Desire (materialism/ capitalism)

Hope (for improvement)

Fulfilment

Race/ self image

Acceptance/ belonging

Power/ class struggle

Government/ governing entity

Morals/ values

Family/ love

Accountability

In Antigone, both of her brothers, regardless of the side the king says they were on, are cared for deeply by her and therefore that blood relationship that she has with them aided in her decision to bury both brothers rather than allow one to be publicly disrespected regardless of what the repercussions would be. Also, Haemon commits suicide after finding out that Antigone was dead, which shows the strength love had over him. Eurydice also commits suicide after hearing Haemon has passed, which is not at all a light decision showing the importance of family to her as well.

In A Raisin in the Sun, the members of the Younger family are the main characters. The play goes through the events that the Younger family go through together, and although Walter makes a decision that is seemingly self-centered (losing all the money given to him even though some of it was to be put aside for his sister's college), it was rationalized in his mind
by the desire to help his family be happier. Likewise, Mama buys a house and gives the rest of the money to her children so they can be happy and be able to do what they aspire to do.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez gives up everything he worked his whole life for (his prestigious job and education) in order to go back home and advocate for a change that will improve the conditions that his family has to live in within their home country. Also, Erica is so overwhelmed by her love for Chris that she is unable to have real feelings towards Changez, and eventually commits suicide because she can no longer bear to have those feelings without Chris.

In Madame Bovary, love plays a significant role. Charles loves Emma so much that he gives up work to care for her when she falls ill and at the end of the novel, even dies because of how much his love for her influenced him. Emma's lack of love for Charles caused her to put the family into debt, caring for no one but herself and making decisions based on her own satisfaction rather than for the benefit for the family as a whole such as Charles in working to bring in money for the family so they can do things they enjoy or have food/ shelter.

In Parasite, Kevin gets his whole family into serving the Park family so they can all have work and be able to live better than they previously were. The improvement of the family's quality of life was a major influence, as the jobs of other, innocent people were taken from them in order for the Kim family to obtain them. Likewise, the Park family wants only the best workers to hire, they therefore took recommendations from workers they already had which allowed the Kim family to all work for them. The influence of wanting the best for their family is shared among both families.

In Antigone, Creon enforces what he believes to be morally correct in his eyes, regardless of what anyone, even his family, tells him. Likewise, Antigone does the same, although she knew the risks of burying her brother, she felt it was morally right to do so and therefore did it.

In The Dispossessed, the morals that each planet (Anarres and Urras) uphold are very different. The citizens of Anarres believe that everyone should take turns doing jobs and they have very few restrictions. However, the individuals on Urras have differing opinions that cause those that agree with Anarres to revolt against those that believe in superiority of a select few. Also, the oportunity women are given in Anarres are far greater than those on Urras which is based on the morals the citizens of Urras have.

In Madame Bovary, traditional morals are challenged as Emma cheats on Charles while being married to him. Charles although not explicitly cheating on his first wife fell in love with Emma while he was still married, showing the difference in moral values. Emma did not find it immoral to cheat on Charles as long as she was happy/ felt the love she had desired all along, and Charles did not value his first marriage, allowing his love for Emma to manifest itself.

In Parasite, the Kim family takes advantage of the Park family, framing an innocent driver, exploiting Mrs. Park's lack of knowledge in children's psychology and triggering the previous maid's allergic reaction, which could have killed her. The Kim family have no moral boundary when it comes to making decisions. In the scene where they are left alone while the Park family goes camping, they take ownership of the house and everything in it, they are stealing from the Park family while acting as their trustworthy workers and even friends.

In A Small Place, other countries interfered with Antigua, causing damage that has left the citizens with a poor quality of life that they cannot rise out from easily. The citizens of the countries that interfered visit Antigua on vacation and have a good time, while the citizens of Antigua suffer due to the interfering countries not aiding Antigua, even though Antigua is in the state it is in A Small Place because of their actions.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez and the company he works for take accountability for decisions that the companies who hire them make. The employees at the companies who hire them know this and they even revolted by slashing the tires on the car Changez was using. This same accountability is not shared by the United States in the novel, since the United States has a military base in Changez's home county, which puts them at risk to the United States' enemies, and yet the United States did not do anything to show that they would protect Changez's home country even though it is helping the United States.

Life + Debt is very similar to A Small Place, in that it is shows the large, negative impact other countries had on Jamaica and its citizens. Jamaica is trapped in debt to other countries and its citizens are exploited by overseas companies for their labor and resources. The counties that interfered have done nothing to help Jamaica get out of its situation, which they caused through their decision to add unfair conditions to their plan that was supposedly created to help them strive in their independence.

Creon is the king in the play and therefore has all the power to make laws and to deem anything right or wrong. This power is ultimately the cause of all his pain since he listens to no one else when sentencing Antigone to death, which starts a chain reaction of negative events.

The government of Antigua is corrupt and works with other countries to increase their own profits at the expense of the citizens, such as when the cars the drivers use to transport tourists are of a specific brand because someone in the government is partnered with them and they therefore make money on those car sales.

In The Dispossessed, there are two forms of government, capitalism as well as a patriarchal system on Urras and anarcho-syndicalism on Anarres. On Anarres, everything the citizens do is for the benefit of the planet as a whole, with no one being superior or having more power than anyone else. On Urras however, men are valued more than women, and people are allowed to own things, creating a wealth gap where some people live a worse quality of life as a result.

In The Dispossessed, Shevek is seen as an outsider on Urras, the scientists there do not see him as an equal. On multiple occasions, it is acknowledged that Urras is only using him for their own gain with him deriving a theory that would make instantaneous transportation possible. Even on his home planet of Anarres, Shevek is seen as an outsider due to his decision to leave the planet and pursue his passion.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez is viewed as an outsider due to his skin color, which is very apparent when he is yelled at by a stranger in the street due to this. Also, when he decides to grow out his beard, his fellow employees at his job become concerned, since the 9/11 attacks occurred and Changez appears similar to those that carried out those attacks.

In A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family are African American, which at the time of the play were still openly discriminated against. When Mama purchases a home in a predominantly white neighborhood, they band together offer to buy the property from the Younger family because the neighborhood did not want them there. Also, Mrs. Johnson mentions the fact that there have been violent acts against the homes of African Americans, further deepening a divide between white Americans and African Americans in the country.

In The Dispossessed, Shevek sees himself as an Anarresti, and the citizens of Urras all see him that way as well. However, because Shevek wanted to and did leave Anarres, most citizens view him as a traitor and no longer want to be associated with him. His self image stayed the same, however to those on his planet he changed and became a foreigner, just as those on Urras viewed him.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez is Pakistani man who sees himself as American in the first half of the novel. However as it progresses, he starts to embrace the culture of Pakistan and changes his appearance by growing out a beard to fit the more traditional image of a Pakistani man. With his strengthened connection to his home country, he moves back and no longer sees himself as an American anymore.

In A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family recognize the way that African Americans are viewed/ treated in the United States at the time. This discrimination is acknowledged explicitly when Beneatha is told that a nurse role would be easier for her to achieve than a doctor position. She is discouraged to aim higher due to the color of her skin and how people view her. Likewise, Mama's husband was described as being worked to death because of the labor intensive job position he worked, which was most likely his only option to provide for his family.

In Parasite, the nuclear Kim family is juxtaposed to the nuclear Park family. The Kim family does everything they can to rise up from poverty through the servitude of the wealthy Park family. Also, the original housekeeper does the same thing as the Kim family, she steals food for her husband who is of lower class and in debt and therefore in hiding.

In Life + Debt, the countries that gave money (through IMF loans) to Jamaica with certain conditions, put themselves in a position of power over Jamaica as the reforms attempted were not successful and therefore left Jamaica in huge debt to them. Due to this as well, the citizens have little power to enact change and are exploited for their labor and resources by overseas companies.

In The Dispossessed, the residents of Benbili advocate for better living conditions, taking Anarres as a model example. When this happens the higher class of A-Io takes violent action against them, not allowing them to rise above. This is not only a class struggle, but also a power struggle as the citizens of A-Io forced the residents of Benbili to cease their revolting.

In A Small Place, the foreign governments that interfered with Antigua did not give the citizens the proper tools to rise out of the social class they are in, as shown through the library not being repaired, which embodies knowledge for the citizens. Also, the other countries can help, as shown through the tourist club/ hotel building, but they choose not to.

In A Raisin in the Sun, the African Americans such as the Younger family are discriminated against and have less opportunities for work, as shown through Mama's husband having a labor intensive job that he worked at all the way up until he died. Also, the fact that the predominately white neighborhood wanted the Younger family to stay away from them, shows that they do not want them to rise up form the social class they are in.

In Life + Debt, the film shows the struggles of the citizens in their daily life to inform the viewers of the events taking place in other countries as a result of interference by mostly rich countries. The film aims to inform them with the hope that in the future Jamaica will be in a better position than it is shown to be in the film.

In Parasite, the Kim family's motivation for exploiting the Park family was the large gain in money that they were being paid. They took the jobs of other people that did not have legitimate reasons to be fired by framing them for being something bad. They even go so far as to participate in violent actions against the previous maid.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Shevek's motivation for continuing his work is that he enjoys it and it is fulfilling work to him since he is passionate about it. He is not motivated by self gain like the citizens of Urrasti.

In The Dispossessed, Shevek goes to Urras to further his work in the field he is passionate about in order to provide everyone with knowledge. At the end of his stay on Urras he gives the theory he has been working on to everyone so they can all use it and so it helps them all. The moon Urras also gives hope to the citizens of Benbili that they can rise out of their lower class to be equals with the higher class and have a better quality of life.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez goes back to his home country and works there to advocate against policies that were harmful to Pakistan, trying to inspire others to take action and speak out as well. He does this to try and improve the condition that Pakistan is in, since it was declining as shown through his parents falling in social class and losing their wealth.

In A Raisin in the Sun, Joseph presents an idea that things will get better with his model of the line and convinces Beneatha of it too. Also, the fact that the Younger family were able to buy a house of their own for them to live gives hope that they will be able to rise out of their poverty and have a better quality of life.

In A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha aspires to being a doctor because she enjoys helping others, which motivates her to do well and continue in her studies. Also, Mama buys a house for the whole family because she did not have a house with her husband and always wanted a place to live and grow her own flowers which was fulfilling to her since her whole family has their own place now.

In Antigone, her burying her brother gave her peace since she felt it was morally wrong to leave him out to rot. She could not live with herself knowing that her brother, that she cared for deeply, was being treated like less than human.

In The Dispossessed, the citizens of Urras live in a capitalist economy and therefore their main motivation is the accumulation of money and objects. This is communicated more explicitly when the people who were by Shevek towards the beginning of his stay were revealed to want to keep the theory that Shevek was working on to themselves so they would have an advantage over everyone else that they could use for their own gain.

In Madame Bovary, Emma seeks fulfillment and enjoyment in her life through the gain of material objects that she buys using her husbands money rather than living for herself. She turns to material objects to fill the void she feels from love, even going so far as to put her family into debt because of this insatiable desire.

In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez's initial motivation for studying in college and working at the prestigious Underwood Samson is to pursue the American dream of making money and living well. However, he later finds new motivation in hope for a better future for his home country of Pakistan.

In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter really wants the money that Mama is going to get, even feeling entitled to it before Beneatha reminds him that the money is Mama's. He also wants to open a liquor store in order to gain more wealth and rise above their current financial situation.