Travels With Charley

Rosinante is a GMC truck with a custom camper shell that Steinbeck bought specifically for his Travels With Charley trip. He chose the name Rosinante, after Don Quixote’s horse, when friends in New York mocked his plan as the foolish dream of an old man. Like the original Rosinante, the truck is a reliable counterpart to Steinbeck’s somewhat erratic moods and unplanned wandering. It has only two minor problems over thousands of miles—a flat tire in Oregon and a broken windshield in Texas. Rosinante is a comforting home base for Steinbeck, and he fills the camper with the comforts of home—and occasionally retreats to it even when he has a room for the night if something about the room disagrees with him. In addition, Rosinante symbolizes the simple past Steinbeck idealizes. This is particularly apparent when he uses highways; Rosinante’s relatively small, slow status contrasts with the huge trucks that rush all around them.

Rosinante moves from being an object to a fully formed character as the narrative progresses, largely because of the increasing lack of human connection that Steinbeck feels traveling with no human companions. In addition, the truck is a useful conversation starter in both good and bad ways. Several men comment on how nice the truck is, which allows Steinbeck to engage them in deeper conversation. However, it becomes a liability in several scenes, particularly because it has New York license plates. In New Orleans, Steinbeck hides Rosinante when he fears aggressive Southerners. In Idaho, the cabin proprietor and his son end up in a heated argument after they see that Steinbeck is from New York and disagree wildly on their views of the state.

An elderly French poodle that belongs to Steinbeck’s wife, Elaine, Charley is the book’s second most prominent character and is a silent, uncomplicated foil for Steinbeck’s human complexity. The author often dictates whole conversations that he interprets from how Charley tilts his head or wags his tail. In this way, Steinbeck offers counterpoints to his philosophical musings.

Charley’s presence is a useful tool in many ways. Steinbeck writes that he originally decided to bring him to create an illusion of protection, although Charley is a docile creature whose only means of defense is a menacing “roar.” When Steinbeck is shy to approach people, Charley acts as an “ambassador,” walking up to strangers who are intrigued by his exotic appearance. Steinbeck characterizes Charley as a particularly wise and intuitive dog, and he often calms Steinbeck’s mind when he gets particularly agitated about something he encounters. Like Steinbeck, Charley is old, but he doesn’t seem to notice or care, sitting proudly next to Steinbeck after he’s groomed even though his sagging stomach and weak legs are fully visible.

A running theme throughout the book is Charley’s marking different objects by peeing on them. These objects include a wide range of trees in different landscapes. Steinbeck usually assigns feeling to these “salutes,” which he sees as Charley’s way of engaging with the world around him. This works to both highlight the simplicity of dogs and enhance Charley’s status as a being with a fully formed mind, able to have particular opinions and feel humanlike emotions.

John Steinbeck’s wife, Elaine, appears occasionally in Travels With Charley. Steinbeck portrays her as a strong and independent woman, which is a source of anxiety for him in the beginning of the book when he worries that she’s doomed to take care of him as a feeble old man. She’s hesitant to encourage Steinbeck to take the trip; she knows he can be reckless, as he demonstrates in his mission to save his boat during the hurricane. Except in the very beginning, Elaine appears in the book only when John meets her in Texas for Thanksgiving. However, critics have speculated that she actually joined her husband for several parts of his trip, so she may be a bigger influence on the narrative than the author admits.