Professor Berger
English 121
5 September, 2012
Life on the Road: Book Review
“Life on the Road” was in my opinion written to entertain, but also to inform the reader about a hitch hikers life. The author explained the basics of his everyday journeys and how they affected him. He explained how he had to adapt to certain ways of living, from where he would sleep to where he was going to find food the next day. Surprisingly traveling also taught him how to better present himself. For example, he learned to stand, instead of sit while trying to catch a ride. This showed his determination and a more favorable self portrayed image. The lifestyle he was used to living had completely changed. He no longer had luxuries easily handed to him as we Americans do today. I also believed he wrote this article in order for us to recognize the small, but important factors in life that we usually miss considering the busy life most of us lead now a days. Wertz said, “I was gone only three months, but in those three months I felt heart.” (Wertz, 13). His view on society and life changed completely after his experience on the road. Being alone on the streets forced him to learn how to fend for himself and learn how to interact differently with people. Through out his encounters he learned there is many kinds of people. He met very beautiful people, overly happy people, extremely rude people, and sadly even people suffering worse than he was. Traits he never knew he had like sympathy peeked their head out and taught him that even though he was struggling, there are still a tremendous amount of people out in the world that have it worse than he did. His journey led him through many challenges, but mainly taught him more about how special life really