Many of the supporting characters in A Bad Man are effective representations of literary types; the names of Feldman's three victims — Victman, Freedman, and Dedman — suggest the allegorical qualities of the novel. Similarly, many of the prisoners represent essentially symbolic intentions rather than individually developed characterizations. The power of the novel as a representation of life rather than as thematic manifesto depends on the conflict between two powerful antagonists, Feldman and Warden Fisher.

These two apparent opposites are surprisingly similar. Their differences are obvious but their similarities are subtle and substantive.

When Feldman enters the prisonlabyrinth, he immediately becomes the Warden's special project. Ostensibly out to reform him, Fisher tries to convince Feldman that his belief, that people should seek the exceptional, the extraordinary, in their lives is wrong.

In repeated personal counseling, letters, and public harangues, Fisher tries to coerce Leo to "slow down, play...