One Way to Heaven: Analysis of Major Characters.

Sam Lucas, a handsome, one-armed confidence man. Sam's usual con is to repent his gambling ways at revival meetings, then support himself for a while on the church community's generosity toward him as a reformed sinner. When he arrives in Harlem, Mattie Johnson, an attractive young black woman, is swept away in her enthusiasm at his example, and she joins the church and falls in love with him. They marry, and Sam moves in with her and her Aunt Mandy, but the marriage begins to dissolve as Sam stops going to church and Mattie devotes increasing energy to it. Eventually, Sam moves in with Emma May, an usher at the theater where Sam takes tickets, but he moves back with Mattie when he becomes sick. On his deathbed, Sam lies, telling Mattie that he hears music and sees a bright light, so that she will believe that his soul has been saved.