Many of the characters in The Shadow Lines want—or need—to have more freedom. The characters define freedom based on both individual and collective terms, as well as on traditional and modern values. The Narrator’s fragmented memory keeps him from having answers to his most persistent questions. The narrative itself operates on a stream-of-consciousness basis; it represents the Narrator’s attempt at breaking free from the confines of doubt and unclear memories. One of the biggest threads in the novel involves the Narrator uncovering how Tridib died. Though the official story mentions Tridib’s death as resulting from a car accident, the Narrator “feels” that there’s something more to the story. The Narrator can’t be free until he pieces the real story together. When the Narrator finally learns from May that an angry mob slit Tridib’s throat—that Tridib sacrificed himself to save May—the Narrator finds the freedom for which he spent Part 2 searching.

Ila believes that upper-class society is the cause of the world’s ills, and wishes to be free of the very system that has privileged and nurtured her. Ila finds fault with what she believes is an archaic system of values in India.