Like most early Elkin novels, this one challenges readers to identify with, or consider the fate of, an obsessive protagonist whose values we probably will not share. We might reflect on the ways in which the author causes us to evaluate Feldman and his personal obsession by framing that motif with contrasting characters and obsessions.

1. Does the story of Leo's mad father psychologically justify Leo's obsessive preoccupation with franchising? Does his having had such a family life create sympathy for Leo as a character?

2. Do the characterizations of Leo's wife, Lily, and son, Billy, compound our picture of Feldman as obsessive type? Is he responsible for their character?

3. Can Warden Fisher be explained psychologically? To what degree can psychology account for this character's zeal for the ordinary?

4. At the end of the trial, the Warden agrees to let Feldman's fate stand on his treatment of Dedman...