Definition
The
theme is the major idea the author is trying to “get across.” The themes of a literary work are the
underlying key ideas or the generalizations it communicates about life. At
times, the author’s theme may not agree with your own beliefs, but even then,
if it is skillfully written, the work will still have a theme that illuminates
some aspects of true human experience. A
Theme Essay explores these ideas and helps the reader gain a greater
understanding of the book as a whole.
Remember
that there may be various themes in any one piece of literature. The following are ways by which a theme may
be revealed: direct statements of the
author, direct statements by the characters, dramatic statements by characters,
imagery, characters representing ideas, and the entire work representing ideas.
The body of the essay will center on
your objective, which is (1) to define the idea, and (2) show its importance in
the work.”
Questions for
Theme Analysis
What
important idea or theme does this literary work convey? Think about the topics
of some of your journal entries. What questions do the journal prompts raise
about human nature?
What
do characters do that helps illustrate this idea?
What
do characters say that helps to illustrate this idea?
What
events take place in the work that help to illustrate this idea?
Are
there any recurrent images or clusters of images? Do these images support the
idea or theme that you find in the work?
What
does the narrator say that helps to illustrate this idea?
Writing your Essay
First, pick one theme to write your analysis. Next, you need to form your thesis statement.
After deciding on a thesis, you need to form a rough outline using the provided
example. You will need to provide a number of examples from the book to
illustrate the theme, which will be the components of your three body
paragraphs. You will need three quotes per body paragraph, so nine quotes all
together. Don’t rely on the quotes to explain themselves. You need to lead into
the quote, and also comment on the quote after you quote it. You need to
effectively show how the quote helps to prove your point.
Essay Guidelines
Due dates: Pre-Write
due February 19; Rough Draft due March 5; Final Draft due March 19.
Essay
length: 600 – 800 words (between 3 and 5
pages)
Rough drafts can
be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.
Final draft
format:
Typed (if this is
not possible, please let me know)
1 inch margins
Name and date on
the upper right hand corner
Number the pages
on the lower right hand corner
Title centered
above the text of the essay
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