Spoon River Anthology · Chapter
Johnnie Sayre explained
Johnnie Sayre, a boy who played truant to steal rides on trains, recounts the moment his leg was crushed by a train engine.
What happens
Johnnie Sayre, a boy who played truant to steal rides on trains, recounts the moment his leg was crushed by a train engine. In his anguish, he prays to live long enough to ask his father's forgiveness, and finds solace in his father's tears and words of comfort. He reflects on the epitaph his father wisely chose: 'Taken from the evil to come.'
Themes in this chapter
Death and Legacy
Johnnie's epitaph reflects a belief that his death spared him from future evil, framing his legacy as one of tragic but merciful deliverance.
Unfulfilled Lives and Repression
Johnnie's youthful disobedience and the accident cut short his potential, leaving a life unfulfilled and marked by regret.
Characters to notice
- Johnnie Sayre
The speaker who lost his leg in a train accident while playing truant.
Key passages
“Father, thou canst never know The anguish that smote my heart For my disobedience, the moment I felt The remorseless wheel of the engine Sink into the crying flesh of my leg.”
Father, you can never understand the pain I felt for my disobedience when the train wheel crushed my leg.
Johnnie expresses his immediate regret and physical agony.
“I prayed to live until I could ask your forgiveness— And then your tears, your broken words of comfort!”
I begged to survive long enough to apologize, and then you cried and comforted me.
Johnnie's prayer for forgiveness is answered by his father's emotional response.
“Thou wert wise to chisel for me: 'Taken from the evil to come.'”
You were wise to carve on my tombstone: 'Taken from the evil to come.'
Johnnie affirms his father's choice of epitaph, suggesting his death prevented future suffering.