One of the most prominent of the methods Burroughs employs to convey his vision of the "Western Lands" — the condition of unfolding artistic perception that is the aim of the narrative consciousness of the novel — is to try to demonstrate how effectively this mental construct can function. He has a number of typical, anecdotal insertions in which a character clearly resembling the author triumphs over an adversary based on a real incident.

Specifically, a critic here called "Julian Chandler" (a satirical presentation of Anatole Broyard, who wrote negative reviews of Burroughs's book for the New York Times Book Review) is driven to psychic distraction by a black dog of doom. As Soren Kierkegaard remarked to someone who had offended him, "I'll see you in my next play!" Kim Carsons wipes out an adversary called Zed Barnes in a duel, but Burroughs has already disposed of Barnes...