The Establishment versus the Disaffected

In this novel, the author creates two characters who appear on the surface to be very different from one another. Sheriff Teasle is a clean cut character who upholds the law and tries to make life a little easier for the people in his town. On the contrary, Rambo is a dirty, unkempt man who has no job and seems to have no interest in being a productive member of society. Teasle takes one look at Rambo and assumes that he will bring crime and burden to his little town, therefore he encourages Rambo several times to leave town.

Rambo has dropped out of society because of his experiences in Vietnam. Rambo struggles to deal with his memories of the POW camp where he was tortured and forced to work at hard labor. Rambo's experiences since returning home have also been difficult, especially the...