Writing Thematic Statements

Writing Thematic Statements (AP IV – Question #3)

Brendan Kenny

Stating the theme of a work of literature

·  Use several abstract words to state the principle ideas of the work. Abstract words describe concepts or ideas that exist only in our mind like social status, ritual, defeat, alienation, freedom, prejudice, and ambition. We can see a particular man who is ambitious, like Macbeth, but the idea of ambition is an abstraction.

·  Couple these notions or abstract ideas together with comments that reflect the author’s observations about topics like human nature, the human condition or human motivation.

o  Human nature: Does the work focus on qualities of people, their pride, fear, alienation, or the past? Or does the focus seem to be on a single person or unit: the family, the child, or the adolescent?

o  Human condition: Does the plot, character, or setting comment on society, the limits it places on its citizens, the rituals that explain its beliefs, or the conflicts individuals have with the precepts of the society? Does the human condition reflect what is good and what is bad in the society, the role of women, the end of innocence, one’s duty, or what ethics and laws guide behavior?

o  Human motivation: What drives the characters? Is it faith, revenge, disillusionment, the need to search or complete a journey, a sense of alienation, or keeping up appearances, dreams, fantasies, or social status?

Avoiding the common mistakes in writing a thematic statement

o  Theme is not a moral. A moral tells us how to behave or what to do; it is meant to be instructive. A theme observes, weighs, and considers the actions of a character; theme avoids judging what a character should or should not do. Therefore, words like “ought” and “should” are not appropriate in a thematic statement.

o  Themes are not short clichés or bumper sticker ideas. Themes reflect the complexity of life echoes in the work of literature.

o  Themes do not refer to specific names or the events of the plot. Theme does not summarize a work although it does reflect what happens in the work. Theme drops character names and uses more general terms like “parents,” “leaders,” “society,” or “adolescents” in a general observation about the human experience.

o  Themes avoid absolute terms like “anyone,” “all,” “none,” “everything,” and “everyone” because they indicate sloppy thinking; they are categorical, no exceptions. Terms like “we,” “often,” and “sometimes” suggest a more realistic view of the variety of human experiences.

Using a thematic statement successfully

·  The thematic statement rarely stands alone. It functions best as a closing observation making the most general observation about the specific ideas in a work. As the last sentence of the conclusion, the thematic statement mirrors the abstract ideas of the thesis.

·  Typically the AP student is asked to show specifically how a character, pattern, plot, or device helps to create theme.

o  Discuss why the laughter created is “thoughtful,” and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.

o  Discuss how a character, which appears briefly or not at all, affects action, theme, or the development of other characters.

o  Discuss how the contrast of two different countries, two cities or towns, or two households contributes to the meaning of a work.

·  Some of the best students are able to allude to the abstract ideas of the theme in their opening paragraph and provide a fully developed thematic statement in the closing paragraph.

Thesis: the most pointed and detailed sentence describing the essay’s purpose.

Thematic statement: the most general and abstract statement about the work’s meaning.

Theme Vocabulary

*Abstract ideas to use to form thematic statements.

Alienation
Ambition
Appearance vs. reality
Custom / tradition
Betrayal
Bureaucracy
Children
Courage / cowardice
Women / feminism
Cruelty / violence
Defeat / failure
Despair/discontent/disillusionment
Chance / fate / luck
Domination / suppression
Dreams / fantasies
Duty
Education / school
Escape
Exile / Faith / loss of faith
Falsity / pretense
Family / parenthood
Free will / will power
Games/contests/sports/tricks
Greed
Guilt
Heaven / paradise / utopia
Home
Heart vs. reason
Initiation
Illusion / innocence
Instinct
Journey/psychological journey
Law / justice
Loneliness / alones
Loyalty
Materialism / Memory / the past
Mob psychology
Music / dance
Mysterious stranger Persistence / perseverance
Patriotism
Poverty
Prejudice
Prophecy
Repentance
Resistance / rebellion
Revenge / retribution
Ritual / ceremony
Scapegoat / victim
Search for identity
Social status
Supernatural
Time/ eternity
War

Sample Thematic Statements

The Most Dangerous Game

Men, when they are courageous and lucky, even in a hostile environment, can overcome the odds against their survival.

Our reason, courage, and strength can reach their full potential when challenged by a hostile environment.

The Adventures in Huckleberry Finn

Much of our learning happens outside the classroom. Sometime our private discoveries show us the falsity of society that the classroom or society teaches as truth.

The Catcher in the Rye

In the presence of what we see as phony or corrupt, we often first choose to escape because we are afraid of becoming phony too. Fleeing provides some hope of preserving our innocence but denies our responsibility to alter, rebel against, or sometimes grow to accept what we see as threatening.

Macbeth

Although others can tempt us, our acceptance and performance of many acts remains our responsibility; our willful choices often determine our future.

Pygmalion

Conventions of society can keep people isolated by artificial boundaries like language and manners. These conventions, or defiance of them, can keep us from discovering our strengths and weaknesses because we hide behind these conventions as ones expected of the wealthy or poor. With such masks we do not discover ourselves.

EXAMPLE from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Themes: conscience, family, society, freedom

Thesis sentence: In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain explores Huck’s justification of the ideals of his society in contrast to his internal knowledge of right and wrong.

Thematic statements: What society teaches us is not always right. We must rely on our conscience to derive the proper path for our actions.