Previous
Zeph
Sammy and his friend Zeph are two Americans Richard meets up with while searching for the beach. They pretend to be clueless surfers but are in fact Harvard graduates. Richard gives them a copy of a map to get to the beach, though he later regrets it, fearing they might attract additional tourists, destroying the beach’s exclusivity. When Zeph and Sammy try to make it to the beach, they are killed by the Thai farmers who guard the nearby marijuana fields.
Sammy Quotes in The Beach
The The Beach quotes below are all either spoken by Sammy or refer to Sammy. 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:
).
Chapter 10 Quotes
They were Harvard students. Sammy was studying law, Zeph was studying Afro-American literature. Their surf act was a reaction to the condescending Europeans they kept meeting in Asia. “It’s a protest against bigotry,” Zeph explained, pulling knots out of his tangled blond locks. “Europeans think all Americans are stupid, so we act stupid to confirm your prejudices.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 57 Quotes
I thought for a minute. Then I started to creep backwards along the track. Jed stared at me as if to say, “Where the fuck are you going?” but I raised a hand to tell him not to worry. I knew what to do because I’d seen it done on Tour of Duty.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 84 Quotes
Within five or six seconds the silence was exploded by a burst of gunfire. It was entirely unambiguous, somehow managing to ripple through the trees like a quick breeze and tear through them with shocking loudness. A single burst, but a long one. Long enough for me to blink and hunch my shoulders, and then be aware that the shooting was still going on.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 102 Quotes
It wasn’t completely clear through the shadows, and most of the view was blocked by Bugs’ broad back. I only saw when he rose up. He’d cut Sammy’s head off. Cut it off, and was swinging it by the hair.
And suddenly Jean had a knife and was cutting at the thin German girl, slicing into her belly and pulling out her insides. Then Cassie joined them, hunched over Zeph, working on his thighs. Étienne vomited, and within seconds the corpses were swarmed.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Beach LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Sammy Character Timeline in The Beach
The timeline below shows where the character Sammy appears in The Beach. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10
...then come to Richard. He invites them onto his porch, and they introduce themselves as Sammy, who has white-blond hair, and Zeph, who has yellow-blond hair. They all share a joint...
(full context)
Rain continues to fall while Richard, Sammy, and Zeph get stoned on the porch of Richard’s hut. Eventually, a Thai woman comes...
(full context)
Chapter 11
The next day, Étienne and Françoise ask Richard about his visitors. He tells them about Sammy and Zeph but reassures Étienne and Françoise that he didn’t tell the Americans about the...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...the beach, it’s sunset, and Richard is stoned and still recovering from his long swim. Sammy and Zeph and found him with Étienne and Françoise on the beach and brought weed...
(full context)
...about recently. Richard tries to pretend like he doesn’t know what Zeph is talking about. Sammy says it’s a paradise, but people only learn about it through word of mouth. After...
(full context)
Chapter 15
Early in the morning, Richard sneaks over to the hut of Zeph and Sammy. He gives them the map and tells them to wait three days—if Richard doesn’t come...
(full context)
Chapter 42
...for the beach, who even have a map of it. Richard realizes they’re Zeph and Sammy, whom he forgot about. Richard protests that they knew about the beach before they ever...
(full context)
...and Richard agree that all they can do is wait and hope that Zeph and Sammy go home, taking the map with them. As they prepare to leave, Jed says Richard...
(full context)
Chapter 45
...Pha-Ngan. Five days later, a still-worried Richard asks Jed what he thinks about Zeph and Sammy, but Jed figures that, on reflection, they didn’t seem like the type to deviate from...
(full context)
Chapter 55
...assures Richard that he hasn’t told Sal about Richard giving a map to Zeph and Sammy. Still, while Richard can’t get a clear view of the strangers, he thinks Zeph and...
(full context)
The camp has no good Plan B for if Zeph and Sammy actually arrive with the small group they’ve brought. Richard learns that at one point before...
(full context)
Chapter 56
...spying on strangers that he does with Jed, he doesn’t mention anything about Zeph or Sammy. Richard learns that the arrival of the Swedish men was also controversial, upsetting Daffy in...
(full context)
Chapter 64
...He suggests that Richard should go out to check on the progress of Zeph and Sammy on the other island, while Jed stays behind to offer first aid to the sick...
(full context)
Chapter 66
...He has no need to go down there but plans to anyway. Richard watches Zeph, Sammy, and the others on the nearby island, feeling bored by how little they’ve done in...
(full context)
Chapter 75
Richard realizes that he hasn’t been watching Zeph and Sammy, and that this will make Sal angry. Daffy imagines Sal’s frustrated reaction. Richard gets Daffy...
(full context)
Chapter 76
Richard expected to be excited about having to deal with Zeph and Sammy’s arrival, but instead, he’s just nervous. When he gets back to camp in the evening,...
(full context)
Chapter 77
...hope of survival. Richard is shocked but eventually remembers to tell Jed about Zeph and Sammy’s raft. Jed says they’ll arrive just in time see Christo die.
(full context)
Chapter 79
...mistake that Sal and Jed are all fixated on what will happen when Zeph and Sammy arrive. While he knows the newcomers will present a challenge, particularly for Richard, who would...
(full context)
Chapter 81
...and Jed argue over what Richard should do to track the progress of Zeph and Sammy. Jed wants Richard to try to intercept them as soon as possible, but Sal thinks...
(full context)
Chapter 82
As Richard goes searching for Zeph and Sammy, the biggest problem isn’t the dope guards—it’s the constant hallucinatory presence of Daffy. Daffy won’t...
(full context)
Chapter 83
Sammy exclaims loudly when he realizes they’re in the middle of a dope field. He, Zeph,...
(full context)
...oldest Thai dope guard can speak some English and asks the newcomers who they are. Sammy explains they traveled from Ko Pha-Ngan and didn’t realize the island belonged to someone already....
(full context)
Chapter 84
...once. All of a sudden, Richard hears several bursts of gunfire. He realizes that Zeph, Sammy, and the Germans have actually been shot. Richard nearly throws up. Soon after, Daffy disappears.
(full context)
Chapter 85
...of their own free will, still omitting how he gave a map to Zeph and Sammy. Richard promises not to mention the shooting to anyone else except Jed to avoid stirring...
(full context)
Chapter 88
...seem to be in worse condition than before. Richard breaks the news about Zeph and Sammy apparently being shot. Jed doesn’t react much. Richard asks if Jed is relieved that the...
(full context)
...seeing him too, and Jed says he saw Daffy give the map to Zeph and Sammy. Richard makes a connection and realizes that the times when Jed sees Daffy are also...
(full context)
Chapter 92
...experience compares to the soldiers’. Richard is confident he could leave by taking Zeph and Sammy’s raft or even by swimming back, particularly now that he’s in better physical shape. Étienne...
(full context)
Chapter 102
...When Richard gets up, he sees that the guards left behind the naked corpses of Sammy, Zeph, and the three Germans, as a warning. Particularly with so many people tripping, this...
(full context)
...tell everyone to clean up the mess. She tries to clean the bodies herself, and Sammy’s corpse slips, making it look briefly like he is kissing Sal. Perhaps because of this,...
(full context)
Chapter 103
...half an hour. Afterward, Sal reads aloud the note that Richard left for Zeph and Sammy along with the map. She sounds like she doesn’t want to believe that Richard brought...
(full context)
