# Herman Altman explained — Spoon River Anthology

> Chapter companion for Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

## What happens

Herman Altman reflects on his life of integrity and opposition to injustice, rejecting the idea of a monument or bust after his death for fear that his legacy would be co-opted by his enemies and used for dishonest purposes. He insists on remaining an untainted memory for those who truly knew and loved him.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Legacy

Herman Altman explicitly rejects monuments and busts to prevent his memory from being perverted by enemies, emphasizing the desire for an untainted legacy.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

Altman warns that thieves and liars—his enemies—might claim him after death, using his image to support oppression and lies.

## Character check-ins

### Herman Altman

The speaker of the epitaph, who contemplates his legacy and rejects monuments to preserve the authenticity of his memory.

## Key lines

> Did I follow Truth wherever she led, And stand against the whole world for a cause, And uphold the weak against the strong?

Did I pursue truth relentlessly, oppose the world for a principle, and defend the powerless against the powerful?

_Altman questions whether his life was defined by moral courage and advocacy for the vulnerable._

> Build me no monument Lest my memory be perverted to the uses Of lying and oppression.

Do not erect a monument to me, or my memory might be twisted to serve falsehood and tyranny.

_Altman fears that a physical memorial could be exploited by his adversaries to misrepresent his life._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/herman-altman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters