Name your favourite books from each scenario.
Which one do you think works the best in literature?
Bottom right: Italo Calvino - If on a winter's night a traveler.
that chart is so goddamn wrong but not a bad idea for a thread tbqh
Man vs. Nature: Odyssey by Homer
Man vs. Man: Illiad by Homer
Man vs. God: Oedipus Rex
Man vs. Society: Metamorphosis by Kafka
Man vs. Self: Yes by Bernhard
Man vs. No God: Wise Blood by O'Connor
Man vs. Technology: Can't think of any desu
Man vs. Reality: The Crying Of Lot 49
Man vs. Author: Tristram Shandy
>>7796717
>Man vs. Technology
Maybe Frankenstein
>>7796749
Ted Kaczynski's manifesto.
>>7796717
I think No Longer Human is better in the man vs. society category. For man vs. technology, pretty much all the reactionaries in the late 19th century, William Blake etc
>>7796749
what about htat one where the guys get stuck inside teh computer
>>7796749
Some Heidegger
>>7796749
Frankenstein is arguably Man vs. God, if we consider the relationship between the creation and his creator.
>>7796769
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect?
>Man vs. Technology
Ballad of John Henry?
>>7796783
This desu.
>Tfw the Monster disappears into the ice because his story is over and he can't exist without an author
>>7796642
Man vs. Technology and Man vs. Author are garbage
>>7796809
>>7796783
And at the same time, Victor Frankenstein is not a God, he is just a man. Given the prevalent themes of isolation and abandonment in the story, it's implied that there really isn't a God at all, especially since Justine, the good Catholic girl, gets framed and executed. Victor ("God") had the power to get her spared (he could testify about the monster) but didn't, and what one may wonder is whether or not a totally inactive God is the same as no God at all.
vs Nature - The Left Hand of Darkness
vs Society - The Disposessed
vs Technology - Gravity's Rainbow
vs Man - Midnight's Children
vs Self - The Remains of the Day
vs Reality - Pale Fire
vs God - Job
vs No God - Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man
vs Author - Hopscotch
>>7796642
Man v author is easily Spectre. He was the author of all his pain.
>>7796851
>vs God - Job
As in the Biblical story of Job? Because that's not really against God as such, just about maintaining faith in adversity. I'm not sure what a better one would be though
>>7796866
Yes, the Biblical Job. There are several ways to read it but I think one coherent way is with God as Job's pretty directly declared adversity. Depending on your reading it could probably slot into several of these though.
the Odyssey is another pretty good vs God (specifically, vs Poseidon)
>>7796829
Man vs. Author - if on a winters night a traveler
That asshole wouldn't even let me finish a book.
>>7796891
Well, adversity must be two-sided. You could read it as God being against Job, though I disagree and see it as an act of benevolence, but even so Job is always faithful to God and his never once perceives God as his enemy, in fact it's the three people who do see God in that light that are punished the hardest, given Job is rewarded.
I think the Odyssey and Iliad glorified Gods more than anything, it was more an vs man. When a warrior is described positively, it is often as "Godlike" etc, and it is only when they attain that status of Godhood that they are able to overcome their mortal obstacles. Godhood, I would argue, is not literal but simply to just be great, to rise above the normal expectations of being human. To be more than human. It is the deserters, always nothing more than humans, that are demonized and detested the most. I should argue the Odyssey and Iliad are more critiques of humans. I know you didn't include the Iliad, but they go hand in hand.
>>7796911
God is basically a nut in Job though, right? Like he specifically says he's going to kill all of Job's family just to test his faith and prove Satan wrong. That's a fickle God - difficult to square the actual text with your reading of benevolence.
I think you're narrowing this down more than it has to be - the Bible is more of a "critique of humans" than it is really about God either, I would say, but if you require monotheism and don't accept the reading of Job's God as fickle, how about "Hell is the Absence of God" by Ted Chiang? (I'm digging deep now.)
Man vs. Nature: Beowulf
Man vs. Man: Blood Meridian
Man vs. God: Absalom, Absalom!
Man vs. Society: Macunaíma
Man vs. Self: Desolation Angels
Man vs. No God: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Man vs. Technology: In the Penal Colony
Man vs. Reality: Under the Volcano
Man vs. Author: Dom Casmurro
>>7796923
The point of the story was about the divine justice of God. I see it as an eschatological story, that whilst God may test us and make us suffer in life we are ultimately rewarded for our unwavering faith. After Job had suffered his plagues, skin boils and so on he was recompensed and cured of every ailment. Job already seemed to have a perfect relationship with God, as any Christian would think they have, but by the end of the story he was far closer to God.
I could also be that really lazy twat, pardon my French, and say that whilst God may appear fickle to us we know that as an omniscient and omnibenevolent God, which we know he is through propositional revelation, he would never do anything without reason we simply cannot understand.
Okay, yes, that "novel" would work but seems to be really scraping at the bottom of the barrel. I think that maybe Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" might fit. The religious themes aren't necessarily central, but it does explore a certain critique of the Church and God. It's also quite spiritual and pagan, being part of that whole free religion movement from the reactionaries, so maybe not. This is hard haha
>>7796717
>Nature: Odyssey
Yeah, a man facing an angry god, mythical creatures, sex crazy demigods, the imaginary effects of a sedative, the mutiny of his men, and his wife's many admirers sure is "nature".
>>7796976
What has always been theologically interesting to me about the Book of Job is that I don't think the "God's reasons are beyond us" defense works. God does these things to Job for a very specific, stated reason: to prove Satan wrong about Job's loyalty. This is, by any rational measure, a really terrible reason to kill a bunch of people. God's purposes are shown to us, and they're pretty bad. Plus I think the ending has a tinge of irony, intended or not: Job gets twice as many family members back, so he's supposed to be totally fine with all the people who died?
It's fascinating in any case, one of my favorite (and one of the best written) books of the Bible.
>>7796973
got some good choices in there, famiglia, even though i've never heard of dom casmurro or macunaima.
Good Question. Answers off the top:
Man vs. Nature: Moby Dick
Man vs. Man: Iliad
Man vs. God: The Castle
Man vs. Society: Gulliver's Travels
Man vs. Self: Anna Karena
Man vs. No God: Brothers Karamazov
Man vs. Technology: Gravity's Rainbow? (can't really think of any, desu)
Man vs. Reality: Don Quixote
Man vs. Author: Ulysses
>>7797051
Yeah, I agree completely. I suppose it depends entirely on if the Bible is a propositional or non-propositional revelation. If the former then, yes, clearly we have been presented with a cruel and terrible God, and if the latter it is again possible for Christian's to worm their way out of criticism, given that if it's non-propositional then it was just misinterpretation of course. Christianity is such a slippery religion, at least in Islam it has absolute and concrete beliefs.
>>7797086
>Man vs. Nature: Moby Dick
oh fuck, duh
DQ for reality is great pick too
>>7796642
I think Don Quixote is the answer to each scenario.
>>7797133
Agreed. Moby Dick would also fit, though nature is the most obvious.
>>7796769
I have no mouth and I must scream?
>>7797133
Agreed. His "relationship" with Dulcinea could be man vs woman.
What's the conflict in "The Birds, The Frogs, & The Mosquitoes"?
Man vs. Meaning?
Man vs. Belief?
Man vs. Faith?
Man vs. Truth?
>>7796642
The Iliad x 9
>>7796996
The gods act through nature if that works but I see what you mean
>>7797086
Excellent list.
Maybe Man vs Technology would be White Noise?
>>7796642
Infinite Jest for every single one of these
>>7797278
>Birds
WHAT
IS
THIS
>>7797278
Please what is this.
>>7796753
Bingo.
>>7796996
It's nature for Ulysses. Don't think any other category in the picture suits it since he overcomes all that shit only because he's helped by a goddess. It's the same fate shit of Oedipus Rex, but in the end gods are more helpful than hostile in the Odyssey.
>>7797278
Man vs. birds, frogs and mosquitos
>>7797133
El Quichote vs. the world
is that image correct? if not, someone explain why, i'm serious
Where does Dom Quijote fits? Man vs Reality?
>man vs. reality
Ubik
>>7797310
I was thinking the same, I think it's the best for the category.
>no man(normie) vs Pepe in 'postmodern'
trash
>>7798400
man vs windmills
MAN VS WOMAN?
>>7800057
Sex and Character by Otto Weininger
On Women by Arthur Schopenhauer
>>7796642
this chart is an outrage
>>7796642
>Man vs. Nature
>Man vs. Man
>Man vs. God
>Man vs. Society
>Man vs. Self
>Man vs. No God
All basically premodernist in origin
>Man vs. Technology
Postmodernist. Good job Grant.
>Man vs. Reality
>Man vs. Author
doesn't exist, except in gross gimmicky literature.
Snider's model of conflict doesn't apply to a lot of literature at all, i.e. I have to call the necessity of "man" and "vs." into question as well
