It was my dream that screwed up, the stupid hearthside idea that it would be wonderful to follow one great red line across America instead of trying various roads and routes.
Jack Kerouac
Disillusionment, Dreams, Travel, Expectations, Life Journey
Jack Kerouac’s Quotes On Topics
Occupational Terms | Passage Of Time | Inspiration | Literary Form | Artistic Integrity | Imagery | Human Value | Possibility | Attraction | Life Path | Inner Life | Addiction | Motherhood | Betrayal | Sorrow | Personal Conviction | Dynamic | Wilderness | Happiness | Life Challenges | More
More Jack Kerouac Quotes
“I like it because its ugly.” Jack Kerouac
Beauty, Perception, Appreciation, Unconventional, Aesthetics
Jack Kerouac Beauty, Perception, Appreciation, Unconventional, Aesthetics“You aren't ever going to be anything in this world unless you do what you want to do, when you want to do it – don't plan anything, just go out and do it.” Jack Kerouac
Spontaneity, Self-actualization, Freedom, Action, Life Advice
Jack Kerouac Spontaneity, Self-actualization, Freedom, Action, Life Advice“I don't wanta hear all your word descriptions of words words words you made up all winter, man I wanta be enlightened by actions.” Jack Kerouac
Action, Enlightenment, Words, Frustration, Experiential Learning
Jack Kerouac Action, Enlightenment, Words, Frustration, Experiential Learning“The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great, that I thought I was in a dream.” Jack Kerouac
Atmosphere, Wonder, Potential, Dreamlike Reality, Urban Exploration
Jack Kerouac Atmosphere, Wonder, Potential, Dreamlike Reality, Urban Exploration“Being Crazy is the least of my worries.” Jack Kerouac
Sanity, Priorities, Perspective, Mental State, Life Challenges
Jack Kerouac Sanity, Priorities, Perspective, Mental State, Life Challenges“Pain or love or danger makes you real again...” Jack Kerouac
Authenticity, Emotions, Risk, Aliveness, Human Experience
Jack Kerouac Authenticity, Emotions, Risk, Aliveness, Human Experience“They were like the man with the dungeon stone and gloom, rising from the underground, the sordid hipsters of America, a new beat generation that I was slowly joining.” Jack Kerouac
Counterculture, Beatnik, America, Social Movement, Cultural Shift
Jack Kerouac Counterculture, Beatnik, America, Social Movement, Cultural Shift“Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” Jack Kerouac
Adventure, Life, Motivation, Experience, Priorities
Jack Kerouac Adventure, Life, Motivation, Experience, Priorities“The mere thought of looking out the window at Mexico – which was now something else in my mind – was like recoiling from some gloriously riddled glittering treasure-box that you're afraid to look at because of your eyes, they bend inward, the riches and the treasures are too much to take all at once.” Jack Kerouac
Perception, Overwhelm, Beauty, Mental Imagery, Cultural Richness
Jack Kerouac Perception, Overwhelm, Beauty, Mental Imagery, Cultural Richness“Mad raging sunsets poured in seafoams of cloud through unimaginable crags, with every rose tint of hope beyond, I felt just like it, brilliant and bleak beyond words. Everywhere awful ice fields and snow straws; one blade of grass jiggling in the winds of infinity, anchored to a rock. To the East, it was gray; to the north, awful; to the west, raging mad, hard iron fools wrestling in the groomian gloom; to the south, my father's mist.” Jack Kerouac
Nature, Emotion, Description, Perception, Reflection
Jack Kerouac Nature, Emotion, Description, Perception, Reflection“This is not the happiness of a magazine writer who sends in his gay little philosophy of life to the editor for the one paragraph spread in front of the magazine: This is a serious happiness full of doubts and strengths. I wonder if happiness is possible. It is a state of mind, but I'd hate to be a bore all my life, if only because of those I love around me. Happiness can change into unhappiness just for the sake of change.” Jack Kerouac
Happiness, Complexity, Philosophy, Doubt, Change
Jack Kerouac Happiness, Complexity, Philosophy, Doubt, Change“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” Jack Kerouac
Travel, Life, Journey, Adventure, Nomadic Spirit
Jack Kerouac Travel, Life, Journey, Adventure, Nomadic Spirit“Everything I wrote was true because I believed what I saw.” Jack Kerouac
Truth, Perception, Writing, Belief, Reality
Jack Kerouac Truth, Perception, Writing, Belief, Reality“Everything is perfect on the street again, the world is permeated with roses of happiness all the time, but none of us know it. The happiness consists in realizing that it is all a great strange dream.” Jack Kerouac
Happiness, Perception, Reality, Joy, Reflection
Jack Kerouac Happiness, Perception, Reality, Joy, Reflection“Soon I'll find the right words, they'll be very simple.” Jack Kerouac
Expression, Simplicity, Anticipation, Writing, Communication
Jack Kerouac Expression, Simplicity, Anticipation, Writing, Communication“There was nothing to talk about anymore. The only thing to do was go.” Jack Kerouac
Action, Silence, Movement, Decision, Finality
Jack Kerouac Action, Silence, Movement, Decision, Finality