Clue 3

Clue Three

1) What is a literary theme? Provide an explanation and the 3 one-statement examples of a literary theme that reveals truth about the universal human experience.

A literary theme is the overarching truth, about the world. The theme is usually issued from the author’s perspective. Therefore the theme statement is not always true for everyone in the world, rather is what the author believes is true. A theme statement contains a fact that the author believes in, and would like to communicate with the reader. Stories with themes often do more than teach the reader about the truth. They also help connect the reader to the story that they are reading. For example, some examples of some theme statements that I really like include:

· “Like a house without a roof, a man without trust is also incomplete.”

· “Many obstacles come unexpectedly in life, but finishing what you have started will help you determine whether it was worth it or not.”

· “Stepping into someone else’s shoes will help you to get rid of ignorance.

Each of these statements provides a message from the author to the reader that will most likely be illustrated in the story that they write.

2) What is the theme of your life, as you see it right now?

The theme of my life, as I see it right now, is that anyone who submits to God with a humble and contrite heart will see the world in a new perspective and learn to love those who need to be loved. This theme is not one that I took from another source. It is instead truth that I believe in. I gathered this statement from a collection of my own writings. The truth that I believe has come from many sources; the Bible, the people around me and from my own heart. I believe that it is important for the world to have themes so that humans do not merely live their life, but get something important out of it. When an author writes a story that has a theme to it, someone is going to benefit from the process. Even if no one reads the story, you can be sure that the author will have to think about it more deeply before they convey it on paper. The theme of my life includes morals and teachings that I have come to understand, accept and believe from a young age. I see the value of having meaning or moral in my life, which is why I often take the time to consider what message I have to teach others, or what I have learnt from the world; in other words, theme.

3) In your opinion, what is the theme of God’s plan for this world?

The theme of God’s plan for the world, as I see it, has to do with all things working together for a common purpose. In fact, the Bible shows us that God already told us what His purpose is. “And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28). This verse from the bible shows us that Gods plan for the world has an ultimate purpose. This purpose can be summed up by this overarching theme statement. In saying this; I know that others asked the same question will have very different answers to the same question. With God, I believe that we interpret and live out His words to us from different perspectives. Going back to Reader Response, we know that our backgrounds and previous experiences give us different knowledge and understanding than most others around us. This helps us to interpret the same truth, or even the same statement in different ways.

1) How can you figure out a theme in a short story? Describe the process.

To figure out the theme of a short story, four easy steps can be taken. These four steps; title, characterization, conflict and resolution, almost always come in handy when trying to determine the theme of a short story. Firstly, the title of a story is a word, or a few words, that the author has carefully chosen. This title is used to either sum up an important aspect of the story, or to hook the reader into the story that they have written. Because of the careful word choice, it is useful to utilize the title of a story when trying to determine theme. Secondly, the characters in a short story are key to determining theme. It is the characters, especially the round and dynamic ones, which provide you with action and therefore, usually a conflict, and ultimately a conclusion. Conflict is important to theme as this is usually where the message for the reader is showed; in the decision that the character makes in regards to the story. The major conflict is usually the main action of the story and therefore is most useful in determining the overarching theme of the story. Finally, the resolution, particularly of the conflict demonstrates the morals and messages all summed up and resolved by the end of the short story, helping the reader to make decisions regarding the theme for themselves.

2) What is the theme of “The Utterly Perfect Murder” and how does this theme relate to you own life?

The theme of “The Utterly Perfect Murder”, as I see it is that “Some events, even from a young age will impact your later life more than you could imagine.” This is a reoccurring theme in my own life too. I find that many events from my younger childhood still impact me strongly today. This theme is also a component of Reader Response. Reader Response helps us to take what we have learned from before, and use it to comprehend what we are encountering now. This is particularly true with literature. Without the capacity to remember our past experiences, we would probably not get much out of any theme presented to us in literature. This is because we find the need to relate what we need to understand to our own experiences. In relation to the theme statement, as I see it to this story, this theme is very applicable to my own life. I find myself using my past experiences and knowledge everyday, especially impressionable events in my life, to help me make decisions. My past has been very important, to date, in determining my future. This is particularly because of the influence my memories have on the choices I make.

3) How is a moral of a story different from a theme?

The moral of the story is different from a theme. Though the similarities are many, such as the fact that they are messages for the reader to intake, a moral differs from a theme in one small way. A moral is standard or benchmark about society in general. A theme, on the other hand, is a message about the world. The difference between the two lies in the intended use for the message. A moral is a statement of ethical value that is intended for the reader to put into practice in their own life, while a theme is merely something to consider about the earth, that the author believes is true. In the latter case, the reader, now equipped with the moral that the story has to offer, along with the moral that they have been given, need to make a decision. The decision that they have to make regards whether or not they will chose to incorporate this theme into their own life. In other words, it is whether or not they will choose to accept the same truth that they author had, and had recorded through the events of the story.

4) Read John 3:16. Is this a theme statement for God’s story? How does this relate to the truth you might find in literature?

I believe that this is a possible theme statement for God’s story on earth. I believe that God did not create this earth with no rhyme or rhythm. I believe that the existence of the universe, and anything else, in fact has a purpose. This ‘theme statement’ displayed in John 3:16, pretty much sums up the purpose God had in sending His son Jesus Christ into the midst of our broken world. Without an ultimate purpose or theme, people today would struggle to understand the meaning of this act. This is true also in literature. Without a purpose to the story, readers will have a hard time identifying theme. Without identifying theme, it is hard for the reader to get much of the originally intended meaning of the story. If they do not get the meaning, purpose or theme out of a story, they have wasted however long it has taken them to read doing nothing. However, in conjunction to reader response, even if the truth of the story remains unidentified, it will still stick in the back of our minds and influence our decisions and actions later on. There is even hope for a theme to be understood later on, either by reinstatement or rewording, being explained in a different context, or clicking with the reader after they experience something that helps them to understand.