(1)      As humans search for meaning and purpose in their lives, the constant changes of everyday life that they encounter can be overwhelming and frustrating. E. B. White gives us an example of this in his story "The Door." The theme of this story is that too much awareness and analysis of life’s frustrations can drive human kind insane and render them powerless. 

(2)      The protagonist of this story is sucked in by his need to understand the frustrations of life. He is always seeking relief from his awareness of these frustrations; just when he thinks he has picked the correct path or door, ("the one with the circle on it"), the professor "changes that door on [him]." Consequently, the protagonist repeatedly encounters obstacles that block his ability to gain relief from his dissatisfaction. The insanity of never being satisfied with his lot in life, is prevalent in the protagonist's persistent refusal to give up his search for fulfillment ("jumping at the door"), much like the junkie's persistent refusal to give up that last fix. Finally, as his very life spins out of control, he finally succumbs to his frustrations the only way he can; through a lobotomy, he becomes willing to "meet the soft ground." 

(3)      One way that White draws out his theme is through conflict. The main conflict in this story is powerlessness versus control. The protagonist continuously compares himself with the rats in a maze (like the Skinner box). The rats, which have no control over their environment, are being driven crazy by the Professor, who demands that they "deal with problems which are beyond the scope of rats." In an attempt to control their actions, the Professor first rewards the rats with food. However, once he has conditioned them to the correct response, he changes the location of the food. The rats continue to jump at the "card with the circle in the middle," driving themselves insane, because they are aware that their reward is somewhere in that maze. The rats' situation, then, symbolizes the protagonist's plight.

(4)      Like the rats, the protagonist is aware that somewhere the "food" (fulfillment) he is seeking, symbolized by the door, exists. This awareness exacerbates his frustration at having the door switched on him. The protagonist's yearning for some type of gratification leads him to be "confronted" by "unsoluable problems," In this situation the feeling of powerlessness leaves him defeated and acquiescent: with "the willingness to let anything be done." The fact that those in control -the Professor and the Madam- are given titles (which are capitalized) while the protagonist is never identified, further emphases his helplessness and powerlessness. The protagonist's awareness that he is powerless to achieve fulfillment brings him one step closer to insanity. 

(5)      Along with this conflict, the protagonist experiences the conflict involving individual versus self. This inner conflict is evident in his reoccurring question of "whether to jump again." The conflict occurs within him because at times "it [the door] seem[s] like the way and for a while it [is] the way." The protagonist is aware that for a time he can find what he is looking for, but after a while his path will be blocked. In addition, the protagonist feels discord because of the pain he encounters as he jumps at the door. Each time the Professor changes the door, it causes pain that is worse than before, when "all [he] would get was the bump on the nose." Later, the pain intensifies, for when " they chang[e]that door on [him], [his] nose [bleeds] for a hundred hours." The resulting mental anguish is almost unbearable, driving the character closer to insanity and "convulsions." The frustrations that he feels due to his powerlessness further demonstrated by the author's characterization of the protagonist.

(6)      The protagonist can be characterized as both intelligent and obsessive, as evidenced by his profound understanding and frequent acknowledgment that he is not the only one with this dilemma. For instance, at several points in the story the protagonist reflects upon the fate of "the man in Jersey" who once "began talking about how we would take his house to pieces, brick by brick, because he was faced with a problem incapable of solution." The man in Jersey, for a while, gave in to the monotony of life by "Building an estate," "planting trees," "watering the grass," and "planting the decorative borders." However, after a while, he was no longer content with the monotony of life and went back to jumping at "the same old door and it wouldn't give" Once they "changed that door on him, making life no longer supportable" he parishes. Then of course there was the poet, who said, " My heart has followed all my days something I cannot name" The "jumping" also eventually killed him, after "the preliminary bouts, the convulsions, and the calm willingness". Finally, the protagonist indicates is aware that many others cannot resist the lure of searching for fulfillment, when he states, "I am not the only one either...ask any doctor...they know how many there are." Although such awareness signals the protagonist's intelligence it also exemplifies his obsessiveness. Ironically, the protagonist is even aware of another character trait -his own insanity- stating," more and more I am confronted by a problem which is incapable of solution and that is what madness is, and things seem different from what they are." 

(7)      The protagonist's insanity, inner conflict, and his propensity to over-analyze are expressed through White's use of tone. White exemplifies the protagonist's struggle with insanity and his obsessive need to analyze, through his complex and sometimes crazed sentence structure. For instance, in the beginning of the story, the protagonist speaks of a. 

... wall which was glass but turned out on not being approached not to be a wall, it was something else, it was an opening or a doorway--and the doorway (through which he saw himself approaching) turned out to be something else, it was a wall. And what he had eaten not having agreed with him. 

(8)      From the start of the very first paragraph, by using words such as "duroid," "duro," and "flexsand," White forces the reader to join the protagonist in his insanity and his need to analyze. By immersing the reader into the story, White further brings out the theme by allowing the reader to identify with the protagonist's frustration, powerlessness, need to analyze. The reader then becomes enmeshed in the protagonist's journey on the road to insanity.