3 Great Novels About Human Limits...

We have all heard about those books that keep getting published by ex-Navy Seals etc. that for some reason, a lot of people read but it does not look like a lot of people implement into their lives. However, when it comes to fiction it is a bit different. It has nothing to do with being pushed physically to places normal humans cannot go, but it is more about the things that our minds can make us do. It is what happens when our mind is our only limitation and what happens when we are forced to make deadly choices. It is a brilliant theme that underlines a lot of literature and there is by no means a best-fit for anything. These are probably not the absolute best ones you could read, but they are three great novels on the topic. So, should you wish to do so, read three great novels about human limits...

Three Great Novels About Human Limits

3. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

One of my all-time favourite books and perhaps one of the closest novels we could have to a Shakespearean tragedy. The story of Thomas Sutpen is a long and horrific one. By the end of the book, there have been so many bad limits reached that characters are more than often forced into situations, forced to make choices and forced to go it alone. Thomas Sutpen is a Macbeth kind of character with a streak of King Lear and Titus Andronicus. It is a brilliantly written novel in which the main character has good intentions to begin with. But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

2. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Known as Arthur Miller's magnum opus, Death of a Salesman is a horrific account of one man's fall from working class grace as he tries desperately to make the ends meet up. He makes choices that prove to be fruitless. However, each of these choices amounts to what happens at the end and, if you know the famous Biff Loman, you know the ending is really the ultimate choice. Death of a Salesman is fuelled by the ability to hope in the face of adversity and what happens when adversity throws the hope back into your face. Biff Loman's choices may not work out, but his story serves as a tale of working class America that is so prevalent that it scares us.

1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

There really is something tragic that underpins this novel. It is so incredibly sad that anyone I have ever recommended it to has asked me why it is so upsetting to read. Here's the deal: George is left with a choice and though the choice is not easy, it is the only one he has to secure his future correctly and, to help his friend Lennie. The whole book relies on this choice being made and though it happens at the end of the book, it cannot be understood without reading about the choices that are made throughout the novel. Often against the wills of the characters who make them. George and other characters are pushed to their absolute limits and cannot progress any further without making the difficult choices first.

Conclusion

Limits, choices, pathways. They are all impacted by the routes we take to try to change our lives. When Thomas Sutpen made the decision to write his name in history, did he know he was making a huge mistake? How was George feeling at the end of the book Of Mice and Men? Did Biff Loman know what the future held for his poverty? These are questions that I always feel like the main characters are asking by the end of the novels. There are others. Each John Steinbeck novel contains its own set of characters with their own set of choices. Possibly one of the next best examples of this is The Pearl in which the choices made by Kino and Juanna will come to change everything about them and their family without them even realising it most of the time.