The Life and Death of Sam Crow: How the Sons of Anarchy Lost Their Way (2024)

The Life and Death of Sam Crow: How the Sons of Anarchy Lost Their Way is a manuscript/journal on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Written by Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club founder and former President of the Redwood Original Charter of the Club John Teller, it plays an important role in shaping the series' overall plot as well as the actions of the series' main character, Jackson 'Jax' Teller.

The Manuscript's Role in the Show[]

John began writing the journal after the death of his youngest son, Thomas,and completed it on March 15, 1993. The main theme of the book is John's regrets about what the Sons of Anarchy had become, the differences between this and his original ideas for the Club, and his hopes that his oldest son, Jax, would never be exposed to a life involved with the Sons.

In the pilot episode, Jax found a copy of his father's completed manuscript labeled "Original 3-15-1993" in a storage unit belonging to his mother, Gemma. Throughout the first season, Jax can be seen reading through the manuscript and reflecting on his father's words. At various points, both the audience and characters in the show get the sense that John Teller's manuscript and the ideas it espouses have an effect on Jax's vision for SAMCRO and his relationship with both his mother and his stepfather, Clay. Gemma is shown to be especially concerned about the manuscript and its effects on Jax, going as far as to say that it will allow "the ghost of John Teller" to influence Jax and his decisions. At the end of the series' first season, Gemma Teller Morrow found and took the original and partially burnt copy, but Jax was given a copy by Piney at Donna's funeral. In season two, Jax gives the book to both Tara and Opie to read.

During season five, Jax was seen starting to write his own manuscript ina book but was interrupted by Tig and Chibs. At the end of the series, he's seen burning all copies of both his father's and his manuscripts, another move to hopefully break the cycle for the sake of his sons.

Dedication[]

In the pilot episode, it can be seen that John dedicated the manuscript to his two sons, Thomas Teller and Jackson Teller:

"For my sons. Thomas, who is already at peace. And Jackson, may he never know this life of chaos."

This alone helps foreshadow the manuscript's contents and backstory; John's inspiration for writing it came not only from his desire to realign the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club with what he believed to be a more purely anarchist philosophy, but also from his emotional state about the future of his family, specifically Jackson's future in relation to the Club, following the death of Thomas.

Introduction[]

In the pilot episode, a brief glimpse of the first page of the manuscript can be seen when Jax first discovers it in a box of his father's old things in a storage unit. The title of the manuscript is repeated, and John Thomas Teller is listed as the author, followed by an "Introduction" heading, and part of the first paragraphs can be seen clearly before the camera moves away:

"Sometimes things start with a good idea. You realize there is a need and you come up with an answer to that need. Other times things just begin.The name Sons of Anarchy was the name I came up with in 8th grade for me and my best friends. We were going to change the world. All we really did was do the things that most kids do in a small town. Raised a little hell, drank a few six packs and drove didn't belong to us. We loved cars and motorcycles "

Other Quotes from the Manuscript[]

-"Most of us were not violent by nature. We all had our problems with authority, but none of us were sociopaths. We came to realize that when you move your life off the social grid, you give up the safety that society provides. On the fringe, blood and bullets are the rule of law. And if you're a man with convictions, violence is inevitable." (Season 1, Episode 2, "Seeds")

-"When we take action to avenge the ones we love, personal justice collides with social and divine justice. We become judge, jury, and God. With that choice comes daunting responsibility. Some men cave under that weight. Others abuse the momentum. The true outlaw finds the balance between the passion in his heart and the reason in his mind. His solution is always an equal mix of might and right." (Season 1, Episode 3, "Fun Town")

-"The first time I read Emma Goldman wasn't in a book. I was 16, hiking near the Nevada border. The quote was painted on a wall in red. When I saw those words, it was like someone ripped them from the inside of my head." (Season 1, Episode 4, "Patch Over")

The quote in question: "Anarchism stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government. It stands for a social order based on the free grouping of individuals." -Emma Goldman in Anarchism and Other Essays (1910)^[1]

-"The concept was pure, simple, true. It inspired me, lit a rebellious fire. But ultimately, I learned the lesson that Goldman, Proudhon, and the others learned - that true freedom requires sacrifice and pain. Most human beings only think they want freedom. In truth, they yearn for the bondage of social order, rigid laws, materialism. The only freedom man really wants is the freedom to be comfortable." (Season 1, Episode 1, "Patch Over")

-"The older I get, the more I realize that age doesn't bring wisdom. It only brings weary. I'm not any smarter than I was thirty years ago. I've just grown too tired to juggle the lies and hide the fears. Self-awareness doesn't reveal my indiscretions, exhaustion does." (Season 1, Episode 6, "AK-51")

-"Inside the club, there had to be truth. Our word was our honor. But outside, it was all about deception. Lies were our defense, our default. To survive, you had to master the art of perjury. The lie and the truth had to feel the same. But once you learn that skill, nobody knows the truth, in or outside the club, especially you." (Season 1, Episode 7, "Old Bones")

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