Finding Themes
A theme is what the story is really about when all the details of the narrative are peeled away.
What a theme is:
What a theme often is:
What a theme is NOT:
A literary work (story, poem, song, speech, movie, etc.) will often have more than one dominant theme. Identifying a theme is tricky because a theme must be inferred, meaning the reader has to discover the theme through a process of analyzing different aspects of the work. Nowhere in the story will the theme actually be stated in words. But even though the theme is not stated, it is of crucial importance to the work. In fact, it is the work’s central meaning. It is the nugget of truth that the author intends the reader to walk away with when he or she is finished reading, listening to, or viewing the work.
To identify themes try these tips:
To gain a better understanding of the whole concept of THEMES watch this video:
What a theme is:
- a thread of meaning that unites (or ties together) separate ideas
- a big, universal idea that applies to most people at one point or another
What a theme often is:
- an opinion about a subject
- the battling of two forces
What a theme is NOT:
- the subject of a story or text
- the plot or the setting of a story
- obvious, or clearly spelled out
A literary work (story, poem, song, speech, movie, etc.) will often have more than one dominant theme. Identifying a theme is tricky because a theme must be inferred, meaning the reader has to discover the theme through a process of analyzing different aspects of the work. Nowhere in the story will the theme actually be stated in words. But even though the theme is not stated, it is of crucial importance to the work. In fact, it is the work’s central meaning. It is the nugget of truth that the author intends the reader to walk away with when he or she is finished reading, listening to, or viewing the work.
To identify themes try these tips:
- To get to a theme look at how a character changes throughout the story or text. In most stories the main characters undergo significant development. Focus on these changes; they are an indication of the deeper meaning of the narrative. Here’s an example: In the book My Side of the Mountain the character starts out as a typical city kid who is dependant on others for his own survival. Throughout the story he moves onto the side of the mountain and begins to build his own shelter, gaining a new set of skills for his own survival. He begins to take charge of his own life. The change in the character helps us, the reader, recognize the theme of gaining independence.
- To get to a theme ask yourself: What story is being told? Now generalize that story. Take away the specific details and replace them with broader, more general ideas and actions. Here’s an example: Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham is about a character named Sam who refuses to eat a green colored breakfast. He is continually pressured to just try the dish, but he refuses and refuses. Finally, only to get the prodder off his back, he takes a bite. He likes it! The generalized version? A character is offered something new and refuses it based on his own pre-conceptions. Now we’ve arrived at a theme: Things are not always what they seem. Or...don’t fear what you don’t understand. Or...Keep an open mind. Taking the details away from the story made the concepts universally relevant, and led directly to discovering a theme.
- To get to a theme look at the main conflicts in a narrative. Then generalize those conflicts to make them more universal. Here’s an example: The major conflict in the Harry Potter series is Harry vs Voldemort. But what does each character really represent? Harry might stand for good while Voldemort stands for evil. So now we have the same conflict in more general terms: Good vs Evil. Now consider your own narratives and interviews. Are there areas of friction? Are there places where one character is struggling against some force, or some other character? Examine these instances closely. Try to identify the bigger issue; peel away the details and get to the heart of the matter. What is really going on? What might each side of the conflict represent in more generalized terms?
To gain a better understanding of the whole concept of THEMES watch this video: