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Chapter 4
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Careless People, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Carelessness, Wealth, and Greed
Idealism and the Failed Promises of Technology
Sexism in the Workplace
Bureaucracy and Obstacles to Change
Summary
Analysis
As Wynn-Williams struggles to adjust to how different it is working at Facebook, Meredith is one of the people who helps her deal with the transition. She is also shocked at how rich everyone around her is, based on their shoes and the size of their jewelry. She learns the phrase “price insensitive,” meaning to be so rich that you don’t care what things cost.
One of the other major cultural differences between Wynn-Williams and the people around her is how wealthy they are. Wynn-Williams comes to see that wealth is not just about owning things but also a different culture, as she hears terms like “price insensitive” that people use to avoid admitting how wealthy they are.
Active
Themes
Marne works tirelessly, and it sets an expectation for others to work long hours too. Wynn-Williams can often only sleep four hours a night. She asks Marne about whether she regrets not having time to spending spend with family and friends or on hobbies, and Marne replies, “I’m good.”
Wynn-Williams begins to see how the culture at Facebook demands so much time from employees. At this point in her life, she can afford to live on four hours of sleep, but in her conversation with Marne, she begins to realize the consequences of devoting so much time to work.
Active
Themes
Every new employee gets a “Little Red Book” written by Zuckerberg that explains that while Facebook gives employees a lot of perks, it’s all with the goal of making it easier for them to spend more time on work. The book presents Facebook as a company accomplishing social change. While Wynn-Williams has misgivings, she generally likes her coworkers and thinks that people like Marne, Elliot, and Sandberg are smart.
