Trainor, the Druggist Practice Quiz — Spoon River Anthology
by Edgar Lee Masters — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Trainor, the Druggist
What is Trainor's central metaphor?
Chemistry — just as a chemist cannot always predict what compounds will produce, no one can predict how people will interact or what children will result.
What does "He oxygen, she hydrogen, their son a devastating fire" mean?
Benjamin Pantier and his wife were individually good but toxic together. Their son was the explosive product of that volatile combination.
How did Trainor die?
Killed while making a chemical experiment — ironic for a man who philosophized about the danger of mixing volatile compounds.
Why did Trainor live unwedded?
Implied: he was too aware of the unpredictability of human "chemistry" to risk a combination of his own.
What real couple does Trainor analyze?
Benjamin Pantier and his wife — "Good in themselves, but evil toward each other."
What does Trainor call himself?
"A miser of chemicals" — a hoarding, cautious man who observed reactions from a safe distance rather than participating in life.
What theme does Trainor explore?
The unpredictability of human relationships — individual virtues do not guarantee compatibility, and the results of "combining" people cannot be foreseen.