Theme is the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied. The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied." (from Laying the Foundation series of books published by AP Strategies in Dallas)

For example, if love is a topic/subject of two novels, a major theme in one of the novels could be "Love, if taken to extremes, can be negative rather than positive," while in the other novel, the theme might be "Love can conquer even the greatest evil." Notice that the topic/subject is the same, but the messages about that topic/subject are different in different works.

Consider this:

A theme is a meaning of a work. (Yes, there can be more than one "meaning.") Can the meaning of a work be love? Hate? Greed? No-that makes no sense! Those are just topics, not themes. The theme is the statement an author is making about a topic.

Remember:

The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight.  It is the author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey.  The theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of human nature.  The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.  

Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are:
- things are not always as they appear to be:

 
- Love is blind
- Believe in yourself
- People are afraid of change
- Don't judge a book by its cover

 

Theme

Practicing exercise
I. True or false:

1.      Theme is the same as the subject.

2.      The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject.

3.      Theme is expressed as a paragraph about life or human nature.

4.      Themes are always stated.

5.      The theme is the controlling idea.

Theme

Practicing exercise
I. True or false:

1. False

2. True

3. False

4. False

5. True

Theme

Quiz

Purposes of the Theme Statement

The theme statement can help you interpret and write about literature in two main ways: (1) it forces you to decide on a clear, simple interpretation before you begin writing, and (2) it provides your reader with a summary of your interpretation.

Characteristics of a Good Theme Statement

A successful theme statement must be general enough to capture the overall meaning of the work, but specific enough so that it conveys your unique interpretation. The theme statement should follow these guidelines:

• In a sense, every literary work makes a statement or has a point. When you create a theme statement, you're substituting your single sentence for the entire poem. That means that you have to simplify the meaning somewhat to get it into a single sentence, but nevertheless, your theme statement itself should make a point. The theme statement should be a complete sentence. "Love and death" (for example) is not a theme statement. It's just an announcement of the topic of the work. What in particular is the author saying about love and death? A sentence like "The theme of the poem is love and death" is grammatically speaking a complete sentence, but if you remove the beginning of the sentence ("The theme of the poem is"), then you don't have a complete sentence, just a wordy announcement of the topic.

• The theme statement should describe the general meaning of the work, not the specific events, actions, or characters. The statement "Luke defeats Darth Vader" is not a theme statement but a plot summary. Instead of describing what the characters do, discuss what they represent ("Good defeats evil"). Often the theme statement takes the form of a moral or a judgment ("We cannot defeat an external evil until we acknowledge our own dark side"). Of course this overall theme results from what the characters do (or from the literal meaning of words in a poem), and in supporting your general interpretation, you should cite some of these specific details.

• The theme statement should reflect the values of the entire work, not just one or two episodes or lines. In particular, look at the end of the work to make sure that the story's outcome matches what you think its general meaning is.

Which of the following is a valid theme statement according to the above guidelines?

1. The true meaning of love.

2. Mrs. Farquhar learns that British people can't dance.

3. Because the main character commits suicide, the theme is that we should all commit suicide.

4. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all.

Theme

Quiz-Answer key

Theme

Test

The Fun They Had

by: Isaac Asimov

Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2157, she wrote, "Today, Tommy found a real book!"

It was a very old book. Margie's grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.

They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to--on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.

"Gee," said Tommy, "what a waste. When you're through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it's good for plenty more. I wouldn't throw it away."

"Same with mine," said Margie. She was eleven and hadn't seen as many stylebooks as Tommy had. He was thirteen. She said, "Where did you find it?"

"In my house." He pointed without looking, because he was busy reading. "In the attic." "What's it about?" "School."

Margie was scornful. "School? What's there to write about school? I hate school."

Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn't know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn't so bad. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.

The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie's head. He said to her mother, "It's not the little girl's fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I've slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the over-all pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory." And he parted Margie's head again.

Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

So she said to Tommy, "Why would anyone write about school?"

Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. "Because it's not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago." He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, "Centuries ago."

Margie was hurt. "Well, I don't know what kind of school they had all that time ago." She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, "Anyway, they had a teacher."

"Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn't a regular teacher. It was a man." "A man? How could a man be a teacher?" "Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions." "A man isn't smart enough." "Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher." "He can't. A man can't know as much as a teacher." "He knows almost as much, I betcha."

Margie wasn't prepared to dispute that. She said, "1 wouldn't want a strange man in my house to teach me."

Tommy screamed with laughter. "You don't know much, Margie. The teachers didn't live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there." "And all the kids learned the same thing?" "Sure, if they were the same age."

"But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently."

"Just the same they didn't do it that way then. If you don't like it, you don't have to read the book."

"I didn't say I didn't like it," Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools.

They weren't even half-finished when Margie's mother called, "Margie! School!" Margie looked up. "Not yet, Mamma."

"Now!" said Mrs. Jones. "And it's probably time for Tommy, too."

Margie said to Tommy, "Can I read the book some more with you after school?"

"Maybe," he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.

Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

The screen was lit up, and it said: "Today's arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday's homework in the proper slot."

Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather's grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it.

And the teachers were people...

The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen: "When we add the fractions 1/2 and 1/4..."

Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.

I. Write a paragraph explaining the theme of the story. As you are forming your opinion, keep in mind the impact setting, plot, characters, and point of view have in presenting the "whole picture."

Theme

Test-Answer key

~Answers will vary~