Sam Character Analysis in The Underground Railroad

Sam is a station agent who owns a saloon in South Carolina. He helps to arrange Cora and Caesar’s new identities and placement in the dormitories. He is kind and dedicated to his work for the underground railroad, although he possesses a faith in the racial progressiveness of South Carolina that turns out to be fatally naïve. His house is burned to the ground, but Sam survives and comes to visit Cora in Indiana, where he attempts (and fails) to seduce Georgina.

Sam Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad 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:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Doubleday edition of The Underground Railroad published in 2016.

At the auction block they tallied the souls purchased at each auction, and on the plantations the overseers preserved the names of workers in rows of tight cursive. Every name an asset, breathing capital, profit made flesh. The peculiar institution made Cora into a maker of lists as well. In her inventory of loss people were not reduced to sums but multiplied by their kindnesses. People she had loved, people who had helped her. The Hob women, Lovey, Martin and Ethel, Fletcher. The ones who disappeared: Caesar and Sam and Lumbly.

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Page Number and Citation: 215

Explanation and Analysis:

Sam Character Timeline in The Underground Railroad

The timeline below shows where the character Sam appears in The Underground Railroad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...as the car shook. When they arrived, they were greeted by a white man named Sam who brought them food and promised them that South Carolina had a more “enlightened attitude”... (full context)

Cora asks Caesar about Sam, and Caesar mentions that there is a train leaving in a few days, which they... (full context)

...the new hospital to “get better.” An hour before Cora goes to meet Caesar and Sam, she manages to get through an unlocked door to the roof of the Griffin Building.... (full context)

Sam explains that one of his regular patrons at the saloon, Bertram, is a doctor who... (full context)

...to talk to Caesar, but he is still at the factory. She manages to see Sam, who informs her that he’s been trying to tell them that Ridgeway is after them.... (full context)

...Martha. The narrative then returns to Cora, who believes it has been one day since Sam’s house collapsed, though she isn’t sure. She remains alone, trapped on the underground railroad platform.... (full context)

In November, Sam arrives at Valentine, and his reunion with Cora is emotional. Sam tells Cora that Ridgeway... (full context)

Sam stays on Valentine for three days, unsuccessfully trying to pursue Georgina. On the third night,... (full context)