# Sam Hookey explained — Spoon River Anthology

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

## What happens

Sam Hookey recounts his life: he ran away with a circus after falling in love with a lion tamer, starved the lions, entered their cage to beat them, and was killed by one of them. In the afterlife, he meets the shadow of Robespierre, who curses him and says it served him right.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Legacy

Sam Hookey's violent death and his posthumous encounter with Robespierre reflect on how one's actions in life lead to judgment in the afterlife.

## Character check-ins

### Sam Hookey

The deceased narrator who ran away with the circus and was killed by a lion.

## Key lines

> I ran away from home with the circus, Having fallen in love with Mademoiselle Estralada, The lion tamer.

He left home to join the circus because he was in love with a lion tamer named Mademoiselle Estralada.

_Sam's motivation for running away._

> One time, having starved the lions For more than a day, I entered the cage and began to beat Brutus And Leo and Gypsy. Whereupon Brutus sprang upon me, And killed me.

After starving the lions for over a day, he went into their cage to beat them, and one lion attacked and killed him.

_The cause of Sam's death._

> On entering these regions I met a shadow who cursed me, And said it served me right … It was Robespierre!

In the afterlife, he encountered the ghost of Robespierre, who cursed him and said he deserved his fate.

_Sam's posthumous encounter with Robespierre._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/sam-hookey
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters