Order & Chaos

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.

The All of It

by Jeannette Haien

Publication year 1986

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Language, Mental Health, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Environment, Plants, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Education, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Literary Fiction

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The Art of Happiness

by Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Regret, Mental Health, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Asian History

In 1998, the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) and psychiatrist Howard C. Cutler released The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living. Combining spiritual teachings and clinical framing, the book has become an example of where popular psychology, applied ethics, and secular spirituality converge. The book targets a broad audience seeking practical ways to decrease suffering, enhance interpersonal connections, and develop a more stable, compassionate mindset—regardless of whether they have a religious affiliation.A collaborative project... Read The Art of Happiness Summary

The Atlas Paradox

by Olivie Blake

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Equality, Friendship, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, New Age, Religion & Spirituality, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fate, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Relationships, Science & Nature, Social Justice, Education, Philosophy

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The Awakening

by Kate Chopin

Publication year 1899

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music, Mothers, Order & Chaos

Tags Gender & Feminism, Classic Fiction, American Literature, Depression & Suicide, Naturalism, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction

The Awakening is Kate Chopin’s second novel. It was first published in 1899 and is considered one of the first examples of feminist fiction.The novel opens in the 1890s Louisiana, at Grand Isle, a summer holiday resort popular among wealthy Creoles who live in nearby New Orleans. Edna Pontellier, her husband, Léonce, and their two children are vacationing at the cottages of Madame Lebrun. Léonce is a kind and devoted husband, but he is often... Read The Awakening Summary

The Bacchae

by Euripides

Publication year 405

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Community, Order & Chaos

Tags Tragedy, Mythology, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Classical Period, Fantasy

The Bacchae is an ancient Athenian tragedy by Euripides. The play is generally believed to have been staged (with Iphigenia at Aulis and another play) in 405 BCE by the poet’s son after his father’s death in 407-6 and to have won first prize. The production took place in Athens at the City Dionysia, a festival in honor of Dionysus.Set in Thebes, the play depicts Dionysus (also known as Bacchus) returning to his mother’s city... Read The Bacchae Summary

The Bald Soprano

by Eugène Ionesco

Publication year 1950

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Language, Social Class, Order & Chaos

Tags Drama, Absurdism, French Literature

La Cantatrice Chauve, translated to The Bald Soprano in English, is a 1950 absurdist play by Eugène Ionesco and a seminal work of the Theatre of the Absurd movement. Ionesco was famously inspired to write the play while learning English from an Assimil language primer, in which cliché English characters having artificial conversations and reciting basic facts of life soon began to take on absurd philosophical meaning for the playwright. The Bald Soprano was Ionesco’s... Read The Bald Soprano Summary

The Bear and the Nightingale

by Katherine Arden

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Femininity, Coming of Age, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Family, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Coming of Age

The Bear and the Nightingale (2017) is a historical fantasy novel by Katherine Arden. The story is set in medieval Russia and was heavily inspired by the country’s folklore and history. It follows Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna, a girl who lives in an isolated village at the edge of a forest and can communicate with household spirits and other supernatural beings that others cannot see. Her life is upended when her father marries a pious woman... Read The Bear and the Nightingale Summary

The Birth of Tragedy

by Friedrich Nietzsche

Publication year 1872

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Music, Art, Order & Chaos

Tags Philosophy, Literary Criticism, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Arts & Culture, Dramatic Literature, German Literature

The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music is a work of dramatic theory and cultural criticism by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). It was originally published in 1872 as Nietzsche’s first work, and later rereleased in 1886 under the title The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism. Nietzsche argues that Greek tragedy is born out of the merger between Apollonian and Dionysian perspectives. Nietzsche first differentiates between these two worldviews... Read The Birth of Tragedy Summary

The Black Death

by Philip Ziegler

Publication year 1969

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Nation, Economics, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Politics & Government

Tags European History, Health, Science & Nature, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government, Urban Development, Leadership, Medieval, World History

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The Blazing World

by Margaret Cavendish

Publication year 1666

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Science & Technology, Perseverance, Femininity, Friendship, Nation, War, Fame, Order & Chaos, Equality

Tags Education, Education, British Literature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy, Gender & Feminism, European History, Military & War, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Age of Enlightenment, Restoration

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The Blue Hotel

by Stephen Crane

Publication year 1898

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Order & Chaos, Guilt

Tags Western, American Literature, Expressionism

“The Blue Hotel” is an 1898 short story by American author Stephen Crane, a pioneer of Naturalism and Expressionism in the American literary canon. Originally published in two parts in the magazine Collier’s Weekly, “The Blue Hotel” was subsequently released in Crane’s 1899 collection The Monster and Other Stories. In telling the story of a murder that unfolds in a remote Nebraska town, it explores themes of Isolation and Its Impact on the Human Psyche... Read The Blue Hotel Summary

The Book of Magic

by Alice Hoffman

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Love, Femininity, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Art, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction

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The Bourne Identity

by Robert Ludlum

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Mental Health, The Past, Self Discovery, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

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The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky

by Stephen Crane

Publication year 1898

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Order & Chaos, Conflict, The Past

Tags Education, Education, Classic Fiction, Western, Humor, American Literature

“The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” is a short story by American author Stephen Crane. Published in 1898, the story parodies tropes of old westerns and addresses the themes of the death of the Old West, domesticity, and masculinity. The story details the journey of Jack Potter, marshal of the small town of Yellow Sky, as he brings his new bride from the East back to his home in Texas on the Western frontier. Once... Read The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky Summary

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Thornton Wilder

Publication year 1927

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Fate, Death, Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Thornton Wilder’s philosophical novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) opens with a catastrophic event in colonial Peru. On July 20, 1714, a centuries-old Incan rope bridge collapses, plunging five travelers to their deaths. Witnessing the tragedy, a Franciscan friar named Brother Juniper embarks on a six-year investigation into the lives of the victims, hoping to uncover a divine pattern and answer the question of whether their deaths were part of God’s plan or... Read The Bridge of San Luis Rey Summary