Principles in Stating the
Theme
Theme must be expressible in the form
of a complete sentence with a subject
and a predicate.
motherhood
loyalty
paralysis
“Reconstruction Work” by Bruce
Holland Rogers
Plasticity of truth
Reconstruction of truth
Versions of truth
With wealth and power, truth can be
rendered plastic and malleable.
Through wealth and power, versions of
truth can be recreated and made up, but
only until these two continue to exist.
Theme must be
stated as a
generalization
about life.
do not use specific
names of
characters or
places
“Celeste’s Heart” by Aida Bortnik
Celeste’s refusal to heed the order of her
teacher made her realize the power in her to
change the order of things around her.
• Simple acts of resistance may lead one to
realize the power in his/her humanity, and
once this is realized, it will lead to loftier
thirst for change.
“In a Grove” by Rynusuke
Akutagawa
Masago, Takehiko, and Tajomaru all
provide varying accounts of the story
hence giving different versions of truth
dependent on how each views it.
Absolute truth is impossible to arrive at
because of individuals’ varying perceptions
and interpretations of it.
Be careful in making generalization
larger than is justified by the terms of
the story.
every
all
always
never
“Civil Peace” by Chinua Achebe
People always recover from their life’s
tragedies.
Belief in God and family keep everyone
sane in the midst of challenges posed by
life.
In the middle of unrest and difficult
situations, some individuals thrive and
succeed because of their enduring belief
in life and great optimism brought about by
their faith in God’s plan and the relentless
desire to provide for people who depend
on them.
Theme is the
central and unifying
concept of the
story.
• it must account for all the
major details of the story.
• it must not be contradicted
by any detail of the story
• it must exist inside, not
outside of the story.
“How to Date a Brown Girl (Black
Girl, White Girl, or Halfie),” Junot
Diaz
Life for an individual belonging to a racially marginalized
group can be very difficult.
Life is challenging for black youths.
Most of the changes being touted by equal rights
movement advocates do not trickle down into the lives of
these colored individuals.
How an individual is treated by the society where
he lives in, in return, often has ramifications on
how he/she deals with people around him.
A person belonging to a marginalized group (race,
social class, age) may sometimes resort to hiding
his identity (in most cases failing in the attempt) if
only to feel accepted by other people or to be part
of a group he wants to join.
There is no one way of stating the
theme of the story.
“The Guest,” Albert Camus
• Failure to make a choice amid the absurd
universe leads one to feel emptiness and
desolation.
• Although there is no good choice, the act of
making a choice and standing by that choice
is the most important thing a human being
can do; failing to do this leads to moral
isolation and grief.
• Because human knowledge is always
subjectively situated--that is, it always
happens from a particular individual's pointof-view--it's always going to be limited.
“The Chemist’s Wife” by Anton
Chekov
Individuals are made unhappy and are
paralyzed by their inability to act on
circumstance.
One’s indecisiveness and feeling of
powerlessness over his/her reality can lead to
his/her feeling of emptiness and loneliness.
We should avoid any statement that
reduces the theme to some familiar
saying that we have heard all our lives.
Regret comes when it’s already too late. (Nasa huli ang
pagsisisi.)
Too much of something is bad.
Honesty is the best policy.
People often cry over spilled milk.
summary
A theme should be:
• in one complete sentence
• a generalization about life
• not specific to the facts in the story
• careful not to generalize larger than is justified
• a central concept that accounts for all the details
in the story
• no one way of expressing it