Risk
Small World is partly set during the infamous California gold rush. Virtually everyone who participated in the California gold rush did so because they wanted to risk it all and uproot their lives in an attempt to strike it rich. In other words, in order to better themselves and their situations and the situations of their family, people take risks and participate in the California gold rush. But risk doesn't always bring reward; many people who participated in the California gold rush lost everything they had after not finding any gold. There were some, however, who made quite a bit of money during the gold rush and some who made enough from the gold they mined to have a nice enough life. One thing remains constant in both situations: those who made money couldn't have done so without taking a risk and those who lost everything couldn't have done so without taking a risk. Risk, in other words, is like flipping a coin. Sometimes taking a risk will pay off; other times it won't.
America
America is not only the setting of Small World, it is also one of the novel's most important themes. Throughout the novel, author Jonathan Evison explores America, its founding, and how the country has changed since its founding in the late 18th century. For many, Evison's novel shows, America was (and is) a land of opportunity; for others, America was (and is) a land in which dreams go to die because of a lack of opportunity for advancement. Ultimately, the core question at the center of Small World is if America made good on its promises to its citizens and immigrants. This gets to the heart of what many people think. That is: is America what it says it is?
Technological innovation
Small World is set over the course of nearly two centuries, during which time America and the world grew in many ways. America, however, made the most progress technologically. Since the 1800s, the rate of technological innovation was surpassed only by the land which America gained control over. Things which people would never have thought possible—like airplanes, the internet, a transcontinental railroad, lifesaving medicines, and many more things—were innovated relatively rapidly. Because of these technical innovations, the world changed very rapidly. Instead of taking mail weeks to reach its destination across the United States by horse and buggy, for instance, it could reach its destination in less than a day. And with these technical innovations came changes in behavior, which the book explores in depth by showing how different human lives are from their ancestors not too long ago.
