Suicide
The main theme portrayed in the novel is the theme of suicide. One of the main characters is a person who wants to end his life, and the other is the one who wants to save the other's life. He tries to understand his reasoning and make him see that life is worth living - persuade him to find comfort in religion and to try to be compassionate with his fellow men. The person wanting to end his life sees the life as a path to complete destruction; he sees suffering in having to care for other people but himself and finds comfort in the endless darkness. Ultimately, the novel ends in failure on the savior's part and his wondering what he could have said to change the sufferer's mind.
Religion
Religion plays a huge part in the novel and is another central theme. The black believer, who plays the role of the savior, reveals that he found comfort in religion in the worst moment in his life, which made him change his life for the better and trying to help his fellow men who need helping. He is trying to persuade the white professor to find comfort in religion, but the sufferer is determined in his disbelief. Despite this determination, he also contradicts himself on several occasions, one of which is his questioning of the man who saved his life, and whether he's an angel, another one is his refusal to read the Bible, despite being a well-read man. In this refusal one can see a hint of doubt, as he refuses to approach this book as any other book he reads, which can stem from fear of having his mind changed. Nevertheless, in the end neither the believer, nor the skeptic ends up victorious. The skeptic runs from life, and the believer is left questioning his purpose.
