Auster masterfully uses chance as a driving force in the protagonists' lives, from Jim's decision to abandon his old life to the poker game that seals their fate, questioning how much we are at the mercy of destiny versus conscious decisions.

Jim's search for freedom leads to a new form of captivity, as gambling becomes an obsession and debts make him a prisoner of his choices. The novel shows how freedom can be limited by both external constraints and internal conflicts.

Money acts as a catalyst for both change and destruction. While Jim's inheritance enables a new beginning, it ultimately leads to misfortune, highlighting money's ambivalent nature as both a promise of freedom and a path to dependency.