Journal 2: Rewriting a Scene from Kerouac's On the Road, Remi's View

This assignment is a rewrite of a scene from Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road,' from the perspective of the character Remi Boncoeur. The student analyzes Remi's character, focusing on his relationships with Sal, Lee Ann, and his family. The rewritten scene depicts Remi's emotional state and actions leading up to a tragic event, exploring his motivations and the impact of his past experiences. The student also provides a commentary on the choices made in the rewrite, explaining how they aimed to highlight Remi's complexity and provide a deeper understanding of his character within the novel's narrative. The assignment fulfills the prompt's requirement to rewrite a scene from a different character's perspective and provide a detailed analysis of the choices made.

Running head: JACK KEROUAC’S ON THE ROAD
JACK KEROUAC’S ON THE ROAD
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Part One:
The novel “On the Road” is written by Jack Kerouac in the year 1957 and the main
focus of the storyline is based on the travelling experiences by Kerouac along with his
friends. The main protagonist Sal who has been introduced as the character addicted to Jazz,
poetry, and usage of drugs. In the upcoming scenes, Sal goes to visit his friend Remi and now
let the readers venture the storyline through Remi’s perspective. Remi knew that Sal was
visiting his place, so he thought of leaving a note behind so that he can find him in their old
place near dockyard. Sal was quite excited to meet Remi, and somehow, things did not go
according to his plan. He wanted to surprise Remi but he got to know it from his close
friends, and the surprise got hampered drastically.
Remi left a note in which it was written that he would be meeting Sal at their old
place, Dockyard. The dockyard has been in the news for various wrong reasons or rather
spooky reasons. In short, Remi met his girlfriend Lee Ann in a ship named “The Rising Sun”
and way two years back, Remi went to a ballroom party with Sal where he met Lee Ann in
this ship. Therefore, a connection instantly got flashed among themselves, and they thought
of getting into a living relationship. They even shifted at their new house in Mill City, and
things did not go well between them and eventually, they broke up in the previous year. Lee
Ann called Remi on Christmas eve to meet and to dine with her so that they can dissolve their
issues. Lee Ann wanted to give a fresh new start but, Remi was confused because she never
contacted him in the whole year. Yet, Remi went there and had a cosy dinner with her, and
they even danced together.
Remi even approached her so that they can get married and can stay together for the
rest of their lives. Somehow, Remi was getting the same vibes from Lee Ann but,
unfortunately, she dropped the decision and informed him that she was getting married to

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someone else from a higher class authority. Remi was shocked and angry on her decision,
and they just fought for that night, and ultimately, Remi returned home with bloodstains in
his clothes.
Finally, the scene shifts to Sal, reading the note and visits Remi at that ship and
finally, when they got to see each other, they felt so delighted. Remi hugged Sal so tightly
and started to cry and eventually, Sal did not have any clue as what had happened to him.
Lastly, Remi told about the incident that occurred on Christmas Eve. He was having a fear
that he may get caught in the upcoming days and the cops have been suspecting him for a
very long time. The cops have been eyeing on him for several days, and he has been escaping
them for two weeks now. Sal was curious to know why was he running away from the police.
He thought that since Remi used to steal a lot of things from each of his workplaces, so he
might have stolen a rather costly item this time. The case was different, Remi accidentally
murdered Lee Ann on that day, and the police was unable to find any traces against him.
Remi used to work at his stepfather’s place where he started to steal things and whenever he
used to get caught and he used to get a good scolding and beating. In this way, he was
affected by his family issues and that destroyed his relationship with his girlfriend as well.
His mother left his biological father to marry another man and ultimately, she lost her life due
to acute sickness.
Remi was shattered when he heard that Lee Ann came to meet him for the last time
and was requesting him to spend the last night with her. Remi instantly got so angry and
aggressive that he immediately took a bottle of wine and smashed on her head. She was
craving for help but unfortunately died at the end. Somehow, he realised that he has made a
grave mistake and thought of rectifying, but it was too late. He was gifted with a sharp mind
so he thought of hiding Lee Ann’s body at the basement, which was a secret chamber, and
almost no one knew about that chamber. It was built to store black money or any costly

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items, and it was quite an old ship, and it was recreated after many years. It was mainly used
for party purposes and eventually, he kissed on her forehead and stuffed inside the secret
chamber.
Sal was extremely shocked after hearing such a piece of news and was quite reluctant
to save Remi’s life. Unfortunately, he was late to do so, and Remi had already recognised his
mistake and was willing to lose his life for Lee Ann. His love was absolutely pure, and so he
thought of meeting Sal for the last time. Ultimately, Remi drank poison in front of Sal, and
just wanted to convey his last wish, and that was to sleep beside Lee Ann. Sal tried hard to
save him but it was too late and was quite helpless. Finally, the police came and rescued both
the dead bodies and the last scene takes place where he was offering flowers at Remi and Lee
Ann’s grave.

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Part two:
The whole novel has been serving an enjoyable experience to the readers, but there
are some particular chapters or precisely scenes that need consideration from the readers. The
character, Remi Boncoeur has made a few appearances in three chapters of this novel, and
therefore, the readers might feel excited to know about him and much not been talked about
him in the whole story. Remi has been a responsible character, which can be looked upon for
clear motivation and a good friend. The role is quite impressive and he has diverted the scene
towards him. Sal can be the protagonist but, he can be overlooked during the time Remi has
entered. So there is no point in explaining why the character should not get the spotlight apart
from Sal.
Remi can be recognised among the readers as the violent person and the whole
narrative structure is based on third-person perspective and readers can see his violent image
in the previous section. Through this scene, one can gather a lot of information along with
facts about three characters such as Remi, Lee Ann and Sal. The appropriate concentration
should be upon Remi as he has grabbed the eyeballs of the readers at several places whether a
thief with good morals, a protective boyfriend, a kind-hearted friend along with an unsatisfied
son. He never deliberately wanted to murder Lee Ann and felt quite shattered and
disheartened when things did not perform in his way. The readers should understand and
stimulate their ideas on this character as he drags the chapter where, any reader can get in
touch with pure reality such as aggressive nature, heartbroken scenes, and hesitant connection
with his father and mother and stealing habits due to monetary issues. The main idea to
choose and focus on Remi’s character is to highlight the real image that he shares with his
friend, girlfriend, family and his aggression. The novel has always shifted towards a sensory
detail, and the theme dissatisfaction and depression is also spotted in Remi’s Character. The

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ideas can be incorporated from the original perspective and have gathered the roots for other
characters as well. There were no such difficulties that were created during the summarising
part but understanding the necessary qualities of Remi’s role was essential and the readers
can easily stimulate their ideas regarding the novel along with this scene.