Greenwood explores the relationship between nature, nurture, and fate. In the earliest chronological narrative, Harris and Everett Greenwood are equalized by the train accident that turns them into adoptive brothers. The unnamed town that raises them determines that of the two boys, Harris is more deserving of an education because of his entrepreneurial spirit. The split in their upbringing establishes a dichotomy between nature and nurture. Harris, because of his natural aptitude, is seen as the better child to nurture. Everett, on the other hand, is left to his own devices, representing the unmediated effects of nature. However, this divide alone does not shape the characters’ narratives—luck, too, interacts with nature and nurture, forcing characters to adhere to their true natures when faced with unexpected fates.

Faced with misfortune, Harris nonetheless achieves financial success due to his brother’s generous nature, illustrating how external factors shape an individual’s narrative. Though fortunate in his early education, Harris’s life is forever altered when he loses his eyesight the week before his deployment in the First World War, he loses his eyesight; blindness would virtually guarantee his death on the frontlines. Everett takes the opportunity to save his brother by going to war in his place.