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Common Themes in Literature

Common Themes in Literature. Man V. Nature. People are destroying nature and themselves with out-of-control technology. Nature is against us and proves our powerlessness. Man Vs. Society. Everyone is against one of the characters.

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Common Themes in Literature

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  1. Common Themes in Literature

  2. Man V. Nature • People are destroying nature and themselves with out-of-control technology. • Nature is against us and proves our powerlessness.

  3. Man Vs. Society • Everyone is against one of the characters. • One of the characters really wants to belong to a certain crowd, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t. • A character does “belong” to a crowd, but still feels alone.

  4. Man Vs. “the gods” • “The gods” are mocking man and torturing him for trying to be better than “the gods.” Ex. mythology • “The gods” could careless, or don’t exist. (depressing, huh?) • In Christian literature and other religious literature, “the gods” or God helps man.

  5. Man Vs. Man • Marriage, friendship, or any relationship works when both people learn to sacrifice for each other. Ex. “Gift of the Magi” • Bullying: one character must overcome the other one somehow.

  6. Man Vs. Himself • Life is interrupted by a random horrifying event. • A series of difficult events help a person mature and gain confidence. This is when a person realizes who he/she really is: also called “Coming of Age.” *very common in teen literature

  7. Time & Death • Life is too short. • Live life to the fullest. • Life is not worth living without love. • Death is the final joke on life. (Writers are not typically happy go-lucky people!) • There is no such thing as an afterlife, or there is an afterlife. Both are common in literature.

  8. Credits For further info check out: www.sjsu.edu/faculty/patten/theme.html

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