the first reading, it is clear to me why this book has been hailed as the Bible and guide to life and philosophy for the wanderer, the tramp and the backpacker. He has the ability to inspire anyone to abandon the life of materialism and television in search of something better and, like Holden from Catcher in the Rye, the reader can find a part of themselves in Ray and Japhy and, therefore, begin to understand their feelings and the reasons that push them to leave the world. So the author not only created... middle of paper ...... they are stubborn practical and materialistic types, they know nothing about the matter, their heads are full of ideas and notions dreamers" (206). This is absolutely true. The closer you get to reality, the more you lose touch with the "reality" that was created for us. That's when you truly begin to learn to see again for the first time and, suddenly, the food we eat tastes better, the human voice becomes sweeter, charity becomes better, and life and all its beauty is revealed for the first time. I think that in writing The Dharma Tramps, Kerouac experienced a great He knew that purity came from the heart and, because of this, he knew that the true essence of beauty was not to be found in magazines or at home. television, but right before our eyes, in the nature and harmony of Zion: Kerouac, Jack Dharma Bums, The New York: Penguin Books.., 1976.