Parenting
Parenting is one of the novel's central themes, as it focuses on the difficulties in the relationship between Jagan and Mali. Jagan feels compelled to make sure that Mali is happy, particularly after the death of his mother. He allows him to end his studies and pursue a career as a writer. He does not punish or even admonish him for stealing money. He even funds his trip to America despite seeing no actual evidence that Mali is making any kind of progress in his writing career. All the while, Mali shows no gratitude for his father's support, acting rude and impatient during their infrequent interactions. Their relationship reaches a flashpoint when Jagan will not, and seemingly cannot, support Mali's business idea for a story-writing machine. Towards the novel's end, Jagan realizes that he has to step away from Mali, in order to allow him to grow as a person and become self-reliant. In this way, the book explores how Jagan's parental support of Mali actually does more harm than good in shaping him into being a happy, hard working person.
Cultural Divisions
The conflict between Mali and Jagan, contains another major theme in the form of cultural tension. After quitting his school studies, Mali becomes fixated on the idea of coming to America. After he travels there and returns, he appears to have fully rejected the Indian culture in which he was raised. He marries an American woman, eats beef, and constantly complains about the "slowness" he perceives in India, contrasting it with the rapid progress he says is always occurring in America. In the same vein, he characterizes his father's inability to see the value in his business venture as a failure of his non-Western point of view. Mali's valuing of American culture ultimately appears to have less to do with an actual understanding of the West and more to do with a repudiation of his father's values.
Material Wealth
Material wealth plays a significant thematic role in the novel. For Jagan, his business gives him and his family financial security, allowing them to lead a comfortable life. Later, this financial security allows Jagan to support Mali in his supposed artistic endeavors. However, this becomes a significant problem as the narrative progresses, as Mali asks for more and more while showing no interest in or aptitude for work himself. Jagan's happy renunciation of his material wealth reveals the way that money was actually playing a fairly negative role in life, as it was making Mali more and more focused on his selfish schemes.
Labor
Labor is another important theme in the book, as it contrasts different kinds of work. Jagan has a concrete business. He makes and sells a product, sweetmeats, that everyone both wants and needs. As a result he is able to make a comfortable living and care for his family. In direct opposition, his son Mali constantly expresses snobbish dislike of his father's work, rejecting Jagan's offer to take over his business on multiple occasions. The absurdity of his behavior is highlighted by the fact that his father's work is the only thing keeping him financially solvent, as neither his writing nor his business idea have earned money, or shown any kind of material return. The type of work that Mali shows interest in is one in which he never actually has to do any real labor, as his story machine idea would allow him to make stories without actually writing. The hypocrisy of his behavior shows the absurdity of his interest in these schemes and suggests that there is no real work that occurs without someone else's sacrifice.
Writing
Mali initially expresses an interest in writing but refuses to show his father any of the work he claims to be doing. Later, it is even revealed that Mali never even wrote the letters that Jagan was receiving from America; they were instead written by Mali's girlfriend. When he returns to India, he becomes fixated on the idea of a storytelling machine, which can churn out narratives based on a series of preprogrammed inputs like character and plot. The machine is never built, much like Mali's novel is never written. The fact that this idea never comes to fruition suggests that Narayan believes storytelling is an inherently human endeavor which, like work, cannot occur without an individual's input.
Love and Selfishness
Jagan loves his son Mali very much and is pained by their difficult relationship. Likewise, Grace appears to be very much in love with Mali despite his not marrying her or treating her kindly. Mali takes their kindness and support as a given and never thanks them for the tremendous effort they put into their relationships with him. In the end, Jagan realizes that the best thing for Mali is for him to be financially cut off and spend some time in jail, as it may finally make him less selfish. He also offers to pay for Grace's plane ticket back home, suggesting that his love and fondness for her continues to endure. In this way, the novel addresses with the idea that sometimes loving Mali actively causes harm to both Grace and Jagan, as he does not reciprocate their kindness.
Spirituality
Spirituality plays a significant role in the novel. Towards the end of the story, Jagan has a kind of spiritual awakening when he meets an artist who lives in seclusion in the woods. The man is solely dedicated to his art and shows Jagan the statue he is working on of the goddess Gayatri. After he witnesses the man’s dedication to his craft, Jagan feels that he wants to let go of his connections to the material world, namely his shop and financial obligation to his son. In the end, he finds peace and happiness in walking away from these things, as he no longer feels tethered to supporting Mali or working without respite.
