Like night and day or winter and summer, there is a rigid division between the states of order and chaos that seems immutable. Nevertheless, these opposing forces also depend on one another. In this study guide collection, we've put together texts that explore themes related to the diametrically opposed yet inextricably linked forces of order and chaos.
Publication year 1992
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Lyric Poem, Depression / Suicide, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine
Publication year -600
Genre Scripture, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Religion / Spirituality, Philosophy, Jewish Literature
The Hebrew Bible is the standard canon of Jewish sacred texts, composed in a period that falls across the second and first millennia BCE. It is also referred to as the Tanakh, an acrostic portmanteau of the three major sections of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah (“teaching”), the Nevi’im (“prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“writings”). The Hebrew Bible is a collection of 24 major texts, in which there are 39 books. These 39 books correspond to... Read Hebrew Bible Summary
Publication year 1975
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, British Literature, Classic Fiction
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Ancient Greece, Narrative / Epic Poem, Mythology
Publication year 1968
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Natural World: Place, Natural World: Animals, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Memory
Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, American Literature, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Social Justice, History: World
The novel House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday, was first published in 1968. Heralded as a major landmark in the emergence of Indigenous American literature, the novel won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. House Made of Dawn blends fictional and nonfictional elements to depict life on an Indigenous American reservation like the one where Momaday grew up.This guide uses an eBook version of the 2018 First Harper Perennial Modern Classics (50th Anniversary)... Read House Made of Dawn Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community
Tags Politics / Government, History: World, Military / War, Social Science, Sociology
Publication year 2022
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Self Help, Psychology, Disability, Health / Medicine, Parenting, Psychology, Mental Illness
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags History: World, Arts / Culture, Historical Fiction, Race / Racism
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Objects, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags History: World, Action / Adventure, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2024
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction
Publication year 1913
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Natural World: Objects
Tags Classic Fiction, Education, Education
Publication year 1935
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Russian Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Absurdism, Modernism, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Invitation to a Beheading is a 1938 novel by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov, and the penultimate novel Nabokov wrote in his native Russian before transitioning to English. This guide uses the 1965 Capricorn Books edition, based on the 1959 English version, translated by Dmitri Nabokov with help from his father, Vladimir. Plot SummaryCincinnatus C. has been arrested and imprisoned by the government in the unnamed country in which he resides. Cincinnatus has been found guilty... Read Invitation to a Beheading Summary
Publication year 1949
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Lyric Poem, WWII / World War II
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Military / War, African Literature
July’s People, a 1981 dystopian novel by South African author Nadine Gordimer, imagines the aftermath of a bloody uprising that topples South Africa’s notorious, white-ruled apartheid regime. Her novel, which follows a white family’s desperate flight from Johannesburg, traces the complex interdependencies of white and Black South Africans, revealing the insidiousness of the regime’s racial disparities and mindsets, even among liberal, well-meaning white people. Through the lens of this hypothetical future, Gordimer’s novel explores racial... Read July's People Summary
Publication year 1902
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Classic Fiction, Children's Literature, Fantasy, British Literature
Publication year 2024
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Indian Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Biography
Publication year 1916
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Identity: Language, Life/Time: The Future, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Science / Nature, Modernism
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Historical Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Magical Realism, Fantasy
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Military / War, Italian Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1988
Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Globalization, Values/Ideas: New Age, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Identity: Language
Tags Education, Education, Leadership/Organization/Management, Business / Economics, Self Help