# Josiah Tompkins explained — Spoon River Anthology

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

## What happens

Josiah Tompkins reflects on his life in Spoon River, where he was well-known, beloved, and wealthy. He describes how all but one of his children left home, and that remaining son eventually turned against him, siding with his wife to force Josiah to move to Missouri. Josiah made a will as his son dictated, but the son profited little from it.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Betrayal

Josiah's son and daughter-in-law betray his trust, manipulating him into moving and rewriting his will for their own benefit.

### Unfulfilled Lives and Repression

Josiah's life ends in disappointment and loss, as his fortune dwindles and his family's loyalty proves hollow.

## Character check-ins

### Josiah Tompkins

The speaker and subject of the chapter; a once-wealthy and beloved man of Spoon River, now betrayed by his son and daughter-in-law.

## Key lines

> And he quarreled with me about the business, And his wife said I was a hindrance to it; And he won his mother to see as he did, Till they tore me up to be transplanted With them to her girlhood home in Missouri.

The son argued with Josiah over the family business, and the daughter-in-law claimed Josiah was an obstacle. The son convinced his mother to agree with them, and together they forced Josiah to move to Missouri, the wife's hometown.

_This passage illustrates the family's betrayal and the coercion that led to Josiah's displacement._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/josiah-tompkins
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters