Love and relationships
One of the major themes in the novel is the idea of love and relationship. The main couple and in fact the only couple presented in the novel is Kathy and John. They felt in love when they were in collage but their relationship was not a smooth one. John was always suspicious of Kathy and her sincerity so he began to spy on her even before they were officially in a relationship. After that, through manipulation, John controlled almost every aspect of Kathy’s life and he did everything he could to keep her beside him. This type of relationship took its toll on Kathy who couldn’t take it anymore and ended up disappearing. It is implied that she either ran away alone or that she had a secret lover who helped her to disappear. Either way, it is clear that while John loved Kathy, Kathy may have never felt the same way about John.
Politics and manipulation
The main character in the novel, John is extremely interested in politics. His desire to enter politics is a result of his childhood interest in magic and illusions. John compares time and time again magic with politics and highlights the idea that both are quite similar because they both involve manipulation and illusions. Also, the people who are fooled in both cases want to be lied to. The audience at a magic show doesn’t want to know the trick behind the magic just as those who vote for one person or another don’t want to know about what their candidate did before becoming a politician. What the public wants to see is the final result, the end of the magic show.
Violence and war
Many refused to believe that the Americans were able of war crimes during the wars they participated in various wars but the Vietnam War proves that mankind is capable of doing all kinds of horrors when one nation fights against another one. The Americans were traumatized when they saw their peers being killed in battle so they considered it justice to do the same to the Vietnamese, be it soldiers or civilians. The massacre at My Lai proves just how far some are willing to go to prove that they are right and the things they are capable of doing when they think that no one is watching them or no one will find out. While some soldiers enjoyed killing innocent people, other soldiers decided to keep themselves separated and to not participate in the massacre. As the reader was able to see in John’s case, he was haunted by the deeds he had done and he even considered telling his superiors about what happened. He however chose not to do it and when the truth came to light his reputation was destroyed.
