Songs for a Teenage Nomad: Lesson on Theme

Theme

Definition: The main idea of a text, expressed directly or indirectly.

The theme of any literary work is the base topic or focus that acts as a foundation for the entire literary piece. The theme links all aspects of the literary work with one another and is basically the main subject. The theme can be an enduring pattern or motif throughout the literary work, occurring in a complex, long winding manner or it can be short and succinct and provide a certain insight into the story.

Etymology:

From the Greek, "placed" or "laid down"

Examples and Observations:

• A story's theme is its view about life and how people behave. The theme of a fable is its moral.  The theme of a parable is its teaching. Unlike the fable and parable, however, most fiction is not designed primarily to teach or preach. Its theme is not directly presented at all; readers abstract it from the details of characters, setting and action that make up the story.
  (Robert DiYanni, Literature. McGraw-Hill, 2002)

• The Difference Between Plot and Theme:  
  "If you sometimes confuse plot with theme, keep the two elements separate by thinking of theme as what the story is about, and plot as the situation that brings it into focus. You might think of theme as the message of the story--the lesson to be learned, the question that is asked, or what it is the author is trying to tell us about life and the human condition. Plot is the action by which this truth will be demonstrated."

(Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, quoted by Kenneth John Atchity and Chi-Li Wong in Writing Treatments That Sell, rev. ed. Henry Holt, 2003)

• Thesis and Theme
  "The thesis is the main point you are trying to argue [in a composition]: for instance, that abortion is every woman's right or that housing discrimination is wrong. The theme, on the other hand, is a motif established by orchestrated connotative language that reinforces the thesis. Theme differs from thesis in that theme relies on inference and suggested meaning rather than on direct statement."
  (Kristin R. Woolever, About Writing: A Rhetoric for Advanced Writers. Wadsworth, 1991)

The Literary Element of Theme

Theme is:

• the central, underlying, and controlling idea or insight of a work
  of literature.
  
• the idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject—the writer’s view of the world or a revelation about human nature

Theme is NOT:

• expressed in a single word
  
• the purpose of a work
  
• the moral
  
• the conflict
  
  
  
  Assignment:  Due Sept. 16

  Identifying the Theme in Five Steps

  
  To identify the theme, be sure that you’ve first identified the story’s plot, the way the story uses characterization, and the primary conflict in the story.
  
  

  Complete these steps to determine the theme for Songs for a Teenage Nomad.  Please respond thoroughtly and thoughtfully.  Responses should be typed:

1. Summarize the plot by writing a one-sentence description for the exposition, the conflict, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution.
   
2. Identify the subject of the work.
   
3. Identify the insight or truth that was learned about the subject.
   
   • How did the protagonist change?
     
   • What lesson did the protagonist learn from the resolution
     of the conflict?
     
4. State how the plot presents the primary insight or truth about the subject.
   
5. Write one or more generalized, declarative sentences that state what was learned and how it was learned.
   

Theme Litmus Test

• Is the theme supported by evidence from the work itself?
  
• Are all the author’s choices of plot, character, conflict, and tone
  controlled by this theme? 
  

Assignment:  Due Sept. 16

Theme Collage

On an 8 1⁄2 by 11 inch piece of white paper, create a collage that visually demonstrates a theme (e.g. friendship, betrayal, love, etc.) from the novel.

• Write your theme at the top of the paper.
  
• Fill the paper with images that you feel capture your theme.
  
• The page should be completely filled with images. The paper should not show through at all except for where you wrote your theme.
  
• BE CREATIVE!!
  
• On the back of your collage, please include a 50-75 word explanation for your collage. This explanation should defend/ explain the images you chose. These explanations should be thorough and polished.