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The protagonist of the story, the boss, is largely defined by his grief over the death of his son. His loss haunts him, represented very literally by the photograph in his office that he avoids looking at. Even though the boss is five years older than the frail Mr. Woodifield, he is much healthier and has yet to retire. The boss is constantly busy and, on the surface, appears fulfilled by his work. However, this constant energy represents the boss’s attempt to distract himself from the emptiness he feels without his son. The boss’s busy schedule is merely a mask for the deep pain and powerlessness he feels over his son’s death. The boss, who is usually in control of his affairs and even other people, is understandably frustrated over how little control he has over mortality. The boss even attempts to control his own grief, scheduling a time to cry and becoming frustrated when his grief does not cooperate with his plan. 

The boss’s frustration over being blindsided by Woodifield’s mention of his son, while understandable, also reveals his delusion that he can control everything around him. Similarly, the boss’s irrational commands as he tortures the fly evoke the commands of a harsh army general and further reveal his desire to control mortality. The boss’s inability to understand the wretched feeling he has after the fly’s death illustrates his inability to accept the finality of death. The last line of the story is particularly tragic as the boss has reverted fully to detaching himself from the pain of his grief, having fully forgotten what he was thinking about.

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