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
On the way to Washington, D.C., they sleep in their coach seats and eat food they’d packed in an overnight bag, not wanting to spend money in the dining car. When they arrive, the vastness of the train station overwhelms them. At the hotel, the two men share one room and the three women another.
By mentioning the ways that the delegation seeks to save money during their trip, this chapter emphasizes how little power the group apparently has in comparison to the power, and wealth, of the forces they are up against.
Themes
