Study Guide: Where the Crawdads Sing
Study Guide: Where the Crawdads Sing

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    On the Road

    Jack Kerouac

    Study Guide
    • Study Guide
    • Summary
      • Summary & Analysis
      • Part I, Chapters 1-2
      • Part I, Chapters 3-5
      • Part I, Chapters 6-10
      • Part I, Chapters 11-12
      • Part I, Chapters 13-14
      • Part II, Chapters 1-4
      • Part II, Chapters 5-7
      • Part II, Chapters 8-11
      • Part III, Chapters 1-4
      • Part III, Chapters 5-8
      • Part III, Chapters 9-11
      • Part IV, Chapters 1-3
      • Part IV, Chapters 4-5
      • Part IV, Chapter 6 - Part V
      • Full Book
      • Full Book Summary
    • Characters
    • Essays
      • Mini Essays
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    • Further Study
      • Bibliography
      • Jack Kerouac and On the Road Background

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    Characters

    Characters
    • Sal Paradise

      The narrator, a young writer.

    • Dean Moriarty

      The hero, a reckless, energetic, womanizing young man from Colorado who has been in and out of jail.

    • Carlo Marx

      A good friend of Sal and Dean's, a brooding poet who is sensual and energetic.

    • Marylou

      Dean's first wife, a pretty "dumb" blonde from Colorado.

    • Ed Dunkel

      A tall, affable friend of Sal and Dean's. Not too bright, he'll do anything Dean says.

    • Galatea Dunkel

      Ed Dunkel's serious, disapproving newlywed wife.

    • Remi Boncoeur

      An old friend of Sal's from prep school. Remi, a flamboyant Frenchman, is a petty thief and gambler, constantly in debt but extravagant and sometimes gallant and generous.

    • Lee Ann

      Remi Boncoeur's sulky girlfriend.

    • Sal's aunt

      She is tolerant, supportive, and kind. Sal lives at her house in Paterson, New Jersey, and Long Island. Throughout Sal's wanderings, she sends him money.

    • Chad King

      Sal's friend from Denver; young, slim, blond and soft-spoken. He is interested in philosophy, anthropology, and pre-historic Indians.

    • Tim Gray

      A friend of Sal's in Denver.

    • Roland Major

      A friend with whom Sal lives briefly in Denver. Major is a Hemingway-esque writer who is scornful of "arty" types but snobby himself, often talking to Sal about Europe and fine wines.

    • Camille

      Dean's second wife, for whom he divorces Marylou. Loyal Camille lives in San Francisco with her and Dean's children.

    • The Rawlinses

      Ray and Babe, brother and sister, Denver friends of Sal's group. Babe, "an enterprising blonde," is Tim Gray's girlfriend.

    • Rita Bettencourt

      A waitress in Denver whom Dean sets up with Sal. According to Dean, she has a "sex problem." Sal tries to prove to her that sex is beautiful, but he fails to impress her.

    • Old Bull Lee

      "Long, lean, strange and laconic," a long-time friend of Sal and Carlo, the teacher of their group. A traveler, writer, and junkie.

    • Elmer Hassel

      A lost friend whom Sal and Dean seek everywhere they go.

    • Jane Lee

      Bull Lee's sarcastic wife, a benzedrine junkie.

    • Lucille

      A married woman in New York whom Sal wants to marry for awhile.

    • Denver D. Doll

      A Central City friend, whom Sal sees all over town. Eager Denver D. Doll shakes hands and makes sometimes-incoherent pleasantries ("Good afternoon" at midnight, "Happy New Year," etc.)--from morning to night, a caricature of an official.

    • Terry

      A pretty Mexican girl with whom Sal spends fifteen days in California. She comes from a family of grape-pickers in Sabinal, has a son, and is trying to escape a husband who beat her.

    • Rickey

      Terry's wild, drunk, happy-go-lucky brother whom Sal meets in Sabinal.

    • Ponzo

      Terry and Rickey's friend, a manure-seller who smells like it. Big and eager to please, Ponzo is in love with Terry.

    • Johnny

      Terry's seven-year-old son.

    • Hingham

      Sal's friend in Tucson, Arizona; a shy writer who lives with his wife, baby, and mother.

    • Slim Gaillard

      A friend of Dean's in San Francisco, Slim goes to jazz joints and adds the suffix "orooni" to everything he says.

    • Roy Johnson

      A friend of Sal's who chauffeurs Dean and Sal in San Francisco..

    • Inez

      Dean's third wife, a sexy brunette he meets in New York.

    • Stan Shephard

      An enthusiastic friend of Tim Gray's who goes to Mexico with Dean and Sal. Stan has a controlling grandfather he is trying to escape.

    • Victor

      The kind, polite Mexican man; Sal, Dean, and Stan's guide in Gregoria.

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