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It is a wonderful story. One is immediately drawn to the characters as they are so well etched out. With a striking use of dialogues, the readers can almost visualize the nameless grandmother, around whom the story revolves, her son Bailey and his wife and their three children. Very quickly we see how this family is, and what is their life like. One important feature is that there is no genuine communication between any one of them. The parents, for instance, hardly talk to their loud-mouthed children, nor do they correct them when they are so utterly rude. The grandmother, on the other hand, the oldest member of the family, dwells in her own nostalgias of both past and present. She manipulates others in different garbs.

At home, we see that on the surface it is just like any other family. However, a close look reveals damaging imperfections. It shows the unconcerned and manipulative adults who have nothing really to contribute to their children's lives. The mother is hardly seen talking to her loud-mouthed children or engaging with them in any way. Even the car trip makes the choppy father nervous.

Later in the car, we see the same pattern. The children, as usual, indulge in their own whims. The grandmother, as usual, plays word games with her grandmother children and remains only concerned with her things, her wishes.

In the next scene, we see them in some sort of roadside eatery. Here again, the children are being rude. The grandmother talks to the owner of the property about 'goodness.' It is just a superficial talk. In her head, she is occupied with the thoughts of 'the runaway man.' She is scared of all this and at the same time she is thrilled about it.

Furthermore, there is hardly any difference between the kids and their grandmother. Just like the grandmother, the kids pursue what fancies them with absolute disregard any hindrance. The parents, too, are absorbed in their own mundane stuff. So the adult who can, or should, positively influence the children are just not 'there.' There is a 'moral' vacuum that no one is qualified and eager to fulfill. Modernity has turned everybody into consumers. Even the old good 'religion' has just mutated into a babble of sorts.

In the last scene, we again see the lack of communication or concern, both within the family and among people in the outer world. The misfit's accomplices kill Bailey and his son. The gunshot is heard but the grandmother, and Bailey's wife too, hardly responds in any 'familiar way.' Grandmother's entire focus is on to save her life. In the second round, Bailey's wife and her remaining two children are killed. The grandmother, until now, has done her best to thaw the misfit and turn him around. She only thinks about her life. Just a few moments before when Bailey and her son are shot, we hear no cries and repentance of any kind from the still alive family members. They hardly respond. The only remaining family member–the grandmother� hardly mourns these deaths but instead, she begs for her own life.

The misfit and his helpers go about their 'task' without a shred of remorse. The story sharply suggests that the outer world is just the bigger, cruder, and much crueler version of the family.