Fuchs does not offer solutions to … social problems. There are none.

This is not to say that Fuchs did not criticize the system. There is in his writing an implied criticism of capitalism…. Fuchs's world is full of corruption and violence, and he demonstrates repeatedly that one must be dishonest and corrupt to succeed. (pp. 22-3)

It is wrong, however, to emphasize too strongly the social strain in Fuchs…. His themes go beyond the Depression, and his people are in many ways different even from those created by his Jewish contemporaries…. [Frustration] has a direct influence in Fuchs's fiction, generating the major themes of his early work, escape and entrapment, as well as the bleak outlook that darkens his vision. Unlike the hysterical self-pity and 'preaching that marked many of the "proletarian novels" of the time, however, Fuchs does not seek to change or overthrow or blame anyone...