The short stories "Loverboys", "Sufficing", "The Red Convertible" and "The Buddies" have a unified theme in that characters feel the sorrow of powerlessness. One feels this powerlessness as a gay person, an immigrant, a soldier, and a manual worker. They are vulnerable members of the society or they are in a minority. In "Loverboys," the narrator and her lover were broken up because of the prejudices and the negative attitudes that majority group (heterosexual people) have. In "Sufficing," an immigrant woman is in conflict with her daughter because she is different with other American mothers. She becomes a minority group in American society. Furthermore, in "The Red Convertible," Henry, the victim of war, is one of vulnerable memeber of the society who suffer from mental disease. Lastly, the laborers of "The Buddies" are vulnerable memebers of the society whose rights are not protected.