What are the motifs in Black Is My Favorite Color by Bernard Malamud?

Interracial relationships are a recurring idea in the book. With Ornita, Nat tries to have an interracial relationship, something that he knows will draw looks from others. However, on their first date, Nat recalls that "Nobody was surprised when they saw us, nobody looked at us like we were against the law." Still, in the 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, when interracial relationships were seen by most whites and blacks as bad, this is a concern for Nat. It is also a concern for Ornita; so when Nat proposes marriage to her, he says that they could move to San Francisco, which is more supportive of interracial relationships: "I was there for a week in the Second War and I saw white and colored living together," says Nat.