Author: Robyn Viljoen
Great works of literature stir our emotions. They make us question or contemplate matters that are inherent to the human experience. They may make us wonder about the dangers of power, marvel at the beauty of nature, or contemplate the fragility of life. And they hold universal truth or fundamental questions about the experience of being human – from revenge, to love, to death, to loneliness. It is these things – the things we are left wondering about when we close the book, that are the themes.
A theme is the underlying message of a piece of work; its core idea and purpose. A theme is what the author is really trying to say about a topic. They can be revealed through characters, dialogue, plot, subtext, or setting. So how do you identify and discuss a novel’s theme? Let’s dig in.
Theme and the Author
Let’s start with the author, because themes are their babies. Theme is at the heart of an author’s inspiration. That may be an oversimplification, because inspiration is an elusive and subjective phenomenon. But at the end of the day, theme is what the author is really trying to tell the audience through their story. It may be a certain point of view or insight that they want to share. It could be a lesson they’ve learnt or a deep belief they hold. Or it could even be a conundrum that they themselves are trying to grapple with.
The themes of an author’s story may be apparent to them before they even start writing – when they know “I want to write a book that explores ABC”. Or it could be that the themes slowly reveal themselves as the author digs into the heart of their story. Beth Revis, who wrote A World Without You, explains this development very eloquently.
“As I was writing the story, things got…twisted. Even though Bo, my main character, can control time, I realized that his idea of “control” was all wrong. And his idea of what was real was wrong, too. I realized that I didn’t want to write a book about kids with superpowers. I wanted to write a book about kids who didn’t really have any power at all, and what it means to realize that.” Beth Revis
Read more about what inspires Beth Revis and other authors HERE
Theme vs Subject
These two terminologies are easily confused, because they are often interlinked. A novel’s subject is what the novel is about, while a it’s theme is what the author is really trying to say about the subject. In the example above we can see that the subject of A World Without You is “kids with superpowers”, but the theme goes deeper than that. The theme deals with the very essence of power, or lack thereof, and its consequences.
Eg. Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys who become stranded on a desert island. That is the novel’s subject, because it tells us simply what happens in the story. To uncover its theme, we have to ask ourselves why the author is telling this story and what he is trying to uncover through it. William Golding uses the subject of the novel, as well as its setting on a deserted island to explore the primal instincts of human nature. The novel leaves a person wondering what they would be like in that situation. Would I be a leader or a follower? What would I do in order to survive? Would I go completely wild, or would I remain civilised?
Golding’s complex themes make us ask ourselves difficult questions that we may never have to answer in real life, but which may reveal something significant about ourselves and about humanity as a whole. That is a successful theme!
Theme and the Reader
Theme doesn’t stop with the author – it is passed onto us, the audience, to contemplate and interpret. And in the case of literature students, we will have to identify and discuss themes. So how do we find them? Here’s a checklist:
- What prominent feelings do the main characters experience? Are they lonely? Are they vengeful? Do they have anger issues or relationship problems?
- What do the characters learn or fail to learn by the end of the novel? Do they realise that they need the help of others? Or do they overcome their fears? Do they learn to live with the grief of losing a loved one?
- What sits with you after the novel and why? Are you left feeling thankful for your life? Why? Perhaps it’s because the novel deals with the hardships of poverty. Are you left wondering what you would do if you became very rich? Why? Perhaps it’s because the novel deals with the dangers of power.
Without themes, literature would be superficial and boring. Whereas a well-woven theme will leave us with new insights or questions about the human experience. A story can be fun and exciting, but without a theme, it’s meaningless. We may very well enjoy all the explosions and car chases of a movie like Bad Boys, but if it didn’t grapple with relatable themes like brotherhood and sacrifice, the story would be vapid. Through themes, the author is trying to teach the audience something or shine a light on a universal or taboo subject. Theme is the heart of any great story. So dig deeper by contemplating and talking about themes. And ask yourself – what themes would YOU explore if you were to become a writer.
