"The Loneliest Road in America," a chapter from Ghost Rider by Neil Peart exposes both strengths and weaknesses in his abilities as a writer.

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 “The Loneliest Road in America,” a chapter from Ghost Rider by Neil Peart exposes both strengths and weaknesses in his abilities as a writer. Although it can be argued that the success of Ghost Rider is due more to Peart’s notoriety as a musician than to his skill as a writer, there are nonetheless strengths in his writing. Peart’s writing definitely has weaknesses, but his writing is intended to be a personal journal outlining how he is dealing with grief and confusion. Thus, some of the unorthodoxies and weaknesses in his work are permissible. Conversely, there are definite literary weaknesses in his work that should be noted. Overall, Peart’s writing is weak in some areas and strong in others.

One strength is that there is a common theme that holds the piece together. The theme is that of the “ghost.” Peart refers to the “ghost” throughout the work. This establishes the fact that he feels detached and estranged from the world.

“The phantoms I carried with me, the way the world and other people’s lives seemed insubstantial and unreal, and the way I myself felt alienated, disintegrated, and unengaged with life around me. ‘Oh yes,’ I thought, ‘that’s me alright. I am the ghost rider’” (Peart 104).

The above passage flows with an off the cuff and candid rhythm, and this adds a genuine sentiment to Peart’s words. The idea of Peart feeling as if he is living as a “ghost” captures how the grief that he is experiencing has transformed him. Furthermore, he recounts meeting a German solider from World War II:

“Casually, he told of abandoning the Zundapp in Kiev for lack of fuel, then walking 800 miles home, with nothing but a bottle of vodka and a piece of frozen bed, marching day after day, even in his sleep. Suddenly, I realized he was describing Hitler’s retreat from Russia in 1943 and that he must have been a German soldier then. Another ghost story” (Peart, 113).

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This meeting was significant for Peart and once more he finds a connection with another “ghost.” This particular story of the German solider, who was a part of such a historic event, is especially powerful. Peart’s relating of this “ghost” story adds a strong dimension to his own “ghost” story. Through recounting the tragic story of the German solider, he is exemplifying how difficult and substantial his own grief is. Additionally, Peart also “searches out the ghostly footsteps of deceased writers…All greats, and all gone” (Peart 123). Once more, he is yearning to connect with something that captures the way ...

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