THEME STATEMENTS

A theme is not a specific statement about a particular book.

A theme is a generalization about life, not individual characters, but it can be developed
and/or illustrated through characters.

o Think Cinderella Man: It takes courage for a character to stand alone when faced with
much adversity in life.

A theme cannot be so general as to be near meaningless - Ex. Friendship is the theme of the
book. OR The theme of the book is greed.

A theme is not a topic. Love is a topic, not a theme.

Avoid sweeping generalizations like always, every, never and all.

Rather, use words like often, usually, sometimes, and rarely.

A theme must not be a clich: Dont judge a book by its cover or Money is the root of all
evil.

Most longer works usually have more than one topic and therefore, more than one possible
theme.

Theme Statements in Literature Good and Bad

Faulty = Bad Correct = Good

The theme in Green Eggs and Ham is fear.
The theme of Macbeth is ambition.
Conrad develops the theme of death when he
shows us the dying members of the chain gang.
In King Lear, Shakespeare shows us that
everybody gets too old to make wise decisions.
The theme in Green Eggs and Ham is that fear of
experiencing new things can lead to missed
opportunities.
The theme of Macbeth is that excessive
ambition can bring about a persons downfall.
In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad shows that
colonial exploitation has a devastating
influence, not only on native people, but also on
those who are the exploiters.
With Lears foolish test of love, his series of
unwise decisions and the treachery of his
daughters, Shakespeare helps readers realize
that rash and reckless decisions can breed
violence and destruction.
 The following charts have some helpful hints for writing theme statements.
Do
express theme as a general comment on the
subject.
express the theme in your own words.
express the theme as an insight into life.
use qualifying words in a theme statement
such as: sometimes, may, and often.
Do Not
express the theme as a subject or a topic.
express the theme as a clich or familiar
saying.
express the theme as a moral.
make a thematic statement too general.
Avoid broad generalizations with words such
as: everyone, always, never, and all.
refer to specific characters in a theme
statement.
Well-written theme statement
People with realistic goals tend to be more
successful than those who put little thought into
their futures.
People who commit crimes may be punished in
unexpected ways.
Gossip can cause serious damage to a persons
reputation.
Poverty may transform honest people into
criminals.
Poorly Written Statements
The theme is goals for the future.
Crime doesnt pay.
It is wrong to gossip about people.
Poverty always causes crime.
Montag learned not to trust others around him.
Resilience Innocence
Empathy Adult authority
Family Capacity to reason
Freedom; Lack of
Evil/Cruelty/
restrictions
Inhumanity
Insensitivity; Lack
Survival of compassion
Individual
Capacity for good
Freedom
Capacity for evil
Innocence
Violence; Anarchy
Grief
Irresponsibility
Indifference
Innocence