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Global Experience, Fear of death is a major theme in this book as anti…
Global Experience
Life and Death
Death does not physically kill Dov, but his mothers death causes him great sadness and guilt that it ruins his life. Dov does not know how to go on thinking that he caused the death of his mother and even years later feels extremely guilty that she died.
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Herman has a fear of death where ever he goes because of what he went through during the Holocaust. Additionally, he copes with the trauma of his wife and kids' deaths only to find out that Tamara is still alive. He feels guilt and sadness that he was not a better father when his children were alive. Additionally, Masha has to deal with the death of her mother. This is an odd experience because of the relationship that she had with her mother. But ultimately this book is riddled with deal and coping with death, which is all consuming for Herman and Masha.
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This memoir is full of death as the setting is a concentration camp. Although Levi technically survives, he never truly recovers as he has to live with the trauma for the rest of his life. Elie Wiesel, another Holocaust survivor describes Levi as followed: "Primo Levi died at Auschwitz forty years later." While this quote is contested by some friends and family, it is very clear that over the course of his entire life, Levi struggles with the fact that he is alive while many others are dead.
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Death is one of the many things that Moonbloom's tenants have to deal with over the course of the book. This only helps Norman develop empathy.
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In one of Paley's short stories, she describes two characters, one who is literally dying and the other who does not understand this and agrees that she too is "dying." This represents the difference between feeling like death is inevitable versus knowing death is imminent. This puts into perspective different stages of dying.
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The main question of this book explores how a person matters throughout their life and eventual death. This is something that Renee is figuring out with age, while she is unsure that her husband's mattering map will change.
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Conflict/War/Society
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The Holocaust plays a major role in this book. If societal conflict was not taking place (in the form of genocide) or if people got more involved in preventing the Shoa, then the setting for this book would not exist
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Diversity
This book shows us diversity and imagining the lives of others as Paley writes from many different perspectives
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute 
There are many different types of tenants and Norman gets a glimpse into all of their lives through collecting rent. They all have different trauma and life experiences based on age, race, Jewish/non-Jewish, and more.
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Human Emotions
Anxiety
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Herman has anxiety and paranoia everywhere he goes because of the trauma of the Shoa. Where ever he goes he wonders what would happen if the Nazis invaded, amongst many other scenarios. Masha, his lover, plays into this fear by creating ridiculous hypothetical scenarios and asking him how he'd feel about them. Together, Masha and Herman represent negativity and despair.
Enemies, A Love Story
Josef K. feels great anxiety towards the trial which ultimately kills him. If he was able to avoid thinking about the trial he could have lived out his life without being prosecuted but since he feels so much guilt and anxiety about the trial, he cannot win it.
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Empathy
Norman Moonbloom goes from a regular rent collector, just working to make money to finding such value in life as he starts to develop empathy for his tenants. He mentions that he does not even want to feel bad for his tenants but he cannot help it because once he develops a sense of empathy and realizes the struggle that his tenants have gone through, he will do almost anything for them to make their lives just a bit better.
The Tenants of Moonbloom
Familial Relations
Learning from parents
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Young Philip learns that the world is a harsh place for the Jewish people as Lindbergh is the president and is working with the Nazis and spreading anti-Semitism. He even has to cope with the death of Seldon's mom. He learns this from the increasing paranoia and fear that his parents display.
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Dov's Father teaches Dov that in order to succeed in the world, the Jewish people need to be strong and stand up for themselves. Therefore, Dov's father is extremely strict and believes in harsh protections for the state of Israel, whereas his mother has a lot of empathy and compassion for the Palestinians that live in the land.
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Love and sex
Herman claims to love three women, Tamara (his old wife), Yadwiga (his new wife), and Masha (his mistress). The manipulative nature of these relationships makes the reader question why he is with each of the women and whether he truly loves them. He may be with all three of the women because they all represent different things. By the end of the book, his relationships fall apart, proving that family and love can be a difficult concept. :
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Fear of death is a major theme in this book as anti-Semitism grows. Death is a fear that is only enhanced by the diaspora. This is something that young Philip has to cope with a lot despite being a kid. Both Seldon's parents die, greatly affecting Philip's life as he learns that all actions have consequences.