writer (The Town and the City had been published 6 years earlier, and On the Road would be published the following year). He muses on his spirituality and his past, mentioning that he could have married "Maggie Cassidy", a character with a prominent role in the novel of the same name, who is based on Kerouac's high-school girlfriend Mary Carney. Kerouac is largely the only character, with other characters such as "Irwin Garden" (real name Allen Ginsberg), "Cody Pomeray" (Neal Cassady), or "Bull Hubbard" (William S. Burroughs) mentioned briefly. Part One also contains many one-dimensional depictions of Kerouac's sexual fantasies, or ideal women, which would now be considered reductive and offensive. As the fire season draws to a close, and less lookouts are needed, Kerouac leaves Desolation Peak after 63 days, with his mind "in rags". Part Two: Desolation in the World The novel's second section contains Jack Kerouac's hike down Desolation Peak, and his return to society, and hitchhiking his way to San Francisco. He struggles to return to society, feeling sickened by the unfamiliar smell of fresh ink on a newspaper. While in San Francisco, he reunites with his friends, such as Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and "Simon Darlovsky" (Peter Orlovsky). Kerouac describes mixed feelings about whether to live a life of solitude, or to return to society with his friends. His disenchantment with Buddhism becomes more obvious, and he increases his consumption of drugs and alcohol. He is gifted a crucifix necklace by Rapheal Urso (Gregory Corso), and wonders "'What would Christians and Catholics say about me wearing the cross to ball and to drink like this?'" Kerouac would later publicly somewhat readopt the Catholic faith of his upbringing, stating "All I write about it Jesus" in 1968, but throughout his life he had a complicated relationship with Christianity. Book One, Part Two is significantly longer than other parts of the novel, possibly owing to the fact that Kerouac wished to have the first book published as its own separate novel Jack Duluoz's musings reflect Kerouac's own introspection and questioning of his own beliefs, relationships and his life's trajectory during 1956, exploring his affections for, and frustrations with, his friends. Book Two: Passing Through Part One: Passing Through Mexico The shortest part of all, Book Two, Part One describes Jack Kerouac's time in Mexico in September 1956. Kerouac stays with friend Old Bull Gaines (Bill Garver), a