This story describes a place where war has destroyed civilization and created a
ruined landscape with people taking shelter wherever they can; “ ‘... cities
all junk, roads like jigsaws from bombs, and half the cornfields glowing with
radioactivity at night...’ ” First, the characters do not have much, if any,
money to buy clothes or food; “...the soiled gunny sack clothing of the
men...it sold for a penny a cup, but not many were buying, not many had the
wealth.” Tom and his family are no exception; “...in half silo, in that part
that still remained upright, he heard the sounds of sleeping, his family...”
Also, before the war the characters were probably farmers and factory workers.
The war destroyed most of their workplaces and what was left they destroyed
themselves; “ ‘...there was that time they smashed a factory that was still
trying to turn out airplanes.’ ” Furthermore, the characters are all very
bitter about the ghastly world they live in, and destroying things is their only
entertainment; “ ‘Lord did we feel good blowing it up!’ ” Finally, there
is no civilization; there is no structured government and any attempted
dictation results in chaos; “ The police ran to escape. The crowd was in full
cry...” The characters want peace, but they accept the fact that war is a
major part their life.