At one period during his life, he was a "great" major in the king's army, allowing for a degree of leverage over his underlings. However, as time passed, the opinions of these underlings, better known as colonists, changed. The major's stubborn refusal to change his mode of thought gave way to his status being reduced to a public spectacle dressed in the finest tar and feather garments. Major Molineux's character is the black and white perceptions never coming to realize that there are many shades of gray in between. His nephew Robin exhibits this black and white view at the beginning of the story, but through several incidents, he begins to not rely so much on how "the light" shades some things and illuminates others, rather he finds within his own mind the ability to discern reality from fiction. Robin's character represents the epiphany of self-guided acknowledgement that the ego must be abandoned first and foremost before any progress can occur. As though waking from a dream, a new individual emerges from the depths of self-interest, to advance further his or her own hidden potential. .
To understand the concept of the awakening of the self, the reader needs to step back from the lines of the page, and observe how even the point of view cries out the message of changes to come. The story is divided by the first person point of view of Robin, along with several omniscient third person remarks from the narrator, projecting future events yet to come. The narrator figure serves as the inner consciousness, confronting the ever-present ego, or the character of Robin. The narrator already knows that Robin has the potential to bring down his ego, and serves as a guide to help him along in his journey of self-discovery. Ironically, the setting of the tale, addresses this changing of old ideas for a novel approach to personal freedom. .
The story takes place during the early events leading up to the American Revolution.