Big Sur
(Jack Kerouac)

Jack Duluoz

The character of Jack Duluoz is the real-life Jack Kerouac (Sal Paradise in On the Road). At this point in his life, Jack is a middle-aged man who lives with his mother and is heavily affected by alcoholism. He feels as though he is suffocating in a world where everyone knows him and where young people want to learn from him, despite the fact that he feels he is unremarkable. Jack travels to Big Sur to stay in a friend’s cabin in solitude though he soon starts to feel as though he is slipping away mentally and must find his friends. Jack keeps moving back and forth between the need for isolation and the need for companionship not realizing that he is actually suffering from a bout of delirium resulting from his alcoholism.

Cody Pomeray

The character of Cody Pomeray is the real-life Neal Cassady (Dean Moriarty in On the Road). Cody is Jack’s closest friend; he lives in Los Gatos, California with his wife Evelyn and their three children Timmy, Emily, and Gaby. Cody has spent his life moving from mistress to mistress though he always stays with his wife. Jack feels that Cody would be the greatest writer to ever live if he ever took the time to write; however Jack feels that Cody is too busy living life to waste time with a pen and paper. Cody and Jack have a close, almost familial, relationship and Jack sees Cody as an “angel”. By the end of the novel, it is obvious to Jack that Cody sees him as a bit pathetic.

Dave Wain

The character of Dave Wain is the real-life Beat poet Lew Welch. Dave becomes Jack’s closest friend in this novel, in a way, as he spends the most time with Jack and tries to help him through his madness. Dave serves as a stand-in for Cody, who has moved on from the person he was when Jack wrote On the Road. Jack admires Dave for his simplicity and for his ability to not be a slave to the alcohol. Dave remarks once that he would like to spend his entire life fishing, and all Jack can think is how well Dave functions for having been on a days-long bender.

Evelyn Pomeray

The character of Evelyn Pomeray is the real-life Carolyn Cassady. Evelyn is the wife of Cody Pomeray and the mother of Emily, Timmy, and Gaby. Evelyn is a beautiful woman who loves both Cody and Jack terribly much. She tells Jack that, in another lifetime, they will be together for all of eternity, but in this life she is supposed to be with Cody because he needs her. Evelyn sticks by Cody, despite all of his mistresses and his attempts, to hook her up with his friends. Though Evelyn does occasionally entertain other men, she sometimes resents Cody for assuming she always will.

Billie Dabney

The character of Billie Dabney is the real-life Jackie Gibson Mercer. Billie is Cody’s mistress who lives in San Francisco. Cody desperately wants Jack to meet Billie so Billie can learn from him. Cody did not expect Jack and Billie to fall in love, but they did almost immediately, or they thought they did anyway. Billie is emotionally unstable from her relationship with Cody, and it is only worsened by Jack’s indifference and obvious odd behavior toward her. As Jack slips further into delirium, it seems that Billie does as well, often beating her son Elliot and threatening to kill both him and herself.

Elliot Dabney

The character of Elliot Dabney is the real-life Eric Gibson. Elliot is the four-year-old son of Billie Dabney. Elliot is often exposed to harmful behavior by his mother including harsh and random beatings. Elliot is also allowed, by his mother, to watch Jack and her have sex because she feels that it is the only way her will learn what to do. Elliot takes a disliking to Jack immediately, and Jack feels the same, as he cannot fathom why Elliot must ask so many questions. Jack also admits that he is a bit jealous of Elliot, perhaps because Elliot is always hanging off of his mother.

Ben Fagan

The character of Ben Fagan is the real-life Philip Whalen. Ben is a close friend to Jack, as he tries to rescue him even when it becomes obvious that Jack is beyond rescuing. Ben meets Jack at Billie’s house and takes him for a walk. Despite telling Jack that he should not drink anymore Ben buys a bottle of liquor to share with him. Jack passes out before he takes a drink and Ben watches him the whole time without disturbing him. After he wakes the guys drink and walk around the city together, arm in arm. As Ben leaves Jack thinks about what a true friend he is.

Lorenzo Monsanto

The character of Lorenzo Monsanto is the real-life Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Lorenzo is an extremely close friend of Jack’s and the owner of the cabin in Big Sur. Lorenzo also owns a bookstore in San Francisco which is called City Lights; this is where Lorenzo can usually be found. Lorenzo spends some time drinking and being frivolous with Jack and the other guys, but he does not get carried away or out of control as he is one of the more sensible characters in the novel. Lorenzo understands that Jack needs some time to sort out his life and thoughts so he offers Jack his cabin on more than one occasion and even opens it to other friends.

Patrick McLear

The character of Pat McLear is the real-life Michael McClure. Pat is a dear friend of Lorenzo Monsanto and becomes a friend of Jack’s, as well. Pat is a happily married man who has a five-year-old daughter; he and his family visit the cabin at one point. Jack reads Pat’s poem called “Dark Brown”, which he wrote about sex with his wife, and feels that it is the single greatest poem he has ever written. He sees Pat as being a bit dark but shockingly handsome. In the throes of his delirium, Jack calls his publisher and tries to get him to take on Pat’s poem.

Romana Swartz

The character of Romana Swartz is the real-life poet Lenore Kandel. She is described as a “husky brunette”. Romana is the girlfriend of Dave Wain, and she is present on the day when Jack experiences the worst of his downward spiral. Romana is supremely free with her body and with her sexuality; she often walks around the cabin in only her undergarments and she and Dave have sex in very public places such as the beach which is packed with tourists. Romana tries to help keep Jack in excellent spirits, but it proves fruitless.

George Baso

The character of George Baso is the real-life Albert Saijo. George is one of Jack’s two Asian friends, and he is also a practicing Zen Buddhist, which is part of the reason Jack is friends with him. In this novel, George is in the hospital with tuberculosis, and he does not seem happy to see Jack and the others when they visit him. George seems devilishly uncomfortable and looks around to see if any of the other patients notice him sitting there talking to a bunch of filthy beatniks.

Arthur Ma

The character of Arthur Ma is the real-life Victor Wong. Arthur is a close friend of Lorenzo Monsanto and he accompanies Pat McLear to the cabin to visit Jack and the other guys. Jack spends some time comparing Arthur to George because Arthur is the only other Asian friend that Jack has. Other than both being small and Asian, however, they have little in common. Arthur is a painter, and he moved away from his family because they did not agree with his career choice. Arthur has just gotten divorced, and Jack says that Arthur’s ex-wife is the prettiest Black girl he has ever seen.

Perry Yturbide

Perry Yturbide is a dear friend of Billie Dabney and also of Cody Pomeray. Jack meets Perry, an ex-con, when he spends a week at Billie’s house, and he finds Perry to be an intimidating and overwhelming presence. After a seeming joke about kidnapping a General’s daughter, Jack cannot decide whether Perry is a jokester or a child molester/kidnapper. One day when Billie is begging Jack to marry her, Jack notices that Perry’s eyes are watery, and he realizes that Perry is in love with Billie though Perry denies it.

Joey Rosenberg

The character of Joey Rosenberg is the real-life Sandy Jacobs. Joey is a kid from Oregon who dresses in snazzy clothing that Jack meets at the rooming house where many of his friends live. Joey seems eager to learn from Jack, as he is truly interested in the lifestyle of the Beat writers. Jack comes to believe that Joey is Jesus, and he thinks that Joey has a strong sort of faith that Jack should try to learn from him.

Ron Blake

Ron Blake is a young wannabe beatnik that Jack and the others pick up in their travels and take to the cabin. Ron is seriously interested in Jack’s lifestyle and wants to learn everything he can from him, just like most young Beat groupies. One night when everyone is leaving Ron decides to hang back with Jack, and Jack does not have the heart to tell him to go. Jack has a fit of delirium while Ron is there which has him writhing in mental and physical agony. Ron tries to help Jack and tells him that he just needs some sleep, but this revelation only annoys Jack further because he cannot sleep.