Remi Boncoeur Character Analysis in On the Road

An old friend of Sal from prep school. Sal originally heads out west to go see Remi in San Francisco. When he finally gets there, he lives with Remi and Lee Ann for a while and works with Remi as a guard at a nearby barracks. Remi and Sal have a falling out before Sal leaves, but they reunite in New York at the end of the novel.

Remi Boncoeur Character Timeline in On the Road

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

Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon

...Sal was prepared to go west, having saved up fifty dollars. An old friend named Remi Boncoeur had invited him to come to San Francisco. Sal left the half-finished manuscript of... (full context)

When Sal got to San Francisco, he was two weeks late for meeting his friend Remi Boncoeur. Sal says the trip from Denver was uneventful. When he first got to California,... (full context)

Sal found Remi’s place in a neighborhood of “housing-project shacks.” Remi had left a note on his door... (full context)

Sal says that he met Remi in prep school, but the two bonded because Remi had dated Sal’s former wife before... (full context)

Remi was delighted when Sal climbed in through the window and laughed when he saw him.... (full context)

Remi had Sal sleep on a cot in his shack and made sure to tell Sal... (full context)

Sal wrote “some gloomy tale about New York,” which Remi took to Hollywood. After more writing, Sal decided he wanted a job, so Remi arranged... (full context)

...persuade him to give the workers a break. Sal says that if it weren’t for Remi, he “wouldn’t have stayed at this job two hours.” (full context)

Remi and Sal were often on duty by themselves. Remi would walk around looking for open... (full context)

Remi and Sal were often able to break into the barracks cafeteria and steal all sorts... (full context)

One day, Sal and Remi went in to San Francisco and saw the Banana King, an old man who sold... (full context)

Another day, Remi, Sal, and Lee Ann went out to an old abandoned freighter in the San Francisco... (full context)

As September came around, things began to fall apart with Remi and Lee Ann. Things came to a head when Sal went with them to a... (full context)

Frustrated after losing his money, Remi got angry with Sal, and then he and Lee Ann got into an argument. Lee... (full context)

Remi asked Sal and Lee Ann for one final favor. His stepfather, a “distinguished doctor” from... (full context)

...the day of the dinner, Sal had just recently quit his barracks job. He met Remi and Lee Ann at a fancy restaurant, where he happened to see Roland Major. Roland... (full context)

Sal realized that the dinner was a failure and that Remi wouldn’t talk to him again after this. Sal thought of how disastrously his planned trip... (full context)

The next morning, Sal slipped out the window of Remi’s shack while Remi and Lee Ann were still sleeping. Sal realized that he never ended... (full context)

...Francisco, Sal and Dean drove around with their friend Roy Johnson and tried to find Remi. Sal went to where Remi used to live, but couldn’t find him. (full context)

Sal says that the last time he saw Dean was “under sad and strange circumstances.” Remi Boncoeur happened to be in New York, and Sal and Laura had made plans to... (full context)

Dean asked to ride uptown with Sal as far as Penn Station, but Remi refused, so Sal and Laura got in the car and waved goodbye to Dean as... (full context)