One of the things I like about Heinlein is his ability to make a good point within a good story. The intergalactic setting of Citizen of the Galaxy provides a plausible backdrop for the issues Heinlein addresses, which are then easily transferred to life on our little earth. The story takes us with Thorby through five completely different settings as he lives and travels with different groups. He literally goes from being a beggar slave to rich and famous. While such luck is extraordinary even in science fiction, Thorby’s movement between such diverse social circles provides a nice set of contrasts. Most of us spend our entire lives within only one such sphere, oblivious to the existence of others. Each situation casts “freedom” in a different light, with unexpected results.