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Part 6, Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time, Happiness, and Eternal Return
Lightness, Weight, and Dichotomies
Sex, Love, and Duality of Body and Soul
Words and Language
Power, Politics, and Inequality
Summary
Analysis
At the front of the line, the American actress begins to march next to the German pop star. An American photographer notices the photo opportunity and stands back, so he can get both the actress and the singer in the shot, along with the singer’s white flag. Stepping onto the grass, the photographer triggers a hidden mine and is blown to pieces. Blood splatters the white flag, and the actress and singer, stunned for a moment, continue to march.
Ironically, the singer and the actress are marching to save the lives of others, but they seem to care very little when the photographer is violently killed right in front of them. The red blood splatter on the white flag is a vivid image of this violence, but they again ignore it and move on because such violence interferes with their ability to keep marching.
Themes
