“You can never count on freedom from mayhem.” 

Richard and his wife Christel had a comfortable life together, but they often told each other that they knew they would not be immune to hardship. No matter what life a person is leading, it can change or ended quickly by chaotic, tragic, or unjust events. Richard has prided himself on his stoic reserve, but it is not until he meets the refugees that he understands that he has never experienced true mayhem that has tested his convictions. 

“The thinking is what he is, and at the same time it’s the machine that governs him.” 

Richard is aware that his own mind is a fallible tool. He can only improve his mind by studying it, but he can only study his mind with the same fallible tool. Richard is governed by his mind and cannot step outside of it but knows that he is limited by the machine that dictates his perceptions of the world. 

“The birth of questions is something that always delights him. The appearance of the refugees in this suburb is just such a moment. Fear produces order, he thinks, as do uncertainty and caution.” 

Early in the novel, Richard believes the appearance of the refugees will lead to opportunities that will helps shape a new, better order on the structure of Berlin society. The refugees present a new set of questions, and Richard tries to answer the questions optimistically. As he becomes bogged down in the bureaucracy the refugees face, he begins to lose his hope of order.