THEME

Many students have had difficult finding a THEME in a story.  Here is an example:

The 3 Little Pigs

Themes that the Author wants us (the readers) to take away from the story:

• People should put effort into their work.
• Taking the easy way out is not the best way to deal with a situation.

WHY are these THEMES?

These are themes because the author of the story shows us the bad things that can happen to us if we take the easy way out of a situation (the Wolf eats the first two lazy pigs), and the author also shows us what can happen when we put effort into our work (the 3rd little pig is safe because he took extra time/effort to build a house to keep out the Wolf.)

What is NOT a THEME?

Killing is wrong.

The author does not want you to focus on killing - that is not the point of the story.

If you're lazy, you deserve to die.

The author is not trying to tell you, the reader, that if you're lazy, you'll die. That happens IN THE STORY - she is not trying to necessarily equate that to real life. COULD it happen? Of course. But it's not the point.  


In THE LOTTERY, the theme was not, "Stoning is good," or "Follow tradition." Those are not things that the author believes - if the author believed in them, they would be described in a positive way, not a negative way. The author clearly  believes that following tradition blindly (without knowing why) is foolish and ignorant.

In HARRISON BERGERON, the theme was not, "People should be equal." That is not something the author believes - if the author believed this, the handicaps would be described in a positive way. The author clearly believes that if society removes all differences, the world would be a boring, terrible place. 

In THE PEDESTRIAN, the theme was not, "Technology is good," or "Government control is good." This is not something the author believes - if the author believed this, the author wouldn't have you feeling bad for Mr. Mead; he would have you thinking the guy's an ignorant nut job.  The author clearly believes that society's obsession with technology could lead to isolation and depression of mankind. 


Themes are NOT TOPICS.

Courage is NOT a THEME. "Mankind must find the courage to do what is right" IS a THEME.

Love is NOT a THEME. "Love can destroy your life if you let it" IS a THEME.

Evil is NOT a THEME. "Evil can infiltrate your life if you allow it" IS a THEME.