Public vs. Private Life

Robert Kennedy was a very public figure. He came from an important political family, was the brother of President John F. Kennedy, and was himself a candidate for president when Barthelme wrote the "Robert Kennedy Saved from Drowning." One of the questions that emerges from the story is: How much do people know about this man?

The question itself is difficult, for it doesn't specify what kinds of knowledge people are interested in. For those who are interested in the political campaign and whether or not they should vote for Kennedy for President, the knowledge they seek is partially public. They want to know what domestic and foreign policies the man advocates, where he stands on the Vietnam War, or on the civil rights movement, the death penalty-any number of issues. These issues are decidedly absent from the story and reduced to a single mention...