Themes and Fiction

Posted on November 21st, 2009 in Writing by Ruby Hawk
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The theme of a piece of fiction is the controlling idea or its central insight.It’s the generalization about life, stated or implied by the story. For the theme of the story we must ask what the main purpose is, what view of life it supports or what insight into life it reveals.

The theme of fiction is the controlling idea of the story, or it’s central insight. It is the generalization about life stated or implied. Not all stories have themes. Some stories, such as horror stories may be simply to scare the reader out of his wits. An adventure story might carry the reader through a series of exciting escapades. The purpose of a mystery is to give the reader a complex problem to solve and to keep him guessing to the end. Theme only exists when the author seriously attempts to record life accurately or reveal a truth which his story is meant to illustrate. Theme exists in all interpretive fiction but only in some escape fiction.

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If a story’s central purpose is to show a certain kind of person in a particular kind of situation it will have something revealing to say about the nature of all men or the relationship of human beings to each other or nature. That generalization that arises from the specifics of the story is the theme.

The theme is like a plot. It may be stated at great length or briefly. The theme can be stated in a single sentence or it may need a chapter for more clarity. In a short story you can use one sentence, but pick the central insight that explains the greatest number of elements in the story and relates them to one another. However, using a one sentence statement will necessarily leave out a great part of the story’s meaning.

A good story will give us many insights into life and the object of the interpretive writer is not to state but to show and make the theme vivid to the reader. The author delivers to the senses, emotions,and our imagination. Unvisualized it is a dry desert without water or life. The writers first duty is to reveal life. He is wary of “explaining” to the reader, as some people spoil a good joke by explaining it. The author writes to interpret some segment of humanity to his readers.

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Some people, especially students look for a “moral” in everything they read. And occasionally a theme of a story can be expressed as a moral principle without doing damage to the story. However, the word “moral” is too narrow to fit the kind of insight provided by a first rate story. The word “moral” is better avoided in a story that displays human character. The word “theme” is better for several reasons. It is less likely to cloud the fact that the story is not a preachy sermon.

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The person who seeks a moral in every story is likely to simplify the theme by reducing it to some platitude like, ” Be kind to animals.” or “Look before you leap.” The purpose of the interpretive writer is to give us a greater awareness and understanding of life and insight into our existence as human beings. In getting to the message of the story, it is better not to ask, What does this story teach? but What does this story reveal? The story may reveal some insight that we had not had before and expand our horizons, or it may make us feel some truth that we know but have not felt emotionally. The writer performs a service for us-interprets life for us-whether he gives us new insights or merely refreshes old ones.

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