The novel is concerned with human perception. How do we perceive things in one way rather than another? How do we come to see things in a certain way? Are our perceptions absolute? Can they change or are there blindspots? What are the factors that cause us to see things in one way rather than another? 2. The novel is concerned with crowd mentality; how being part of a group shapes our actions, beliefs, and even our perceptions (relation to item #1). 3. It considers the relationship between the individual and the state (known in this novel as the Empire). What are some of the ways that this relationship is presented in the novel? Does the individual citizen serve the empire or vice-versa or both? 4. It asserts that an “empire” may be a powerful political and military entity, and at the same time a frail concept that needs to be assiduously defended. Although the empire was powerful, it seemed to be easily threatened, and such “threats “ were often not real, but phantom-like.
