Most of society remains tied to where they are by situation, environment, and people, either for necessity and not being capable of movement, or through sentimentality. Throughout the book, Jack meets many interesting people and groups, all of whom disband at some point. While he is getting to know new people, he manages to keep himself from becoming tied to them. This is inconsistent with the last line of the Whitman quote. But the theme that binds them together is the freedom of travel, where money and law become concepts strangely found in the background, and individuality and connections with those around you, for however little time, become the dominant reality.