Theme Notes
An Introduction to Theme • True love will conquer all obstacles and triumph in the end. • Write down some popular songs, books, shows, or movies that convey the message above.
Theme • Theme: • Central idea, or insight, about life that a story reveals. • This insight is a truth about human behavior that the writer has usually discovered from experience. • Example: don’t marry for love alone • Example: as one grows old, death becomes less terrifying • To communicate their experience, the writer simply tells a story that deals with that idea in some way. • Theme is the idea on which a story is built upon.
Communicating Theme • Theme is usually indirectly stated or implied. • The characters will “act out” the theme for the readers. • If the story works as the author intended, we (the readers) will feel the characters’ experiences so strongly that the truth that is revealed to them is also revealed to us. • As an effect, the reader has seen what the author wanted us to see and/or understand about human behavior/life.
The Effect of Theme • Although the theme is “invisible,” it serves as the story’s most forceful element. • A similar theme can be found across several different pieces of literature. • Or, a similar theme can be found across genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry) • A powerful theme can be the reason that a work of literature is noticed, famous, liked, disliked, or even remembered.
Universal Themes • Universal theme: • Theme that deals with basic human concerns and recur in every culture and period of history. • Examples: good and evil, life and death, love and loss • These themes are experiences that are common to all people everywhere, and are common to tell. • Universal themes are often the types that help to guide us through life by shining light on our common experiences.
How To Find a Story’s Theme • This is not an easy task… • It requires stepping back from the work and thinking about it holistically (as a whole). • Figuring out the theme can and will help you to understand a piece of literature more fully. • Typically, you can express a story’s theme in at least one full sentence or phrase.
Items to Consider When Attempting to Find a Story’s Theme • Subject • Character • Conflict • Title • Test • Subjectivity
Steps to Finding a Story’s Theme • The theme of a work is NOT the same as its subject. • The subject is simply the topic, which can be stated in a single word, such as love. • The theme will make some revelation about the subject, though. So, it helps to figure out the subject first. • An example of a theme that would deal with the subject love: • Love may be more likely to bloom when we least expect it.
Steps to Finding a Story’s Theme • Think about whether the main character changes in the course of the literature (dynamic). • This can simply mean the main character realizes something he or she didn’t know before. • Or, it can be a significant change. • Often, the author expresses the theme through what a character learns.
Steps to Finding a Story’s Theme • Think about how the conflict is resolved • Conflict is a central idea in a piece of literature. • Example: A character may have to decide between individual freedom or the responsibility to their family. • Therefore, how the conflict is resolved may provide a clue to the story’s theme. • Example: Cartoons – The small, physically weak character can often triumph over a strong and aggressive character by using cleverness. • Before and after you finish reading a work of literature, think about the title. • Does it have special meaning? • Does it point to the theme in some way? • Not all titles will, but you should consider it at least.
Steps to Finding a Story’s Theme • Once you think you have discovered the theme, test it! • Try applying your theme to the whole piece of literature. • Make sure it doesn’t just apply to one or a few parts of the literature. • Keep in mind subjectivity … it’s your opinion! • Others may feel differently than you do about the theme you have chosen. Or, you may have a different way of revealing the theme than someone else. • There may even be more than one theme. • As long as you can support your chosen theme with evidence from text (intelligently), it should work!
Think Critically About the Theme • A wise reader will always make a judgment about an author’s view, rather than just accept it as valid. • For example, a wise reader would ask… • Is this story’s view too romantic? • Is it too cynical? • Is it too simplistic? • Is it realistic? • Is it narrow-minded? • Is this writer over enthusiastic? • Is the writer trying to get me to buy an idea that is false or over exaggerated?
Think Critically About the Theme • Much of popular fiction is “formula fiction” • Fiction written to a plan that satisfies the general preference for happy or upbeat stories rather than something that is true-to-life. • As wise readers, we must learn to judge the credibility of the fiction we read… just the same as we do with television.
