Can the theme of a novel be man vs. society?

Question

For example, in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime one of the major ideas seem to be Christopher vs. society, but can this be a theme?

Answer 1

I have to agree with the others when they say that "man vs. society" or "Christopher vs. society" is only a facet of the conflict. This last year in English we studied themes heavily for a little while. A theme must be an arguable statement rather than a phrase. So, "man vs. society" is not a theme, but something like "The conflict of man versus society usually destroys the environment in which they both live in." would be. I haven't read the book you are referring to, but hopefully this, in some way, helps.  

Answer 2

man v. society is more of a type of conflict sorry

Answer 3

Uh, yeah. Why couldn't it be?

Answer 4

I don't think that the way you have it phrased can be called a theme. Saying "Christopher vs. society" or "man vs. society" is identifying the type of conflict in the story. However, you could identify something like "struggling against society" as a theme.

Answer 5

A theme is only limited by the writers imagination.