Literary Elements: Theme

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Literary ElementsTheme
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THEME

• A central idea or truth that a work of
  literature expresses
• A comment that a work of literature makes on the
  human condition
• Different readers may find one theme more
  intriguing or more important than another.

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THEME IS

• A LIFE LESSON OR TRUTH
• The idea the writer wishes to convey about the
  subject
• The writers view of the world or a revelation
  about human nature.
• Expressed in a sentence.

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THEME IS NOT

• expressed in a single word
• the purpose of a work
• the moral
• the conflict
• the subject

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SUBJECT VS. THEME

• Subject what a work is about. It can usually
  be expressed in one word. For example, Love
  is a subject of Romeo and Juliet
• Theme What does the work say about the subject?
  It should be a complete sentence or statement.
  For example, In Romeo and Juliet, we learn that
  teen romance can be a stronger force than family
  ties.

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TO BE A THEME

• To be a true theme, the truth or comment must
  apply to people or to life in general, not just
  the characters in the book.
• For example, In Beauty and the Beast, Belle
  learns that true beauty comes from within, only
  applies to the story. Instead, express the theme
  like this In Beauty and the Beast, we learn
  through Belle and the beast that true beauty
  comes from within.

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MORE THAN ONE THEME...

• Many books have more than one theme, so do not
  think that there is one right theme to any book
  you read. In fact, most great literature has
  multiple themes.

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IDENTIFYING THEME

• First identify the storys plot, the way the
  story uses characterization, and the primary
  conflict in the story.
• Summarize the plot by writing a one-sentence
  description for the exposition, the conflict, the
  rising action, the climax, the falling action,
  and the resolution.

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Finding the Theme

• 3. Identify the subject of the work.
• 4. Identify what the book said about the
  subject.
• How did the protagonist change?
• What lesson did the protagonist learn from the
  resolution of the conflict?
• Write one or more generalized, declarative
  sentences that state what was learned and how it
  was learned. Express that insight in your own
  complete sentence and make that sentence general
  enough to be universal, though not so general
  that your comment could apply to any story.
• Avoid boiling all down to the moral of the
  story!

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SAMPLE THEME STATEMENTS

• The theme of The Old Man and the Sea is that
  striving, struggling, and suffering are the only
  ways to achieve victory.
• In My Antonia, Willa Cather demonstrates that the
  land is what makes people happy and fulfilled.
• In Lord of the Flies, William Golding suggests
  that a democracy is better than a dictatorship.
  

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THEME TEST

• Can you prove the theme with evidence from the
  work itself?
• Are all the authors choices of plot, character,
  conflict, and tone controlled by this theme? In
  other words, do the storys elements all relate
  to the theme?