The Assassins deals directly with a central problem in American society: the acceptance of violence as an ordinary part of life. There are obvious allusions to the sudden and violent death of President John F. Kennedy, for the fictional Andrew Petrie was also a charismatic, energetic politician who was assassinated by unknown or mysterious assailants. The destruction of the individual Andrew mirrors the destruction of society; the survivors (the widow Yvonne and the brothers Hugh and Stephen) are so consumed with their own egos that they court various forms of self-destruction: Yvonne appears to seek out her own murderers, possibly causing her own murder as a result of her fantasy; Hugh becomes so obsessed with society's chaotic amorality that he attempts suicide, only to survive as a vegetable; Stephen, the only certifiably insane member of the family, turns to the easy solutions of religion, and brings...