Ageing

Sal quietly gets older and older as the book progresses. despite how much he chooses to ignore it, Dean's thumb gets more and more infected and dirty. from coast to coast, the road ends somewhere. the end of the road, however, is nearly empty. everyone else has gotten off at a nearer exit. Not many other people reach the end of the road with their sanity, or much less a friend. Though he doesn't want to, Sal is forced off of the road by his sanity and his loved ones pulling him off. At the end of their lives, Dean made the history books, and Jack did too, but Neal died alone trying to extend the end of the road. Jack was happier and more welcome, because he got off of the road before it consumed him. In this sense, Jack was wrong when he said that the road was life. the road is life for a while, but the road becomes death further down. when all the others have exited, the road is death, forcing you onwards despite the need to leave. Perhaps Jack is right and i am wrong. Perhaps Jack changed his mind towards the end of the road. but no matter the perspective, The road has an end, but that end cannot be the end of your life. The end of your road is deeply personal, when you choose to get off of the road, your life does not end, it moves to the next phase. but for a select few, the end of their road is the end of their life, a life drenched in the fear of the calm, and a fear of what lies beyond the road. because, for Dean, that is all he ever knew.