The Eleventh Plague

Literature is a motif that helps to develop the theme of Individualism Versus Community as Survival Strategies by embodying hope for the future and humanity’s ability to create beauty out of nothing. Books are extremely rare objects in the novel but are nevertheless worthless to many people; characters like Stephen’s grandfather view them as completely useless since they have no “practical” value for survival. However, Stephen, Jackson, Mr. Tuttle, and many others recognize that books have inherent value for what they represent: that life cannot just be about surviving from day to day. Many real-life books are named in the novel; Stephen’s prized possession is a copy of The Lord of the Rings, and he reads Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the Landing’s younger children. The prevalence of fantasy books like these helps to establish the symbolic importance of books—even if they have no “practical” value, they illustrate that humans can imagine other and perhaps better worlds for themselves. Literature therefore represents possibility. Characters who dislike literature have given in to despair and can only see the world for what it is, while characters who read and educate themselves believe in what people can become. Moreover, literature is a way to connect with others and understand their points of view.