The Story “The Man Who Knew Belle Starr” written by Richard Bausch has two main themes which are deviance and transgression. Deviance, according to Debra Marshall, is behavior that violates standards or expectations. She also mentions Robert K. Merton’s deviance typology. The chart displays five categories which are conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. According to Jenks’ “Whither Transgression?”, To transgress is to go beyond the bounds or limits set by a commandment or law or convention, it is to violate or infringe. But to transgress is also more than this, it is to announce and even laudate the commandment, the law or the convention. Transgression is a deeply reflexive act of denial and affirmation. In other words, this means a person commits a crime or violates a rule and continuously celebrates their wrong doings (Jenks2) In other words, this means a person commits a crime or violates a rule and consciously celebrates their wrong doings. This relates back to the “The Man Who Knew Belle Starr” because the main characters Belle Starr and McRae are both transgressive. They also fall into Merton’s deviance typology chart. Belle Starr is a rebel and an innovator, while McRae is a retreatist. Bausch’s story “The Man Who Knew Belle Starr” is about a man named McRae who joins the Air Force as a punishment for stealing. He then gets drunk in the barracks and punches a Staff Sargent in the face and says, “my name is trouble” (Bausch 116). He continues