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“I always had good luck with numbers, and never worried about the draft myself. I never even had to think about what my number was. But Henry was never lucky in the same way as me.”

At the beginning of the story, Lyman attributes his good fortune in life to sheer luck. His optimism and his good fortune seem to go hand in hand. It is intentionally difficult to discern whether Lyman is optimistic because he’s lucky, or whether his inherent qualities make him easily able to see the bright side of things. He frequently compares his good luck with Henry Junior’s misfortune to further emphasize the role luck plays in a person’s life. Although Lyman clearly suffers deeply over what becomes of Henry Junior, he shows his deeply compassionate nature by focusing his awareness on how his luck is objectively better than his brother’s. Lyman is also rueful in these ruminations because he is all too aware of the injustice of the situation, in which his brother has been victimized while he has been spared.

“I felt good having his picture on the wall, until one night when I was looking at the television. I was a little drunk and stoned. All I know is I couldn't stay in the same room with that picture. I was shaking…. We put the picture in a brown bag, folded the bag over and over tightly, then put it way back in a closet.”

Just before the story’s climax, the narration jumps forward in time to provide a glimpse into how Lyman changes following Henry Junior’s death. The picture is disturbing to Lyman because he is wracked with guilt over failing to help Henry Junior when he was so plainly in distress. Even though Lyman is not to blame, his grief over his brother’s death does not allow him to see this. The moment the photograph begins to upset him is significant because he is watching television the way Henry Junior did while experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Lyman also uses drugs and alcohol to numb his pain, which predictably backfires. Lyman was once an optimistic young man who characterized himself as lucky, but his firsthand experience with tragedy causes him to metaphorically hide away his grief and guilt in the back of a closet.

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