The two books I read over the summer were All the Pretty Horses and Catch 22. All the Pretty Horses can be described as a wild love story, focusing on John Grady's search for the completion of his life. Catch 22 on the other hand is a complex war story about pilot John Yossarian. Each book had its own set of unique themes. In Catch 22 one of them was the idea of ​​faith and how soldiers tend to lose it. In All the Pretty Horses a major theme was growing up or coming of age. Both of these themes had a great effect on each of their respective stories which in turn had an effect on the central themes of the books. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Catch 22, faith does not appear to play a major role in the story. It isn't mentioned many times in the book. Beyond that, the few times it is mentioned, it's usually about soldiers having no faith, or as one soldier plainly stated, "God doesn't exist." However, this lack of attention to faith is what makes it so important to the story. For example, the main character of the book, Yossarian, says himself that only a fool would believe in God. His reasoning for this is that a God would not let humans suffer in times of war or times of need. He believes that men should establish their own morals instead of leaving them to God. This is a feeling that many of the soldiers Yossarian meets share with him. The tragedies of war made them lose faith. A second example could be the chaplain. As the title suggests, he is very religious and follows strict morals. However, during his time at war, his religious morals began to decline and he even began to question his faith. This clear example can be used to describe the way the books deal with faith. War can weaken a strong believer's faith or convert him to atheism altogether. The lack of faith and God in war tells us that war is not caused or wanted by God, but created by human beings. Then there's All the Pretty Horses. John Grady Cole is 16 years old and from San Angelo, Texas. Like most teenagers, John is searching for himself. His mother sells the Texas ranch, his grandfather dies, and he believes there is nothing left for him in Texas. So he goes to a place where he thinks there's something for him, Mexico. This is where the issue of growth comes into play. The first and clearest example of this theme is his relationship with Alejandra. At the beginning of the story, John tells us that he lost his previous girlfriend to an older guy. However he has a really long-lasting relationship with Alejandra who even ends up saving his life when he was in prison. This relationship makes John mature even more. Another example is John's time in prison. There he is in constant danger and is described as having exhausting days and bloody nights. However, one major event influences his life the most. This is when he kills the unnamed boy. One day he is attacked by a boy who hits him in the chest. While John is on the ground, the boy comes in to finish him off, but John notices and pulls out his knife. He stabs the nameless boy in the heart and dies. Although it is a morally right murder because it occurred in self-defense, this event certainly contributes to the development of John's life and story. These events show the theme of coming of age for John and how his trip to Mexico has strengthened and affected him.