INTRODUCTION TO Themes in Literature o you find yourself drawn to the same types of stories Are your favorite characters on a quest Are they seeking revenge Or are your favorite stories about love Love revenge a quest these are all examples of themes Although each story is different many stories focus on similar themes You can expand your understanding of the books you read by recognizing the common themes within them What Is a Theme A theme is a concept or idea that shows up again and again in various works of art literature music theater film and other endeavors throughout history Some themes revolve around a story's plot For example a play about a young girl moving away from home and learning the ways of the world would be considered a Coming of age story But themes are not always so easily
either supports or rejects Society s norms Rather than attempt to discover the author s purpose in creating a work an analysis reveals what you see in the work Raising your awareness of themes through analysis allows you to dive deeper into the work itself You may begin to see similarities between all creative works that you encounter You may also improve your own writing by expanding your understanding of how stories use themes to engage readers Forming a thesis Form your questions about how a theme is presented in a work or multiple works and find answers within the work itself Then you can create a thesis The thesis is the key point in your analysis It is your argument about the work For example if you want to argue that the How to Make a theme of a book is love your Thesis Statement thesis could be worded as follows Allison Becket s novel On the Heartless Road In an analysis a thesis statement typically appears at the end of the introductory paragraph It is usually only one sentence long and states the author's main idea asserts that receiving love is critical to the human
Providing evidence Once you have formed a thesis you must provide evidence to support it Evidence will usually take the form of examples and quotations from the work itself often including dialogue from a character You may wish to address what others have written about the work Quotes from these individuals may help support your claim If you find any quotes or examples that contradict your thesis you will need to create an argument against them For instance Many critics claim the theme of love is secondary to that of revenge as the main character Carly sabotages the lives of her loved ones throughout the novel However the How to Support novel's resolution proves that a Thesis Statement An analysis should include Carly's experience with love several arguments that is the key to her humanity support the thesis's claim An argument is one or two sentences long and is Concluding supported by evidence from the Essay the work being discussed Organize the arguments After you have written into paragraphs These several arguments and paragraphs make up the body of the analysis included evidence to support them finish the essay with
