THEME

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THEME

• what a story means, what a story is about 

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Theme is best defined as

• the general observations or truths about life
  experience that are suggested by the particular
  combination of characters, events, setting, and
  language of a given story.

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Subject vs Theme

• Theme
• complete sentence
• what the author has to say about the subject

• Subject
• single word or short phrase
• big picture

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• To get to the theme of a book, story, or movie,
  we must ask What is this story saying about the
  ideas or abstractions (the subjects) contained
  within it?

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• Theme cannot be expressed as a single idea or
  abstraction such as "love" or "lost innocence,"
  for that tells us little - many stories are love
  stories, and many stories explore lost innocence.

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• Theme is what the story communicates to us, and
  as such it must be expressed in a full sentence

• 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never
  to have loved at all.
• - Lord Alfred Tennyson

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EXAMPLE

• Toni Morrison's Beloved suggests that while the
  past must be released in order for humans to move
  forward with their lives, it cannot be forgotten
  repressing the past completely is just as
  damaging as holding on to it too tightly. 

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NOTICE

• The example of a theme includes the authors
  name, the title of his work, and his view on the
  abstract concept.
• NO character names or plot structures are given.
• Only general information is provided.
• Personal pronouns are NOT used!