Suspicion of the "Other"
The town in which Baldwin's play is set is divided along racial boundaries. While the white citizens do not suspect their black neighbors of foul play because they are black but because they live in a different part of town and belong to a different culture. The way Baldwin depicted this animosity portrays less of a racist intention on behalf of the white townsfolk and more of a fear of the unknown. Since the black citizens live differently, they are somehow strange and intimidating to the rest of the town. This results in an isolating distinction between citizens along racial, but also along cultural, boundaries. The black citizens, however, are not suspicious of their white neighbors, except where the law is concerned. There is overt racism in the play, but it belongs to individuals instead of the whole society. More likely, these individuals hate the members of the other race because they have been unfairly treated by one of them in the past. An example for this theory is the character of Richard and his hatred of white people born out of sexual repression and fear that a white man wants to steal his girl away from him. In much the same way, Lyle hates black people because of his previous altercation and court proceedings involving the African American man whom he killed some years ago.
Sexual Repression
Richard is an interesting character in this play because of his unique sexual experience. Since he lives with his father, the reverend, and his grandmother, he probably does not receive the amount of privacy he really needs. Growing up a minister's son, he also most likely experienced a great deal of teasing by friends concerning the morality of his behavior because people tend to place different expectations and standards on the family members of religious authorities. All of these influences combine to create a rather volatile young man who resorts to physical violence in order to defend his vulnerable inner desires. This is why he brings out the pictures at the bar of white women with whom he has allegedly slept. Whether or not he really did have sex with them, Richard's desire to brag about it reveals that he feels like he needs to prove that he deserves to fulfill his sexual desires but doesn't feel like that's entirely permissible. The audience learns about Richard's insecurities when he unsuccessfully tries to flirt with Jo Britten in her store. So he shows Pete and Juanita the pictures to receive some attention, to brag, and to assert his dominance. When he later confesses his sordid past to Juanita, he reveals to the audience that she's really the one on whom he has a crush. In turn, the timing of Lyle's appearance at the bar threatens Richard because he already made himself vulnerable in front of Juanita. If he already doubts that he is eligible to be with her, then Richard will understandably lose his mind in an attempt to keep her away from Lyle.
Illegal Activity
Baldwin's play is rife with illegal proceedings from the first scene. Parnell warns everyone that Lyle is about to be arrested, and then runs on to warn Lyle himself. Baldwin does not expound on whether or not Parnell is hoping to give Lyle enough time to escape the police before his imminent arrest. At any rate, he knows what's about to happen before it happens. As a member of the news media, doubtless he possesses some contacts within the police force, but he should not be allowed to know of future plans to arrest somebody. Additionally, the plot of the play is largely structured around the trail in the final act. Everything leading up to that moment is about the events surrounding Richard's murder. The flippancy with which the townspeople discuss the violence in their community reveals a sort of dismissal of the traditional authority of the government. They consider such events relatively normal, though upsetting, which hints that other similar tragedies have already occurred. By the time the court date arrives, readers should not be surprised to learn that the witnesses have no more compunction to tell the truth than a toddler caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Witness after witness perjures himself or herself in order to suit their own ends. This sort of disrespect for the law is one of the underlying motivations for the plot, moving characters from innocence do deviance.
