Theme

Human nature in literature

What human nature means in literature, why writers keep returning to it, and the 36 works in the StoryBites library that explore it.

What it means

Stories about human nature ask the oldest question in fiction: what are we, underneath the civilization? They test whether people are essentially good, essentially savage, or simply shaped by circumstance.

Why writers use it

It is the theme beneath the themes — the reason a writer chooses a plot at all — and it lets a story reach past its characters to say something about all of us.

36 works that explore human nature ↓

36 works
Length
Topic
Author