Spoon River Anthology (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Edgar Lee Masters
- First Published: 1915
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth or early twentieth century
- Setting: Spoon River, a Midwestern town
- Genres: Free verse, Poetry, Lyric sequence, Epitaph
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Midwest, Poetry or poets, 1910’s, Death or dying, Small-town life, Banks, bankers, or banking, Cemeteries
- Locales: Midwest (U.S.), Spoon River, Midwest (U.S.)
Characters Discussed
Thomas Rhodes, the president of the bank and the town’s most influential citizen. Like the other characters, he is dead and telling his story from a graveyard. A deacon of the town’s most prestigious church, he also owned the town store. Under his mismanagement, the bank was ruined, destroying many lives. Although others went to prison, political and social influence allowed Rhodes to plea bargain for an acquittal. When he believed the store manager was stealing blankets to pay his daughter’s medical bills, Rhodes hounded him mercilessly. He was a...
[The entire page is 1082 words long]
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