What is THEME?
Theme is:
The general idea or main point of a story. It provides a message
about life, from the author’s point of view.
Theme is not:
The subject of the story or the topic of the story. For example,
an author could write about a brave young girl during the
Revolutionary War era. The young girl is the subject of the
story. The theme of this story, however, could be the
importance of standing up for one’s rights.
Many stories have at least one theme. Some have more than
one; a few don’t have any at all. Unlike Aesop’s
fables, however, most stories can’t be reduced to a single
moral, so this can make determining the theme a little tricky.
Questions to ask yourself to determine the theme in a story:
1. What is causing the conflict in the story?
2. How does the main character change and what causes this
change?
3. What happens at the end of the story and what causes that to
happen?
Common Themes -
Common themes can be based on the following subjects:
Friendship Power/Weakness
Survival Poverty/Wealth
Family Prejudice
Love/Hate Laws/Justice
Life/Death Honesty
Freedom Belonging / Homelessness
But, themes cannot be expressed in a single word. Themes must
contain a point of view.
Try it: Choose one of these subjects and write a complete
sentence that would express a point of view about the subject.
Example: Underestimating the power of nature can ruin your
chances of survival.