Theme After all the words and all the pages, what is the author getting at, what larger issues is she exploring? In this course, we talk about what a theme is—and what it isn't—and how we can suss out a story's central ideas.

Theme—what it's all about Finally, what we've been waiting for. After all the talk about setting, plot, characters, and so on . . . here's the Big Question: What's it all about? What is the author getting at? Theme is what it's all about. Theme is a story's central idea(s)—it is the element that expresses a writer's vision of life...or explores certain questions.

Theme—what it's all about The elements of fiction—plot, characters, setting and symbols—work together to form the central ideas of a story. Theme is a generalized statement about a story —and must be supported by the text. But be careful—theme is not . . . • the story's moral • a plot summary • the story's subject Let's look at what themes are not by revisiting a few previous stories

Theme is not . . . “The Test"  Whites are the stronger of the races. Black people are weak and dependent; only if they are controlled by whites can they live fulfilling lives. Problem: unsupported. Only some of the story elements support this statement. Other important ones are ignored. It's a misreading to select only part of a story to represent its central ideas.

Theme is not . . . “The Last Rung on the Ladder"  Larry regrets that he has not kept in touch with his younger sister—family is more important than a career. Problem: moral. This is a statement of the story's moral, not it's central idea.

Theme is not . . . “The Open Window"  Framton Nuttel, a nervous man, has come to stay in the country for his health. He goes to visit Mrs Sappleton and, while he is waiting for her, her niece tells him that the French window is kept open because Mrs Sappleton believes that her husband and her brothers, who were drowned in a bog three years before, will come back one day. Later, Mrs Sappleton tells him that her husband and her brothers are coming, and he sees them walking towards the window with their dog. He thinks he is seeing ghosts and runs away. The niece explains that Framton Nuttel ran away because of the spaniel: he is afraid of dogs. Problem: plot summary. This is a brief restatement of the events of the story, not one of the centrals idea behind the plot.

Theme is not . . . "Powder"  A father-son relationship needs to be mended. Problem: subject. This states the subject of the story, not it's central idea. Now let's look at the actual themes for those same stories.

Theme is . . . “The Test” Racism is still prevalent in the USA and has enormous impact on black people’s lives. Supporting evidence: the reference to Marian previous failure to pass her driving test, even though her boss thinks she’s an excellent driver; the inspector’s reaction to Marian’s remark that she has a degree; all of the racist remarks the inspector makes, the ending.

Theme is . . . "The Last Rung on the Ladder" The bond between brother and sister in childhood is a strong one and can be of major importance in people’s lives. Supporting evidence: the title which refers to the traumatic incident that brother and sister lived through as children; the newspaper article + the letter that Larry continues to carry with him, they way Larry continued to remember his sister the way she was, not as the unhappy woman she became; the words on the letter which show the importance of Larry in Kitty’s life.

Theme is . . . “The Open Window" The power of storytelling. Supporting evidence: Saki uses the ‘story within a story’ technique in this story. Saki and Vera both rely on the short story to fool their audience. Vera takes the ordinary events of the day and transforms them into a ghost story, fooling Framton Nuttel as well as the reader. But when she explains why Framton ran off, we understand what she has been doing. She manages to play jokes on all the adults in the story, for her aunt and uncle believe the story about what happened to Nuttel in India, explaining his strong reaction on seeing the spaniel.

Theme is . . . "Powder" Spontaneity and risk, not always knowing or able to control the outcome, are important for a full life. Supporting evidence: After removing the roadblock, the boy begins to enjoy the downhill drive and realizes that a bit of risk and uncertainty are exciting. "And the best was yet to come—switchbacks and hairpins impossible to describe.... If you haven't driven fresh powder, you haven't driven."

Identifying theme It's not always easy to pinpoint a story's central idea. Start by paying attention to the elements of fiction: • title and setting • repetition of words, phrases, actions • characters who change or grow

Identifying theme Repetition: words, phrases, ideas or actions are often repeated, pointing to their importance and leading to thematic clues. "The Test" The inspector repeatedly refers to Marian as “Mandy” , expressing his feeling superior to her; he addresses her as ‘you-all’ showing that he doesn’t see her as an individual but as part of a group (black people).

Identifying theme Characters who grow and change, who learn something valuable or see the world in a new light, usually point to theme. “The Last Rung on the Ladder" While his sister was going through rough periods in her adult life, Larry never made the time to visit and support her. He was too caught up in his own career.

Identifying theme Some final words about theme: Many stories have multiple themes.  Not every story has a theme: horror, detective, and adventure-thriller stories may not have themes.  A theme can oversimplify. Discerning its themes enlarges our understanding of a work but doesn't capture the totality of its richness and complexity.

Congratulations! You've reached the end of this course. Now read “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross.