On the Road

On the Road

by

Jack Kerouac

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on On the Road makes teaching easy.
A Mexican woman with a small child who has fled her abusive husband. Sal meets Teresa on a bus to Los Angeles and the two forge a connection immediately. They sleep together in L.A., and plan to hitchhike to New York together, but then decide to work in rural California to save money for a bus to New York. Sal lives with Teresa for a while and the two seem to care about each other a great deal, but Sal eventually gets restless and leaves her behind in order to head to New York by himself.
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Teresa Character Timeline in On the Road

The timeline below shows where the character Teresa appears in On the Road. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 12
Privilege and Prejudice Theme Icon
When the bus arrived in L.A., Sal started to worry that Teresa (the Mexican girl, whose name he now happens to mention) was a hustler who took... (full context)
Privilege and Prejudice Theme Icon
Sal mentioned a friend of his in New York, a six-foot redhead named Dorie, and Teresa thought that this was a Madame and Sal was a pimp. The two argued and... (full context)
Part 1, Chapter 13
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
America Theme Icon
Sal stayed at the hotel with Teresa for the next fifteen days. They planned to hitchhike to New York together. One night,... (full context)
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
...marijuana, jazz, and “long-haired brokendown hipsters.” Sal “wanted to meet them all,” but he and Teresa were busy looking for work, so they could save money to go to New York.... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
America Theme Icon
Sal went with Teresa as she got her things from her sister and a friend who lived on “the... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
As Sal and Teresa walked along the road, cars full of high-school kids sped by, the kids jeering at... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
America Theme Icon
The next morning, Sal and Teresa decided to go to Bakersfield and work picking grapes until they had enough money to... (full context)
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
Sal and Teresa bought a bottle of wine that night and after drinking they decided to hitchhike to... (full context)
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
America Theme Icon
Teresa’s brother, Rickey, sold manure to farmers. He drove Sal and Teresa to “see some farmers... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
...drunk with Rickey and Ponzo, and then they ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant with Teresa. Teresa and Sal didn’t have a plan for where they would sleep, so they ended... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Society, Norms, and Counterculture Theme Icon
...found a tent in the “cotton fields and grape vineyards,” where he could stay with Teresa and her kid. Rickey and Ponzo arrived with beer and started drinking. Rickey assured Sal... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Privilege and Prejudice Theme Icon
When winter came around, Teresa and Sal decided they had to leave their tent. Teresa and Sal went back with... (full context)
Privilege and Prejudice Theme Icon
Sal went with Teresa back to her family, but he waited a quarter-mile away, so her parents wouldn’t see... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Not wanting Sal to leave, Teresa told him that he could stay in a nearby farmer’s barn, and she would pick... (full context)
Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon
Privilege and Prejudice Theme Icon
Teresa didn’t want Sal to leave, but he told her that he had to. He had... (full context)