Being a Saul is a central theme. Saul is a cranky old king who is unkind. Saul treats David with disdain, afraid that he wants to steal Saul's kingdom. David takes this unkindness and lives with it, never arguing back or attempting to protect himself. The more David refuses to react to this treatment, the more frightened Saul becomes and the worse his treatment of David. Finally David has enough and decides to run away. Saul orders his men to track David down and kill him.