The Front

I consider many of these stories depicting the search for identity from a society of "dull clods" (Mother pg. 18). Most of these people display a unique quality that makes their story interesting but the overall sense is that they are stuck in their place by the ineptitude of their character characterized by an outward manifestation (Biddlebaum's hands, Ned Currie, God). Throughout the book there is a general sense of a "front" put on by most of these characters where the appearance they show each other hide their truthful self as they try desperately to escape the inevitable fate of becoming a "dull clod."

I also found it ironic the descriptions of Biddlebaum's and William's hands contradicting the nature of their "crimes."