One of the most important themes is about the tension that can oftentimes exist between a business and its surrounding community. In this particular story the tension occurs between the bank, as represented by its bank officer, and one of its customers, as represented by the fourteen-year-old schoolboy. The tension comes about when the bank refuses to allow the boy to withdraw money from his account due to his underage status.

This tension in turn is caused by the bank officer's choice to behave ethically towards the customer as opposed to behaving in a selfish manner. This conflict between ethical and self -interest is another theme touched upon by the story when it is shown that the bank officer, in refusing to allow the boy to withdraw money from his account, was behaving ethically by indirectly protecting the boy from a bully who was stealing his money. If the officer...
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