(no subject)

Can you suggest some stories, in any media, with the theme of something huge or catastrophic going on, like a war or an apocalypse, in which the point is that an individual's personal struggle, triumph, or failure matters even if it doesn't affect the larger picture?

This theme shows up in Connie Willis a lot - in Doomsday Book, Kivrin's presence matters to Father Roche even though it doesn't alter the course of the plague, in "Fire Watch" it matters that Saint Paul's is saved that night even if it isn't saved forever, etc. It seems like a natural for time travel stories, but I can't think of other examples offhand.