His travels across the country

Jack Duluoz uses the road in his travels across the country in an attempt to emerge from the depression he has been suffering from of late. His primary method of doing this is through his travels with his friends. At this point, whenever he remains in one place for an extended period of time his depression seems to overtake him. The only way for him to keep up hope that he will emerge from this depression is by moving. Ideally, he would travel on his own. His friends, however will not allow him to do this. They insist that he travel with them and Duluoz, seeing potential for improvement in his condition through travelling with them, agrees. Travelling with his friends does little more than worsen his depression and he begins a series of travels on his own. These travels, unfortunately, do not help him to improve either. He decides that his time on the road is at an end, that the only way for him to improve is to settle somewhere. He subsequently returns home. The road for Jack Duluoz, though initially seen as the solution to his problems, does little more for him than to worsen his condition. He comes to accept this and shows that, for the poor anyway, the road does not always hold the promise that it may initially seem to. The plight of Duluoz, a man in poverty, indicates that the road may not always provide an opportunity, though it may seem that way at first.

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