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Sam, the onion man, plays an essential role in the story by demonstrating the hypocrisy of society and the justice system. Sam is an extremely likable man. He is kind, intelligent, and humble. When people say his cures work better than the doctor’s, he shows humility by saying both cures played a part. Despite not being allowed to enter the whites-only schoolhouse, Sam loves poetry and has a lot of folk wisdom. However, because of his community’s racism, Sam isn’t treated as a full member of society. Charles Walker is allowed to attend adult classes at the school despite causing distractions, but clever and attentive Sam cannot. After Sam fixes the schoolhouse, Green Lake considers the beautiful building a reflection of how much they value education, but Sam, an outsider, is the one who did the work. The people who once bought onions from Sam are the same ones who kill him for kissing Kate Barlow. These clear contradictions show that Green Lake has always had a rotten core of hypocrisy. Sam’s death is also important to the story because it shows how injustice often hides under the guise of law, just as it does at Camp Green Lake. The sheriff himself says that killing Sam is within the law and allows for Sam to be hanged without a trial.
