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| Mexicali, Mexico |
Your assignment for today was to read Chapter 18 of The Dharma Bums and summarize it in one sentence. Below is my one-sentence summary -- post yours as a comment. I'd also love to see general comments about the chapter, or questions.
The Dharma Bums Chapter 18 in one sentence:
Ray catches various rides from Riverside all the way to the Mexican border and walks across to Mexicali where he is warned off sleeping in the riverbottom mudflats, eats some garbanzo soup, digs the people and places, recrosses the border at dusk, is searched by American guards, mistakenly thinks he can catch the Zipper to Colorado in El Centro (where he goes by bus), starts thumbing, gets a ride from a middlewestern man (Beaudry) who promises to take Ray to Tucson in his big truck if he shows him around Mexicali that night, Ray shows him a good time at the old saloons of real Mexico and a whorehouse, they cross back over and reach Tucson, Ray cooks him a big steak over a fire along the highway, Beaudry ponders his life compared to Ray's and offers to take Ray clear to Ohio, Ray has a Buddhist-tinged vision over the mountains of Alamogordo, they make only one overnight stop to sleep in a hotel in Independence, Missouri, Beaudry drops Ray off in Springfield, Ohio, Ray buys a bus ticket to Rocky Mount, changes his mind and tries to cash in his ticket but they won't do it, instead of waiting for the next bus he decides to hitchhike to the next town and catch the bus there, Ray finally reaches his mother's and looking at her he thinks of Japhy and decides that "People have good hearts whether or not they live like Dharma Bums. Compassion is the heart of Buddhism."
Your next assignment is to read The Dharma Bums Chapter 19 and post a one-sentence summary.
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