Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Night Watchman, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power, Solidarity, and Community Action
Oppression and Supposed Good Intentions
Humor and Pain
Sex, Violence, and Gender
Agency and Exploitation
Summary
Analysis
As Thomas reads Millie’s report, he thinks the good news is that they’re poor enough to require continued government assistance. The bad news is how poor they are. The good news is that they have schools, but the bad news is that so many people are illiterate. The good news is that they have this report, but the bad news is also the report.
Millie’s report stirs up contradictory feelings in Thomas; it presents the evidence that will give him a good argument to use to testify before Congress, but that argument is also dispiriting.
Themes
