One of the main themes is family. Many stories depict different family relationships, like the bond between parents and children or siblings. For example, in some stories, family members support each other through difficult times.
Friendship is also a prominent theme. Stories show how friends can have a significant impact on a person's life. They can be a source of comfort, advice, or adventure. Some stories explore the development of friendships and how they change over time.
In 'The Lost Puppy' from 'samuel selvon short stories', a little boy finds a lost puppy. The story is about his attempts to find the puppy's owner. It shows the boy's kindness and determination. It also has a heart - warming ending when the puppy is finally reunited with its family.
Existential isolation is a key theme. Beckett's short stories show characters who are in a state of extreme loneliness, like in 'The End' where the protagonist is adrift in a world that seems to have no place for him. Another theme is the breakdown of communication. His characters often struggle to convey their thoughts and feelings, which emphasizes the difficulty of human connection. And there is the theme of the futility of struggle. No matter how hard the characters try to change their situation, it seems that they are always doomed to failure, as if they are fighting against an unbeatable and incomprehensible force.
Another theme is social class and status. In 'The Necklace', Mathilde's desire to appear as if she belongs to a higher social class leads to her downfall. It shows how people's preoccupation with status can have negative impacts.
The main themes in 'The End' include despair and the breakdown of meaning. Beckett creates a world where things don't seem to make sense. The characters are lost, which shows the theme of lost identity. There is also a sense of resignation, as if the characters have given up on finding purpose or connection.
One of the main themes is isolation. The character seems alone in a world that doesn't offer much connection. Another theme is the futility of life. There's a sense that whatever actions the character takes, they don't lead to any real fulfillment. And there's also the theme of the passage of time, which seems to be a slow and aimless progression.
Identity is a common theme. For example, in many of his stories, characters struggle with different aspects of their identity, be it related to gender or social status.
It varies from story to story. But often, his main characters include outcasts, those on the fringes of society. They could be people struggling with their sexual identities or those facing racial discrimination.
One common theme is existential despair. His characters often seem lost and without purpose, like in a void. Another is the passage of time, but in a rather distorted way. It's not a normal linear progression but more of a hazy, ungraspable concept.
If it's 'Erewhon', one main theme is the critique of society. It shows how strange some of our own social norms might seem if looked at from a different perspective.
Isolation is also a key theme. His characters are often alone or in a state of detachment from others. They seem to be lost in their own thoughts and experiences, unable to fully connect with the outside world, like the solitary figures in many of his works.