Eddie Character Analysis in On the Road

Sal meets Eddie, a fellow hitchhiker, on his first trip out west. They become friends and Sal lends him a shirt, but Eddie is quick to leave Sal behind when a farmer drives by with room for only one passenger. Nonetheless, Sal and Eddie reconnect in Denver, where Sal gets his shirt back.

Eddie Character Timeline in On the Road

The timeline below shows where the character Eddie appears in On the Road. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon

...continued hitchhiking, and soon met up with another traveling New Yorker, an Irish man named Eddie. Sal says he liked Eddie because “he was enthusiastic about things.” (full context)

Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon

Sal and Eddie got on a bus and made their way into Nebraska, where Sal saw his first... (full context)

...and told him to come see “God’s country,” Montana, sometime. They stopped and Sal and Eddie ate in a diner. A big, “old-timer Nebraska farmer,” came in and Sal was fascinated... (full context)

Sal and Eddie continued journeying with the cowboy and then found other people to hitchhike with. They got... (full context)

At last, a farmer’s trailer pulled up to Sal and Eddie, and its driver said that he could only take on one passenger. Without saying a... (full context)

...says that everyone began planning a trip to the mountains. Sal got a call from Eddie, who happened to be in town and was looking for work. Dean took Sal and... (full context)

...finally found Carlo and listened to some more of his poetry. Sal went to where Eddie was staying and took back the shirt he had leant him way back in Nebraska. (full context)

Along with Dean were Marylou and someone named Ed Dunkel. Sal’s family and southern relatives looked at Dean, Marylou, and Ed with confusion. Sal’s... (full context)

...coast to see Sal. He told Camille he’d be back in a month. Sal took Ed, who also worked on the railroad, with him on the trip. (full context)

Ed wanted to bring his girlfriend Galatea along, but Galatea wouldn’t come unless Ed married her.... (full context)

...ten hours of wild lovemaking,” and decided they would be together again. Dean, Marylou, and Ed drove through the cold Midwest and picked up a hitchhiked who promised them a dollar... (full context)

...Sal says that Dean’s madness “had bloomed into a weird flower.” He went with Dean, Ed, and Marylou for a spin in Dean’s car. They saw a poor black man in... (full context)

Sal, Dean, Marylou, and Ed took off at night for Paterson, New Jersey. They sped along and Dean had to... (full context)

Sal, Ed, Dean, and Marylou went to Sal’s house in Paterson and slept there. The next day,... (full context)

Sal drove into Paterson at dawn to find Ed and Marylou smoking cigarettes in his aunt’s house, not having eaten since Sal and Dean... (full context)

...were looking for a place to live in Manhattan as New Year’s Eve rolled around. Ed talked about a previous New Year’s when he was broke and got free food from... (full context)

Sal asked Ed what he was going to do about Galatea, and what he was going to do... (full context)

Before Sal, Dean, Marylou, and Ed left, Carlo talked to them in his apartment and asked what they were all doing... (full context)

...Bull Lee in New Orleans, who was fed up with Galatea staying there, waiting for Ed. Sal told his aunt he’d be back in two weeks and then took off west... (full context)

Sal, Dean, Marylou, and Ed all felt good getting on the road again. Sal felt as though they were “performing... (full context)

...inauguration for his second term. They saw “great displays of war might...lined along Pennsylvania Avenue.” Ed drove and sped past a policeman, so they were stopped and questioned by the police,... (full context)

...“telling his life story,” and told everyone how he lost his virginity at age nine. Ed talked to himself in the back of the car, repeatedly talking about he was a... (full context)

...there, who used to live with Sal’s wife and him in New York. Galatea saw Ed and was upset, asking him, “Where have you been? Why did you do this to... (full context)

Back at Bull’s place, Sal, Dean, and Ed played basketball and then “turned to feats of athletic prowess.” Then, Sal, Dean, and Ed... (full context)

Sal decided to go see Galatea, whom Ed had recently left in order to go to Denver. Galatea said that she was sure... (full context)

...with their families, living on the same street, and Dean agreed. Dean told Sal that Ed and Galatea had gotten back together. Dean and Sal look over some pictures of themselves... (full context)

...kind”) with Camille. Dean and Sal “had a big night,” reuniting with old friends including Ed and Galatea. They went to a “mournful party,” where Dean was quiet and withdrawn. (full context)