In The Free-Lance Pallbearers, Reed crafts characters that serve as vivid avatars of the societal issues he lampoons. Occasionally, these representations are tenderly drawn, like the character Doopeyduk, whose innocence and trusting disposition make his initial missteps more palatable. Readers may find themselves feeling sympathy for Doopeyduk and the real-world figures he embodies. More frequently, however, Reed unleashes his characters as fierce instruments of critique, targeting the hypocrisy and decay he perceives. These "attack" characters inject the narrative with biting humor and sharpen its contemporary relevance.

Reed's disdain for certain black leaders is encapsulated in the figure of Elijah Raven, a Muslim and black nationalist whose rhetoric of segregation is repeatedly undermined by his contradictory actions:

"You'd better get on the right side, brother, because when the deal goes down, all backsliding uncle toms are going to ... get it in the neck, Doopeyduk," Elijah scowled, his finger drawing a line across his throat, revealing cufflinks inscribed: "To Elijah from Sargent Shriver."

Additional unsavory black characters surface, such as Eclair Porkchop, a minister and supposed champion of the people, later caught in a scandalous liaison with HARRY SAM. Then there are The Free-Lance Pallbearers themselves, who complacently watch their leaders' demise, only to arrive later to honor their remains. Reed's satirical barbs land most forcefully on black leadership as a whole:

"The leaders of the blacks... mounted the circuitous steps leading to SAM's assuring the boss dat: 'Wasn't us, boss. Twas Stokely and Malcolm. Not us, boss. No indeed. We put dat ad in da Times repudiating dem, boss. 'Member, boss? You saw da ad, didn't you, boss? Look, boss. We can prove it to you, dat we loves you. Would you like for us to cook up some strange recipes for ya boss? Or tell some jokes? Did you hear the one about da nigger in da woodpile? Well, seems dere was this nigger, boss....'

Critique of the White Power Structure

Yet, Reed's critique is not limited to black figures; the white power structure also feels the sting of his satire. The novel is populated by white characters entrenched in ridiculous and repulsive scenarios: HARRY SAM, the central authority figure, has been haunting the "john" for three decades and dwells in a house fortified by a moat brimming with filth. Meanwhile, Doopeyduk's mentor at Harry Sam College, U2 Polyglot, is introduced while drafting a scholarly article entitled "The Egyptian Dung Beetle in Kafka's Metamorphosis." Doopeyduk stumbles upon Polyglot amusingly maneuvering a "light ball of excrement" with his nose across the office.

The Transformation of Bukka Doopeyduk

Amidst this satirical landscape, Bukka Doopeyduk emerges as the lone figure for whom Reed reserves genuine empathy. Doopeyduk endures his indolent, spiteful wife with patience, suffers the degradation as the centerpiece of a performance art spectacle, and remains committed to his spiritual Nazarene journey until he encounters SAM, leading to profound disillusionment. His main occupation as an orderly involves disposing of excrement-filled bedpans, initially aligning him with the white characters. The novel traces his gradual metamorphosis from a compliant Nazarene disciple to an ambitious black leader.