Persistent Themes

Do you discern some persistent themes or patterns in your postings?  What are these themes and patterns?  Why do you think they preoccupied you?

More than anything I found one theme to constantly come up no matter what we were reading in class. This theme is freedom. Freedom is the most dominant and persistent theme that came out through out most of the works of literature we read. 

The signing of the Declaration of Independence 

The concept of freedom preoccupied me the most throughout this literature course because it is the one thing that every human being desires more than anything else in this world. The compulsion for freedom is evident throughout most of the stories we read in literature in one way or another. Whether the theme of freedom is hidden within the context of the paragraphs or clearly visible in the stories, it is there. In one way or another, characters from the different stories we read through out the literature tried to find freedom in their own ways. 

> One example of a character attempting to find freedom is the main character from The Goophered Grapevine by Charles Wadell Chesnutt. He attempts to keep possession of the vineyard by telling interested buyers about a take of a witch who cursed the grapes so that any one who eats them would die within 12 months. This is a example of a man trying to find freedom through property. 

The Goophered Grapevine

> Another example of the underlying theme of freedom can be found within The Open Boat by Stephen Crane. In this story, the characters find themselves trying to survive in a small dinghy after being shipwrecked. The number one thing on the characters minds is to survive and seek salvation from the ruthless ocean by finding land, but what is it that the land offers these characters? Freedom. Freedom from the cold and harsh oceans, freedom from the elements of nature, freedom from having to watch each other die slowly on the boat, and most importantly, freedom from death. The average reader might see the struggle of the characters to survive from the relentless forces of nature to be the ultimate theme, and it is, but underlying this entire fight is the struggle to find freedom from these circumstances.

The Open Boat by Stephen Crane

> The underlying theme of freedom can also be seen in Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle. Within this novel a family of European immigrants travel to the United States of America in hopes of finding prosperity and being able to live better lives than they had back in their home country. What they find is something completely different. The main character, Jurgis Rudkus, barely gets enough compensation for all the hard work he puts into his job to put food on the table for his family. Rudkus really suffers throughout the story and fails to find true prosperity. Now, this can be seen as the ultimate struggle between man and his surroundings or naturalism, but it is also the main characters attempt at finding freedom. Back in his home country of Lithuania things were not going so well so he attempted to find freedom and prosperity within the borders of USA. Freedom, in my opinion, was the main thing Rudkus pushed for after immigrating to the United States of America more than anything else.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair