What is the theme in A Walker in the City by Alfred Kazin?

Being an outsider is a theme in this story. In terms of both content and style, the book communicates quite clearly that as a youth, and perhaps even as an adult, the author felt / feels as though he doesn't belong, as though he doesn't fit. The narrative defines two aspects to this experience. First, while living very much inside what he perceives as a close knit community, the longings that he feels for something more, for broader experiences (of emotion, of sensation, of simply being) place him, he strongly feels, outside that community and its (traditional? restrictive? self-denying?) beliefs and perspectives.