A major theme of this story by Alejo Carpentier is the never-ending, cyclical nature of war This is communicated through the framing of the story. In a time loop, a soldier prepares to leave for four different conflicts spread over three thousand years before returning to his original point of departure. The story also explores the theme of propaganda—the contradiction between the ideological reasons used to legitimize war and reality (maintaining alliances, conquest, subjugation, colonisation, enrichment of the ruling class). Other themes include time, greed, racism, the effect of war on those preparing for it (bravado, sexuality, separation, disillusionment).

This story by Alejo Carpentier explores the theme of existence as a circular process. It begins with the demolition of a mansion following the death of its owner, and travels backward in reverse chronological order. It not only regresses through the man’s adult life and childhood to his exit from the womb, but continues until “everything” is restored to its original state, leaving a desert where his family home had once stood. Other themes include time, decay, colonialism, the excesses and failings of the Cuban aristocracy, the temporal nature of power, wealth and material possessions.