THEME

What is known as the “main idea” in non-fiction writing is the “theme” in fiction. What is the author saying to you? What is the unifying or dominant idea and motif? Sometimes, an author will forget about theme and just try to pull-off having in place, a vague philosophical “theme” of “meaning of life” or “God” which is almost too vague to be considered a theme but when an author gets this right it can be a masterpiece as seen with Life of Pi. Sometimes, a theme can be contained within one character such as the theme of suffering in the character John Locke on Lost. Sometimes, there is only one theme in a book, especially if it is meant to be just a love story. But sometimes love stories mix with mythology and there are many sub-themes, for example: Lost has a main theme of redemption and sub-themes of loneliness, love, science v. faith, good v. evil, and fate. Example: The 5 People You Meet in Heaven has a theme of forgiveness and 5 sub-themes that come in the form of lessons that main character Eddie learns from each of the people he meets, 5 lessons, 5 people, 5 chapters, 5 sub-themes, such as sacrifice. When writing a story or poem, you do not necessarily have a theme in mind and one develops as you write or you can begin writing and then think of a theme that would fit and go back and add more content that would establish the theme. Below is a list of example themes beginning with the most common top 10:

Judgment - Possibly one of the most common themes is judgment. In these books, a character is judged for being different or doing wrong, whether that be real or just perceived as a wrongdoing by others. Eg., To Kill A Mockingbird. As these tales prove, the judgment does not always equal justice, either.

Survival - There is something captivating about a good survival story, one in which the main characters must overcome countless odds just to live another day. Almost any book by Jack London falls into this category because his characters often battle nature. Eg., Lord of the Flies, Two Against the North and Jurassic Park.  is another in which life and death are important parts of the story. Michael Crichton's "Congo" and "Jurassic Park" certainly follow this theme.

Peace and War - The contradiction between peace and war is a popular topic for authors. Quite often, the characters are gripped in the turmoil of conflict while hoping for days of peace to come or reminiscing about the good life before the war. Example: All Quiet on the Western Front

Love - The universal truth of love is a very common theme in literature and you will find countless examples of it. Example: The Notebook

Heroism - Whether it is false heroism or true heroic acts, you will often find conflicting values in books with this theme. Example: “The Odyssey"

Good and Evil - The coexistence of good and evil is another popular theme. It is often found alongside many of these other themes such as war, judgment, and even love. Example: Lord of the Rings

Circle of Life - The notion that life begins with birth and ends with death is nothing new to authors and many incorporate this into the themes of their books.  Examples: The Death of Ivan Ilych, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lion King

Suffering - There is physical suffering and internal suffering and both are popular themes, often intertwined with others. Example: Oliver Twist and Mystic River

Deception - This theme can also take on many faces as well. Deception can be physical or social and it's all about keeping secrets from others. Example: The Game and Cruel Intentions

Coming of Age - Growing up is not easy, which is why so many books rely on a "coming of age" theme. This is one in which children or young adults mature through various events and learn valuable life lessons in the process. Example: The Outsiders

Other Themes:

Reality (The Matrix); Atonement (Atonement); Capitalism – effect on the individual (Wall street); Change of power – necessity (V for Vendetta); Change versus tradition; Chaos and order (Star Trek); Character – destruction, building up; Communication – verbal and nonverbal (12 Angry Men); Companionship as salvation; Father and son re-bonding (October Sky); Convention and rebellion; Dangers of ignorance (Animal Farm); Darkness and light (Star Wars); Death – inevitable or tragedy (Star Trek Generations); Desire to escape (Shawshank Redemption); Destruction of beauty (Pleasentville); Disillusionment and dreams (Edward Scissorhands); Displacement; Empowerment; Emptiness of attaining false dream; Everlasting love (What Dreams May Come); Evils of racism (12 Years A Slave); Facing darkness (The Exorcist); Facing reality; Fading beauty; Creative Justice (Gran Torino); Faith versus doubt (The X-Files); Family – blessing or curse; Fate and free will; Fear of failure; Female roles (Wonder Woman); Fulfillment (About Time); Good versus bad (Tombstone); Greed as downfall (Pretty Women); Growing up – pain or pleasure; Hazards of passing judgment; Heartbreak of betrayal; Heroism – real and perceived; Hierarchy in nature; Identity crisis; Illusion of power; Immortality; Individual versus society; Inner versus outer strength (Hancock); Injustice; Isolation; Isolationism – hazards; Knowledge versus ignorance; Loneliness as destructive force; Losing hope (A Simple Man); Loss of innocence (Road to Perdition); Lost honor (A Few Good Men); Lost love (The Way We Were); Love and sacrifice; Man against nature (Wild); Manipulation; Materialism as downfall; Motherhood; Names – power and significance; Nationalism – complications; Nature as beauty; Necessity of work; Oppression of women; Optimism – power or folly; Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice; Patriotism – positive side or complications; Power and corruption (1984); Power of silence; Power of tradition (Fiddler on the Roof); Power of wealth; Power of words (Dead Poets Society); Pride and downfall; Progress – real or illusion; Quest for discovery (Cocoon); Quest for power; Rebirth; Reunion; Role of men; Role of Religion – virtue or hypocrisy; Self – inner and outer; Self-awareness; Self-preservation; Self-reliance; Social mobility; Technology in society – good or bad (Terminator); Temporary nature of physical beauty; Temptation and destruction; Totalitarianism; Vanity as downfall; Vulnerability of the meek; Vulnerability of the strong; War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy; Will to survive (Gravity); Wisdom of experience; Working class struggles; Youth and beauty; Abuse of power; Arrogance; Art; Autonomy; Beating the odds; Betrayal; Bible; Bravery; Celebration; Chance; Change; Children; Common sense; Conservation; Conspiracy; Creation; Crime; Courage; Dedication; Democracy; Despair; Economics; Effects from the past (The Butterfly Effect); Failure; Family; Fate; Fear; Feminism; Freedom; Friendship; Future; GLBT rights (Milk); Dealing with disease (Dad); Government; Happiness; Hate (Moby Dick); Hero; Hope; Humor; Identity; Ideology; Individuality; Inner peace; Innocence; Isolation; Jealousy; Justice; Kindness; Knowledge; Law; Leadership; Logic; Medicine; Morality; Necessity; Optimism (The Shift); Neglect; Normality; Opportunity; Passion; Loneliness (Of Mice & Men; Million Dollar Baby); Loyalty; Mindfulness (About Time); Evil (The End of Days); Corruption (Equilibrium); Corruption/enlightenment (The Island); The world as a dystopia (The Hunger Games);

Questions:

Pick five themes above that do not have an example and write a title of a book, song, poem, story, or film that fits it. What is your favourite theme? Why?  Read the following paragraph and identify the theme and explain why you think that:

“Money Mark” was born rich.  He never had to work a day in his life and he

got everything handed to him on a silver platter.  When he was six, Money

Mark wanted to go to a basketball game.  His father paid the starting five of the Bulls and Celtics to play a private game of Nerf-ball in Money Mark’s

house.  When Money Mark turned thirteen, he wanted to start a band.  His father hired Guns n’ Roses to play with him every Saturday at the family’s private concert hall, though his family was never there.  By the time he was twenty-one, Money Mark

was bored with life.  He was surrounded by a bunch of possessions that he didn’t appreciate and Money Mark could find nothing new or exciting in his life. 

Despite his vast wealth, Money Mark never found happiness.  Penny Petal was born poor.  Her family hardly had anything to eat, but they loved each other.  Penny Petal appreciated everything she got.  When she was six, her father walked her around the United Center before the Bulls played the Celtics.  She was excited by the crazy fans and feeling in the air.  She looked forward to the day that she could see a real game.  When she was thirteen, she learned to play the buckets.  She was an extremely talented musician, a natural percussionist, and everyone on the block loved the rhythms that poured from her palms.    By the time she was twenty-one,

Penny was a successful businesswoman.  Now she had everything that she had ever dreamed of and she truly loved to share her wealth and happiness with her

family who supported her through all of the hard times..