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How did Jack Kerouac use the stream-of-consciousness technique in On the Road?

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Portrait of Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet, looking over his shoulder in a collared shirt, circa 1965. — Jack Kerouac American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, c. 1965.

Jack Kerouac employed a stream of consciousness technique in On the Road to capture the "truth of the moment," viewing traditional revision as a form of "literary lying" that obstructed the heart's intent. To achieve this, he developed a method he called "spontaneous prose," which he famously typed onto a 120-foot scroll in a three-week burst of creativity.12345

His technique was heavily influenced by the improvisational nature of jazz music. Kerouac compared his writing process to a horn player blowing one long note, using "vigorous space dashes" instead of conventional punctuation to mimic the rhythmic breathing of a musician between phrases. This approach allowed him to manipulate time, making the narrative feel less linear and more poetic. By writing in a "semi-trance" state, he allowed his language to be governed by sound, alliteration, and assonance, creating a systematic yet highly individualized style that prioritized the immediate, unadulterated flow of thought over formal structure.14