"The world is a jungle, and only the strong survived and the weak should die. It was you or the other guy" (Clavell 11). In James Clavell's novel King Rat the central theme is survival. The men inside the prisoner of war camp Changi, struggle to survive through many obstacles. The weather where Changi is located, on the eastern tip of Singapore, is the utmost extreme. Also, the conditions in which the men of Changi are living in are those no one expects to endure. The way these men are living is enough to drive anyone insane, which is why the men of Changi must survive their own thoughts. Throughout King Rat the living conditions, weather, and the men themselves contribute greatly to the theme of survival that surrounds this novel.

Due to the camps location, the eastern tip of Singapore, Japan, the weather conditions...