being friendly with strangers

"He was dead to his other life, he had got to the end of something without knowing why, and he had to make a fresh start, he did not know how.  Something different was going to begin, he didn't know what.  It was in some way not his business.  He didn't feel he was going to have much to do with it." (276). 

Throughout the story, Mr. Thompson is a man concerned about "his own appearance in the sight of God and man" (244).  But these concerns turn trivial after he kills Mr. Hatch.  Before this incident, Mr. Thompson does not go around town explaining and apologizing for his unprofitable farm, his sick, distrusting wife, or his bratty boys.  After the trial, he -- with his wife in tow -- work like salespeople going door to door selling the story he was never allowed to tell at his trial.  But as they make their final rounds, the McClellans tell them that they don't care about "these murder matters" (275).  Finally, Mr. Thompson begins to understand that he can no longer affect his public perception.  And whether he's convicted in the court of public opinion, or whether the public is apathetic toward him, Mr. Thompson feels his future is no longer under his control. 

So I'm curious: In this story, to what extent is the importance of public opinion created by Mr. Thompson's psychology, and how much of it is an actual feature of South Texas life?