Getting a good education
Getting a good education is an important theme in Either/Or. Selin loves education and endeavors to live the American dream by attending an American university. In her case, that means attending Harvard University, one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. For Selin and other immigrants, getting a good education is incredibly important. Getting a good education means bettering yourself to help live the American dream, which is many immigrants come to America. They want a better life than what they left, and getting an education allows them to do so.
Culture
Culture is another significant theme in Either/Or. Selin, like many immigrants whose parents came from another country, must navigate two separate and different culture. For Selin, that means navigating the Hungarian culture of his parents and the American culture which he was born into (the only member of his family to be born in America). That culture clash not only forms Selin's identity, it shows how difficult and sometimes fraught the immigrant experience is in countries across the world (but primarily in the United States).
Love
Love is another important theme in Either/Or. Many of the characters in Either/Or are in long-term romantic relationships with other people. And presumably, each person in that relationship loves one another. Throughout the novel, Selin tells readers about her loves during each summer she returned home to Hungary. One summer, she had a romantic relationship with a man named Ivan, who seemed to love her very. Ivan loved Selin so much, in fact, that he got her a nice job working in the Hungarian countryside. Other boyfriends did similar things for Selin, who they each loved tremendously.
