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Theme

Perrine’s Chapter Four

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Theme

  • The controlling idea or the controlling insight into life.
  • It is the unifying generalization about life.
  • It is the _____________ ________.

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To derive (come up with) a theme…

  • Readers must determine the piece’s central purpose: What view of life it supports and what insight into life that it reveals.

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Commercial Literature

  • May not have a significant theme.
    • Horror story: purpose is to shock or scare.
    • Adventure story: purpose is to take reader on an adventure.
    • Mystery story: purpose is to pose a problem for the reader to solve.
    • Romance: purpose is to… well you know.

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Themes exist only when:

  • An author seriously attempted to record life accurately in order to reveal a truth.
  • An author deliberately introduced a unifying element. Some concept or theory for the story to illuminate.

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Commercial vs Literary Works

  • Commercial: Theme is usually less important than plot and suspense.

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  • Literary: The theme is the primary purpose of the story.
      • Theme gives the story its unity.
      • Theme is developed through the portrayal of specific persons in specific situations. The readers will see an idea about the nature of human beings or their relationship to others. This is the ________ _______.

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How to state themes:

  • Don’t be afraid to state the theme in more than one sentence.
  • With a complex story, one sentence may not be enough. We may need to expand to two or three sentences to state it accurately.

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Implied Themes

  • Themes are most often implied (not stated outright in the piece).
  • Authors try to reveal life, not comment on it.
  • Authors want maximum emotional effect.
  • Authors want readers to enjoy figuring a story out on their own.

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Themes vs Morals

  • Theme is an insight into life.
  • Moral is a lesson or rule of conduct.

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  • They are not the same thing.
  • Avoid using words like moral, lesson or message in AP writing.

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  • A story is not a preachment of a sermon, which provide lessons and morals.
  • Themes provide a better understanding oof life, not prescribe how to live it.

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To get the theme, ask yourself…

  • Right Way: What does the story reveal about life?

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  • Wrong Way: What does the story teach about life?

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Commercial Literature Themes

  • Will be widely accepted by readers.
      • Will confirm reader’s prejudices.
      • Will endorse their feelings.
      • Will support their opinions.
      • Will satisfy their wishes.

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  • May not really represent real life.
  • May represent life as we would like it, not how it actually is.
    • True love always wins through.
    • Virtue and hard work is rewarded in the end.
    • Old age brings mellow wisdom that compensates for physical limitations.

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Literary Themes

  • Authors will question and challenge these traditional and happy themes.
  • The themes often will not be “pretty little sentiments.”
  • They can represent somber, dark truths.

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  • Readers don’t have to accept or believe the theme of a literary work. We just to be able to identify it and value it as something that others see of the world.

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How to figure out a theme

  • Pay attention to how the main character changes and what he has learned.

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  • Pay attention to the conflict and its outcome.

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  • Pay attention to the title. It may provide a clue.

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Six Principles for Stating Themes

  • 1. Theme is always expressed in the form of a statement. SUBJECT plus PREDICATE. It is NEVER one word.
  • Wrong
    • Motherly love
    • Loyalty to country
  • Right
    • Motherly love sometimes has more frustrations than reward.
    • Loyalty to country often inspires heroic sacrifice.

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Six Principles for Stating Themes

  • 2. Theme should be a generalization about life.

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    • They should be universal.

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    • Do not use character’s names or refer to specific events or places.

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Six Principles for Stating Themes

  • 3. Do not make generalizations larger than justified by the story.

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    • Avoid words like “all, every, and always.”
    • Use words like “some, sometimes and may.”

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Six Principles for Stating Themes

  • The theme is central and unifying.
    • It must not contradict an event in the story.
    • It will account for all of the major details in the story.
    • It cannot rely on something outside the story. Readers cannot bring their own knowledge or facts into the story.

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Six Principles for Stating Themes

  • 5. There is no one way to state a theme.

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Six Principles for Stating Themes

  • Do Not Reduce a Theme into a Cliché.
    • You can’t judge a book by its cover.
    • A stitch in time saves nine.
    • Love is blind.

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    • Think more deeply about the author’s purpose.