in the short story collection "krik? krak!", there are several different themes played out. one of the major themes in this story is the diversity of suffering. at one point and in one way or another, someone has experienced suffering in his or her own way. the characters in this collection of short stories have each come from a different background and experienced different things. however, they share the same pains and sufferings to a certain degree. the protagonists of each story struggle against the economic and political diversity along with their own personal obstacles of despair and self-doubt.