Themes

1. Themes And creating a Thesis from Themes…. Created by: Christine “Your Genius Teacher” Tharp

2. Thematic Ideas • The central idea or insight revealed by a work of literature. • The theme gives insight about human life and human nature that gives meaning to the story. • More than one theme can be applied to literature at a time. • Most themes are implied, so the reader must look deeper into the literature to determine the theme. Two ways to determine the theme, the way the main character has changed and the way the conflict has been resolved

3. struggle with nature power of nature The fishermen are lost in “The Perfect Storm” The iceberg in “Titanic” Characters in “The Day after Tomorrow” must battle global warming. The twister in “Twister”

4. survival of the fittest Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” Charming Billy in “Where have you gone, Charming Billy” and any other soldiers in war The British school children in Lord of the Flies ”

5. coming of age Forrest Gump must grow up quickly and learn about the world due to his differences Scout’s experience in To Kill a Mockingbird The football players must learn to grow up and forget their differences to win as one team

6. power of love Rose leaves her wealthy husband-to-be for a poor artist in Titanic Romeo and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet Behind every great love is a great love story….

7. loss of innocence Peter Pan had to lose his innocence to defend the people he loved…. Then he had to work to find that innocence again… Malcolm X’s experience with conking

8. struggle with self Anakin Skywalker battles his own fear and anger Marcus Brutus chooses between his love for democracy and his love for Caesar

9. disillusionment with life Guy questions his life as a fireman and what used to be… Lt. Dan from “Forrest Gump” is disillusioned after losing his legs Football players on “Friday Night Lights” have a different idea then what really exists

10. the effects of scientific progress Crichton’s Jurassic Park The effects of the robots in “I, Robot”

11. alienation and isolation Shrek is alienated because he is different Jim from Huckleberry Finn is alienated because he is different Siddhartha alienates himself in order to find nirvana

12. honoring the historical past Honoring the “American Dream” and Americans during the ’60s Reflecting on the life of Ray Charles and honoring his achievements and accomplishments Antigone’s dedication to religious law

13. good overcoming evil Beowulf defeats Grendel Luke Skywalker leads the rebels to victory over the evil empire

14. tolerance of the atypical Radio Edward Scissorhands

15. General guidelines to find theme… • A theme is not the same as a moral… The question to ask is, “What does this story reveal?” not “What does this story teach?” One of the best ways to find theme is to ask, “How has the protagonist changed?” • A theme must be stated about the subject of the story, rather than just a phrase. There is no one correct way to state the theme… There is more than one correct answer and usually more than one theme/story…

16. In Siddhartha • Name and defend what themes are relevant in Siddhartha. struggle with self alienation and isolation coming of age struggle with nature Power of love disillusionment with life

17. Stating a theme • A theme must be stated in a complete sentence… • Just saying “coming of age” is not satisfactory • So, you must use the theme phrase and then add on what your opinion is… • For example: In Siddhartha, coming of age is displayed through the emphasis on cycles and focus on samsara.