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Ben
Sam is the narrator’s middle child. He is interested in watching the television and impressing his older brother, Ben, who he looks to for affirmation. The narrator remembers nostalgically how, the Christmas before, Sam had been “worried about wetting the bed on Christmas Eve in case Santa saw.” This year—taking the lead from his brother—Sam seems indifferent to the festivities or the excitement of Christmas.
Sam Quotes in Like a House on Fire
The Like a House on Fire quotes below are all either spoken by Sam or refer to Sam . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Like A House on Fire Quotes
“Look,' she says, 'either tell Sam to get it out, or forget about it. Just give the martyrdom and control freakery a rest.”
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This argument—between the narrator and his wife—serves as the story’s climax. The tensions in their marriage come to a head when Claire snaps at her injured husband after watching him strain his back in an attempt to retrieve Sam’s forgotten shoe from under the couch. Claire cannot bear to see her husband risking his recovery for something she perceives to be so unimportant, and she accuses him of “martyrdom and control freakery.” Her use of the word “martyrdom” indicates that she perceives his need for order and neatness as a complaint or criticism of her and the rest of the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis
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Sam Character Timeline in Like a House on Fire
The timeline below shows where the character Sam appears in Like a House on Fire. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Like A House on Fire
The narrator feels ashamed as he watches his wife and his son, Sam, “lugging” their newly purchased Christmas tree towards the car. Feeling judged by the “Rotary guy”...
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...the broken nativity scene, “only the baby Jesus […] remains miraculously unscathed.” His three children—Ben, Sam, and Evie—pay little attention to him as he walks past with the box of broken...
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...oldest son, Ben, tells him that only Evie is interested. When the narrator checks with Sam (who would ordinarily be excited to decorate the tree), asking if he really doesn’t want...
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Just as the narrator begins to lie down, Sam reminds him about the remote control, but it’s too late—the narrator has already begun his...
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...the ground like “an old-age pensioner who’s dropped something”—in order to retrieve a pair of Sam’s shoes from under the couch—Claire accuses her husband of “Control freakery” and implores him to...
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The narrator takes a photo of Evie’s nativity scene, says some encouraging words to Sam, and shares a joke with Ben, thinking that “laughing feels like remembering what it’s like...
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