# Tub Pearson — Dodsworth character guide

> Tub Pearson in Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Tub Pearson, old Tub, the Hon. Thomas J. Pearson

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

Sam's oldest friend from Zenith, a banker grown gray and podgy, whose visit to Paris briefly restores the college self Sam thought he had lost.

## Who they are

Tub Pearson and Sam have been habits to each other since boyhood, and Tub's arrival in Europe is a jolt of home that Sam desperately needs. But Tub has grown into new routines and new opinions, and Sam finds himself sometimes allied against his old friend rather than with him. Tub's visit measures how far Sam has drifted from Zenith, and how much of his old life was simply the comfort of unexamined companionship.

## Relationships

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Old friends and former business associates, with Tub representing Sam's American roots and simpler past.

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Old friends and former business associates, with Tub representing Sam's American roots and simpler past.

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Old friends and former business associates, with Tub representing Sam's American roots and simpler past.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/i)

Sam's former Yale roommate and chief admirer, now a bank teller. He teases Sam about his automobile and the new Revelation Company.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/iii)

Tub jokes about Sam's European plans during a poker game, mocking the idea.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as having a nephew at the American Embassy, contributing to Sam's sense of belonging.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/vii)

Mentioned as a friend from Zenith whose jesting Sam recalls.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned in Sam's thoughts as he feels lonely for Tub's familiar racket.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xiii)

Sam wishes Tub were there to talk to, indicating his loneliness and lack of confidants.

### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xv)

Mentioned as someone Sam wants to see in America; Fran sends her love to him and Matey.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xviii)

Greets Sam warmly but struggles to connect over Sam's European experiences, preferring vicarious tales of nightlife.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xix)

Has formed new habits with Dr. Hazzard, plans a golfing trip without waiting for Sam, and shows that he no longer depends on Sam's company.

### [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxvi)

Gets heavily drunk on his first day in Paris, requiring Sam's assistance; later expresses disappointment with the quiet atmosphere of Voisin's.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxvii)

Spends a week with Sam in Paris, then departs for Amsterdam with Matey.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxxii)

Tub is referenced in Sam's internal comparison of the vulgar American party to the 'younger and gayer and slightly more amorous Tub Pearsons' of his acquaintance.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/tub_pearson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters