The Tax Collector Character Analysis

A South Vietnamese man who has an overbite and hairs sprouting from a mole “the size of a marble” on his cheek. His official occupation is “rice wine merchant,” while his black market occupation is “casino operator.” “Tax collector” is listed as his hobby. He spends a week in “interrogation” where he is beaten until his questioners are convinced that he is not a Viet Cong, or Communist, operative. He bribes the crapulent major with a year’s salary to be released from the interrogation center. The major accepts the bribe and gives the narrator his share, which the latter gives to Man to donate to the revolution.