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Johnnie Lomond / The Musician
An elderly man whom Eleanor and Raymond help when he collapses in the middle of a crosswalk. Eleanor talks to Sammy to comfort him while Raymond waits for the ambulance to arrive. Eleanor feels concern for Sammy’s wellbeing, which is a relatively new emotion for her—ever since the fire, Eleanor doesn’t let herself get close to anyone, as her past has taught her that the cost of love is deep and painful grief. When Sammy dies later in the novel, Eleanor is again presented with the question of whether love is worth the pain that inevitably comes with it. Sammy is so grateful to Eleanor and Raymond for saving his life that he embraces them as members of his family, and the two of them attend Sammy’s homecoming party and Sammy’s son Keith’s birthday party. Along with Raymond, Sammy serves as a sort of a catalyst for Eleanor’s social life, presenting her with new possibilities for human connection and showing her that comfort and intimacy with others isn’t instantaneous but develops over time. After Sammy dies, Keith brings Eleanor the red sweater that Sammy was wearing the day Eleanor and Raymond first met him.
Sammy Thom Quotes in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine quotes below are all either spoken by Sammy Thom or refer to Sammy Thom. 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:
).
Good Days: Chapter 12
Quotes
“But you’re not smart, Eleanor. You’re someone who lets people down. Someone who can’t be trusted. Someone who failed. Oh yes, I know exactly what you are. And I know how you’ll end up. Listen, the past isn’t over. The past is a living thing. Those lovely scars of yours—they’re from the past, aren’t they? And yet they still live on your plain little face. Do they still hurt?”
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Good Days: Chapter 17
Quotes
Some people, weak people, fear solitude. What they fail to understand is that there’s something very liberating about it; once you realize you don’t need anyone, you can take care of yourself. That’s the thing: it’s best just to take care of yourself. You can’t protect other people, however hard you try.”
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Good Days: Chapter 20
Quotes
I realized that such small gestures—the way his mother had made me a cup of tea after our meal without asking, remembering that I didn’t take sugar, the way Laura had placed two biscuits on the saucer when she brought me coffee in the salon—such things could mean so much. I wondered how it would feel to perform such simple deeds for other people. I couldn’t remember. I had done such things in the past, tried to be kind, tried to take care, I knew that I had, but that was before. I tried, and I had failed, and all was lost to me afterward. I had no one to blame but myself.
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Good Days: Chapter 23
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Grief is the price we pay for love, so they say. The price is far too high.
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Sammy Thom Quotes in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine quotes below are all either spoken by Sammy Thom or refer to Sammy Thom. 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:
).
Good Days: Chapter 12
Quotes
“But you’re not smart, Eleanor. You’re someone who lets people down. Someone who can’t be trusted. Someone who failed. Oh yes, I know exactly what you are. And I know how you’ll end up. Listen, the past isn’t over. The past is a living thing. Those lovely scars of yours—they’re from the past, aren’t they? And yet they still live on your plain little face. Do they still hurt?”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Good Days: Chapter 17
Quotes
Some people, weak people, fear solitude. What they fail to understand is that there’s something very liberating about it; once you realize you don’t need anyone, you can take care of yourself. That’s the thing: it’s best just to take care of yourself. You can’t protect other people, however hard you try.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Good Days: Chapter 20
Quotes
I realized that such small gestures—the way his mother had made me a cup of tea after our meal without asking, remembering that I didn’t take sugar, the way Laura had placed two biscuits on the saucer when she brought me coffee in the salon—such things could mean so much. I wondered how it would feel to perform such simple deeds for other people. I couldn’t remember. I had done such things in the past, tried to be kind, tried to take care, I knew that I had, but that was before. I tried, and I had failed, and all was lost to me afterward. I had no one to blame but myself.
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Good Days: Chapter 23
Quotes
Grief is the price we pay for love, so they say. The price is far too high.
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