Common Theme

Literary works have life changing messages hidden within their pages that have the power to teach a lesson. During the second half of the school year, we studied a myriad of novels and plays, however, despite their differences in plot and characters- the works had an overall theme in common. Each work discovers and characterizes the global theme of hope differently.

In The Lottery, the characters disagree with a deadly ritual but follow it because they are afraid and will be chastised. At first there is some resistance from the family who gets the black ticket but in the end there is no confrontation. The characters never collaborate and join a team to do anything against the tradition but they hope that one day the town elders will understand how ludicrous this act they hold so dearly to their hearts is.

A Catcher in the Rye, a novel explaining the nadir of an esoteric young man, depicts hope because Holden Caufield is stuck in a world of his own that he wishes to get out of. In the beginning of the novel, Holden tells Mr. Spencer that he feels stuck in his own world and that he wants to break away but can’t bring himself to do it. Holden hides his craving to be a part of the normal world by saying that everyone is phony. He hopes that one day he’ll be accepted and understood by the world for who he is. But Holden takes this theme to one more step; he gets help at the end. Holden sees a psychoanalyst and in turn he courageously looks in the eyes of his problem.

In Death of a Salesman the theme of hope is ascertained through Willy’s strive to achieve the American Dream and to treat his family with valor. Biff demonstrates this theme by hoping that one day his family will cherish each other and be proud of him like they once were. Arthur Miller wants his readers to understand that if they work hard at something it can sincerely come true. If Biff and Willy put aside their differences for just a moment and talked things out- devoid of getting irrational they would have been back to normal. What the father and son pair doesn’t realize is that they both hope to get along with each other but they never speak about it so it doesn’t occur.

In both Cannery Row and Of Mice and Men the common thread of hope is identically darned. In both works by John Steinbeck, the theme of hope is shown by the characters skirmishing against their environment. In Cannery Row the boys, the rough and tough crowd that bunks together, along with the rest