20th century motif (not necessarily common test related)

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper. -- The Hollow Men, T.S. Eliot

One of the recurring ideas in 20th century literature is the sense of futility and deflating/anti-climatic disappointment due to the disillusionment of ideals or the rejection of expectations of realising a glorious future/consequence. Reality falls short of promises and possibly comes across as an absurd farce.

Consider this in the context of your texts:

Murder -- think of this text as Eliot's reaction to the above. The Chorus reflect some of this disillusionment. Becket says "Human kind cannot bear very much reality."

Owen -- many of poems reflect this idea, esp. with the bitterness of soldier-personas taken in by the propaganda, only to end or live the rest of their lives ignominously or in despair.

Heart of Darkness -- Marlow's feelings towards the entire colonial endeavour (seen in instances such as the French Man-Of-War firing into what seems to be nothing).