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.

Dragonfly in Amber

by Diana Gabaldon

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Perseverance, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Nostalgia, Memory, Hope, Masculinity, Gender Identity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Death, The Past, Future, Place, Marriage, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Justice, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, European History, Health, World History

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Drive

by Kate Stewart

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Hope, Love, Memory, Language, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Midlife, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Art, Fate, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, New Adult, Music

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Einstein's Dreams

by Alan Lightman

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Perseverance, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Space, Fate, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Philosophy, Science & Nature

Einstein’s Dreams (1993) by Alan Lightman is a best-selling novel that explores the intersection of art and science, and the nature of time. The novel imagines the dreams of a fictionalized version of Albert Einstein to explain various theories about time, leading up to Einstein’s 1905 theory of special relativity, which he formed while working as a patent clerk and starting a family in Berne, Switzerland.Each chapter of the novel features a dream that exemplifies... Read Einstein's Dreams Summary

Everybody

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Publication year 2018

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Fear, Love, Death, Religion & Spirituality, Order & Chaos, Good & Evil

Tags Drama, Symbolic Narrative, Grief & Death, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, American Literature, Dramatic Literature, Education, Education

Everybody, a one-act play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, premiered Off-Broadway in 2017 at the Signature Theatre and was first published in 2018. It is a modern retelling of Everyman, the most well-known and anthologized example of a medieval morality play, which was adapted from a Dutch play by an anonymous 15th century English writer. Morality plays first appeared in the 12th century, evolving from the Catholic Church’s cycle plays and liturgical dramas, which reenacted biblical scenes... Read Everybody Summary

Everybody's Fool

by Richard Russo

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Hope, Memory, Masculinity, Mental Health, Aging, Place, Friendship, Community, Order & Chaos

Everybody’s Fool is a 2016 novel by American Pulitzer Prize–winning author Richard Russo. The second in Russo’s North Bath trilogy, Everybody’s Fool is set in the small, eccentric, and troubled town of North Bath, New York. The tragicomic novel follows a group of characters whose dramas unfold over a single Memorial Day Weekend, exploring how individuals react to and rebel against their emotional and moral ties to their communities. The novel also grapples with existential themes... Read Everybody's Fool Summary

Every Day Is for the Thief

by Teju Cole

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Race, Order & Chaos

Tags Immigration & Refugeeism, African Literature, Black Lives Matter, Business & Economics, African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Travel Literature

Nigerian author Teju Cole’s Every Day Is for the Thief is a work of autofiction originally published in Nigeria in 2007 and published in the US in 2014. The novel unfolds in picaresque style from the first-person perspective, as a narrator who closely resembles the author returns to Nigeria after 15 years in the US to reckon with Nigerian national identity and his own legacy. Surprised to find that he feels less comfortable in his... Read Every Day Is for the Thief Summary

Fire and Ice

by Robert Frost

Publication year 1920

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Conflict, Order & Chaos, Teamwork, Safety & Danger

Tags Lyric Poem, Natural Disaster, Relationships, Climate Change, American Literature, Classic Fiction

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Fire and Ice

by Erin Hunter

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Animals

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Fireborne

by Rosaria Munda

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Memory, Revenge, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Order & Chaos

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction

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Firefight

by Brandon Sanderson

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Revenge, Death, Appearance & Reality, Teamwork, Politics & Government, War, Order & Chaos

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

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Flow

by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Publication year 1990

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Order & Chaos

Tags Self-Improvement, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Psychology

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is a work of popular psychology published in 1990 by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The book challenges a fundamental cultural assumption: that material abundance and technological progress automatically produce happiness. Drawing on decades of empirical research involving over 100,000 participants worldwide, Csikszentmihalyi identifies the psychological conditions that enable genuine fulfillment—a state of complete immersion he calls “flow.” The book bridges academic psychology and everyday life, offering readers practical strategies for... Read Flow Summary

From Beirut to Jerusalem

by Thomas L. Friedman

Publication year 1989

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger

Tags Jewish Literature, Military & War, Journalism, World History, Travel Literature, Politics & Government

From Beirut to Jerusalem is a 1989 book by the American journalist Thomas Friedman. It chronicles the years he spent as a journalist in the two cities of the book’s name, during a remarkably tumultuous period in that region’s politics. It is part personal memoir, part analysis (leaning on the advice of many of his expert friends, such as Fouad Ajami), part collection of anecdotes ranging from the funny to the heartbreaking to the absurd... Read From Beirut to Jerusalem Summary

Full Measures

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

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Fuzzy Mud

by Louis Sachar

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Friendship, Community, Fear, Food, Animals, Perseverance, Education, Globalization, Loneliness, Self Discovery, Future, Politics & Government, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger

Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror & Suspense, Survival Fiction, Natural Disaster, Science & Nature, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction

In Newbery medalist Louis Sachar’s sci-fi thriller Fuzzy Mud (2015), Tamaya and Marshall cut through the restricted woods behind their school to avoid a bully—but encounter a strange mud that has the potential to destroy nearly all life on Earth. While Marshall struggles with the emotional effects of being bullied, Tamaya develops an unusually aggressive rash from the mud and worries that in protecting Marshall she has gravely injured Chad. Each character faces difficult ethical... Read Fuzzy Mud Summary

Galapagos

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Equality, Power & Greed, Fate, Safety & Danger, Social Class, Economics, War, Hope, Guilt, Nature Versus Nurture

Tags Science Fiction, Humor, Postmodernism, Trauma & Abuse, Finance, Anthropology

Galapagos is a 1985 novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut. The novel’s narrator is the long-dead Leon Trout, a ghost who watched the evolution of humanity of the course of a million years. The story explores the themes Nature Versus Nurture, Pacifism, and Regret.This guide uses an eBook version of the 1985 Dial Press edition.Content Warning: This novel depicts explicit acts of violence and refers to death by suicide.Plot SummaryLeon Trout, the story’s narrator, is... Read Galapagos Summary