Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Anxious People, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Parenting and Fear
Marriage, Conflict, and Communication
Mental Health and Connection
The Modern World
Assumptions
Summary
Analysis
Later in the afternoon, Jack and Jim are digging through the closet without success. They find a collection of empty wine bottles, men’s suits, and old dresses. Neither notices the draft, but Jack notices that it smells faintly of cigarette smoke. He taps on the ceiling until he finds an old air vent, and then he sticks his head through it. The draft is coming from the narrow passageway in the attic, and there’s something fluffy in the way. Cursing, Jack pulls out the head of a rabbit costume.
In the hostage drama storyline, which takes place earlier in the day, cigarettes haven’t made an appearance yet—and Lennart is still stuck in his rabbit head. This passage foreshadows what’s to come. Further, the fact that Jack and Jim both miss the draft at first suggests that they are people like any other—and like the hostages who sat here hours ago, they’re also capable of missing pertinent information.
Themes
