# Ida Chicken explained — Spoon River Anthology

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

## What happens

Ida Chicken, after years of self-cultivation through lectures and French study, decides to travel to Paris to polish her culture. On her way to Peoria for a passport, she encounters Thomas Rhodes on the train and is made to swear to support the Constitution—a document she feels utterly unable to defend. The irony deepens as she learns that the Federal Judge, in the adjacent room, has just ruled that the Constitution exempts Rhodes from paying taxes for the Spoon River water works.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The stark contrast between Ida's earnest oath to support the Constitution and the judge's ruling that uses the same Constitution to exempt the wealthy Thomas Rhodes from taxes highlights systemic hypocrisy and corruption.

### Class and Power

Thomas Rhodes, a figure of wealth and influence, benefits from a legal exemption that ordinary citizens like Ida Chicken cannot access, underscoring class-based disparities in justice.

## Character check-ins

### Thomas Rhodes

Mentioned as being on the train to Peoria; the Federal Judge's ruling exempts him from paying taxes for the Spoon River water works.

## Key lines

> And there the clerk of the district Court Made me swear to support and defend The constitution⁠—yes, even me⁠— Who couldn’t defend or support it at all!

The court clerk made me swear to uphold the Constitution, even though I am utterly incapable of doing so.

_Ida expresses the absurdity of being required to defend a document she feels powerless to uphold._

> And what do you think? That very morning The Federal Judge, in the very same room To the room where I took the oath, Decided the constitution Exempted Rhodes from paying taxes For the water works of Spoon River!

That same morning, the Federal Judge in the adjacent room ruled that the Constitution exempts Rhodes from paying taxes for the Spoon River water works.

_The juxtaposition of Ida's oath and the judge's ruling underscores the hypocrisy and class bias in the application of the law._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/ida-chicken
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters