Why Theme and Finding Theme Board Notes

WHY KNOWING WHAT A THEME IS IS IMPORTANT

Reading a good book without understanding its theme is like visiting Disney World and not having seen any Disney movies.  Sure, there’s a bunch of stuff that happens, but you’re disconnected to the meaning of it all.

I like to think of theme as being like a great whale moving below the surface of the story, creating ripples and changing its current.   If you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of the theme when it momentarily breaches the surface and then – in a flash – it is gone.

When a writer uses theme, it informs their choices and pulls the many parts of the story into an organic, unified whole, where every choice the writer makes – from which characters they use to what happens in the plot – is influenced by big ideas they have and their statements about the way the world works.

As a reader (or member of the audience), you first feel the theme intuitively… like there’s something there and you can tell.  Then if you think about it (or read it again), if you can articulate or understand the theme it increases your pleasure in the telling of the story.  It’s like you’re an insider to a secret joke or code that only you and the author can really understand.  It makes you appreciate the artistry, the creative choices, and the power of the writer’s message.

Think of it this way.  Let’s say on Thanksgiving your family is gathered to watch a football game on TV.  You might have one person in your family who played football, reads about football, studies trades and stats, and knows different plays.  And you might also have another person in your family who couldn’t care less about football, but will watch it with everyone else when it is on.  The first person is appreciating the experience much, much more than the second person.  It’s the same thing for getting theme when you’re reading.

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE THEME

You can use any of these three techniques to determine the theme for a work.  Movies are used as examples because they are familiar to most people.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN – Find the “THEMATIC SEEDS”

First, start by identifying the single word big abstract ideas, topics, or subjects the story is dealing with. 

Examples:  Brotherhood.  Love.  Family.  Death.  Addiction.  Courage.  Racism.  Justice.  Social Class.  Redemption.  One’s place in the world.  Hope.  Despair.  Depression.  Hatred.  Revenge.  Wealth.  Friendship.  Charity.  Ugliness.  Beauty.  Transcendence.  Hierarchy.  Oppression.  Significance.  Exceptionalism.  Peer pressure.  Character.  War.  Peace.  Tragedy.  Fulfillment.  Self-Actualization.  Loneliness.  Despair.  Divorce.  Birth.  Rebirth.  Power.  Truth. 

Note that these aren’t themes for the purpose of writing a literary analysis.  Movie and book reviewers like to throw out these single word themes to communicate the thematic ideas or broad topics that the story deals with.  They might say something like, “Star Wars deals with themes of good and evil, family and friendship.”  Instead, think of these isolated words as “Thematic Seeds” – or the beginning of what will become your thematic statement.

Theme is what they author is saying about those big ideas through the story. 

For example:  The pursuit of material wealth and professional success is meaningless without the love of family.   (Jerry Maguire)  Notice the big ideas of “success” and ”love” and “family”

Or another:  Winning is not about the final score, but is instead about overcoming obstacles and enduring.  (Rocky)  Notice the big ideas of “winning” and “obstacles” and “enduring”

TOOL #1:  Look at your protagonist’s journey.  How does the main character change throughout the course of the story.  What do they learn?  If you substitute your main character for all of mankind, then your protagonist’s journey and how they change can be a theme.

For example:  Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings begins as a carefree country hobbit and at the end is a damaged, world-weary hero who saved the world.  One theme might be:  The cost of great victories require great sacrifice.  Or maybe, Even the smallest, most seemingly unimportant person can change the world.

Or another:  Tony Stark in Iron Man begins as a narcissistic war profiteer and at the end is a man who takes ownership of his mistakes and uses his talents to better the world.  One theme might be:  It’s never too late to put things right when one has done wrong.  Or maybe, Great talent must be used as a tool to better mankind, not to be used for personal gain.

TOOL #2:  Look at the central conflict of the story.  What are the opposing forces?  By opposing forces, think of the more abstract, generalized definition. 

For example, instead of thinking about the T100 Terminator and Sarah Conner as they opposing forces in The Terminator, think about man versus machine.  The later are universal abstract ideas, whereas the former are specific characters in a specific world.   Go with the universal abstract ideas.

Which one wins? And why?

For example:  The central conflict in The Terminator is between a T-100 cyborg assassin attempting to hunt down and kill Sarah Conner.  Sarah Conner trying to survive and not be killed.  Change the T1000 to the abstract concept of “machines” or “technology.”  Change Sarah Conner to “humanity” and you have:   Mankind can overcome machines because of our human instincts, our ability to improvise, and our ability to endure hardship for causes greater than ourselves. 

Or another: Think about the central conflict in The Titanic.  Rose is being forced to marry Caledon against her will in an arranged marriage for the wealthy.  She meets Jack, who is a dreamer but is poor, and falls in love.  The choice of marriage based upon social class cannot stand against the true calling of the human heart. 

Or maybe the central conflict is between an iceberg sinking the Titanic and Jack and Rose trying to escape.  Change that iceberg to the abstract concept of “tragedy” and Jack and Rose’s relationship to the abstract concept of “love” and you end up with:  Even the greatest of tragedies cannot diminish the enduring power of love. 

TOOL #3 Sometimes a character can flat out state the theme in dialogue.   It doesn’t always happen, but sometimes it does.  Then all you have to do is rephrase what that character said into a universal statement using abstract ideas. 

For example:  In Spider Man Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben tells Peter, “With great power comes great responsibility” or restated another way: To those whom much has been given, much is expected.

Or another:  In The Incredibles Mrs. Incredible / Elasta-Girl tells her husband, “If we work together, you won’t have to be.”  This restated another way is:  If we work together, we can conquer anything.

THEMATIC LITMUS TEST

___ Is the theme too vague or obvious?  Does it seem too broad and general?

o   For example, “Family is awesome.” Or “Love is blind” or “love conquers all” or “friendship is important”

___  Is the theme supported by evidence from the work itself?

___ Does the theme come out in different moments in the plot or through the issues that different characters are facing?