Rabe explores the conflicted feelings of many civilians during the era by parodying the ideal American family as it was portrayed on the television sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Beneath the perfect facade of the playwright's fictional Nelson family are layers of prejudice, bigotry, and self-hatred that are peeled away slowly as they interact with their physically and emotionally damaged son and brother.
Rabe explores the conflicted emotions of civilians during that era by using satire to critique the idealized American family presented on the TV show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. As his fictional Nelson family's facade is stripped away, its underlying prejudices, bigotry, and self-hatred are revealed through their interactions with their physically and emotionally damaged son and brother.