These are the issues which challenge its comfortable assumptions.
The trio are confronted by relentless horrors — executions, pillage, starvation — which challenge their religious faith.
The opposing groups have almost identical names, which challenge outsiders to break the code.
Kazuo Ishiguro also draws on ideas of rebirth which challenge this simplistic structure.
"Society should severely condemn those actions which challenge the rule of law".
"I am a family physician who deals with many patients with chronic pain and physical disabilities which challenge them.
Both stories have at their core powerful coming-of-age narratives, which challenge conventions of historical time and gender roles.
Since 9/11, Australia has enacted more than 60 separate anti-terrorism laws, many of which challenge basic principles of democratic jurisprudence.
But with longevity has come a host of unexpected medical conditions, which challenge the prevailing view of AIDS as a manageable, chronic disease.
Affirmative action proponents would rather see significant rulings emerge from two pending cases, both of which challenge admissions programs at the University of Michigan.
This time, however, it will be the British public, rather than the government, who choose which challenge the £10m prize will be used to tackle.
