Taking On the Road as an autobiographical piece, it can be said that limited female identity was a central claim in Kerouac's life. The worst part about the diminished female identity portrayed in On the Road, was the generic-ness or unoriginality of the women. In the novel it tended to seem in parts that it was unimportant who the woman or women were. The important thing seemed to be that there was a woman there. The woman somewhat appeared to authenticate situations for the men in the novel. Every time Sal and Dean traveled if they did not have a woman with them then they tried to find one quickly. This can be seen when Sal arrives in Denver the first time and when Sal and Dean travel to the interior of Mexico. The undeveloped identities in the women may have allowed the men in the novel to feel superior, in control, or important without them having to care about or respect the person that made them feel that way. Whether Kerouac intended this claim to be in the novel, it is there as a reflection of his belief system and the attitudes of the time; apparently there are no redeeming qualities inherent in the female identity.

There is mainly only one part in the novel in which the subject of women comes up. This is the part where Dean has just come to Sal's brother's house and has then volunteered to drive some furniture back to Sal's Aunt's for her. At this point Sal relates that his Aunt has said that there will not be peace "until men fell at their women's feet and asked for forgiveness." Dean, of course, immediately discounts the statement as untrue. "It's not as simple as that" Neal says. Sal, however, does allow that this possibility may be true by saying "the truth of the matter is we don't understand our women; we blame on them and it is all our fault." This is an insightful statement about the female identity as perceived by men at the time, but it can only be looked at as Sal playing devil's advocate to Dean. Sal's actions throughout the novel do not in any way reflect the truth contained in that statement. If anything, this comment makes Sal look worse in his treatment of women because this statement could be construed as showing knowledge that Sal treats women poorly. If Sal knows he does it than the only thing to conclude from there is that he has malicious intent in his smothering of the individual female identity. An appeal in the novel which backs up his beliefs can be seen in Sal's leaving Terry.

This belief by males about the female identity can be seen through Kerouac and his friend Neal Cassady's treatment of Carolyn, one of Neal's wives . Chris Challis, is his book Quest For Kerouac, discusses the selfish treatment of Carolyn by Kerouac and Neal in their later years. He talks of Neal's begging and lack of understanding of why Carolyn could not take Neal back (though she had so many times before). He also talks about Kerouac calling her when he was sullen about his own wife, Stella, with only selfish thoughts for his needs, not Carolyn's. Carolyn Cassady also wrote a book chronicling her adventures with the two in which these same stories are told by her. This selfish disregard can also be seen in the true life letter from Neal to Kerouac sent in 1947. In this letter Neal lies and manipulates two women's feelings with no care towards them on anything more than a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Terry Sal, Sal Kerouac, Sal Women, Sal Dean, Dean Sal's, Virginia Sal's, Sal's Aunt, Neal Kerouac, Taking Road, Sal Sal's, female identity, treatment women, sal's aunt, sal dean, identity seen, women novel, identities women, mother figure, narrow female identity, central claim, little family, limited female identity, female identity evidence, female identity seen, identities women allowed,
Approximate Word count = 2232
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)