First we have enemy relations, which is a theme that keeps turning up in the story, which plays out in a time of war. We as readers are shown the relations between USA and its’ enemies. We also get an impression of what both the grandfather and the boy think of USAs’ then enemies. We see this clearly, where is the grandfather says: “What the hell would I have done with a boatful of naked Japanese?” This is one of the many remarks the grandfather makes, that leave me thinking: ‘He only sees them as obstacles!’ This brings us to the next theme, which is respect, or maybe I should say lack of respect. There are many different kinds of respect. You have respect for your family and friends, for puplic figure and so on.
Mankind has thoughout centuries had enemies. But just because someone is rejoicing in the misfortune of someone else, does not mean that they do not have respect for them. All though in this story, that is the case. The grandfather does not see the Japanese civilians as human beings, but as something not even worth rescuing. The lack of respect does not stop here. The grandfather and grandmother do not show any respect towards their grandson eighter. As the grandfather leaves the boy in the dark closet, the grandmother just asks: ‘Where is the kid?’. She does not seem to have a close relationship with the boy because she keeps calling him”the kid.”
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