How to find the theme of a story

Theme vs topic vs moral

Students often write "The theme is friendship." That is a topic, sometimes called a thematic idea. A theme turns the topic into a statement about life:

A theme is also different from a moral. A moral is a direct lesson or command, like the ending of a fable: "Slow and steady wins the race." Most literature does not tell you its message; it shows it through what happens, and readers can reasonably find more than one theme in the same work.

• Topic: love. Theme: "Real love is shown through sacrifice, not gifts."
• Topic: ambition. Theme: "Ambition without responsibility can destroy both the dreamer and the people around them."
• Topic: pride. Theme: "Pride can make people pay a terrible price for wanting to seem better than they are."

Four steps to find a theme

Theme comes from the whole story, so look at the parts that carry the most meaning:

• Name the main conflict. What does the main character want, and what stands in the way?
• Track the change. How is the character different at the end? What did they learn, gain or lose?
• Look at the ending and the title. Endings show what the story rewards or punishes, and titles often point to the central idea.
• Write the theme as a sentence about people in general, not about the character. Say "People ..." or "A person ...", not "Mathilde ...".

Example: The Gift of the Magi

In O. Henry's 1905 story, Della and Jim are a young couple with very little money. On Christmas Eve, Della sells her long hair to buy a chain for Jim's prized gold watch. Jim, meanwhile, has sold the watch to buy Della a set of combs for her hair. Each gift is now useless.

The story could have ended as a sad joke, but the narrator calls the two of them the wisest of all who give gifts. Topic: love and sacrifice. Theme: "The value of a gift lies in the love and sacrifice behind it, not in its usefulness or price." The evidence is the ending: the gifts fail, yet the narrator praises the givers.

Example: The Necklace

In Guy de Maupassant's 1884 story, Mathilde Loisel longs for a wealthier life. She borrows what she believes is a diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier for a party, then loses it. She and her husband borrow heavily to buy a replacement and spend ten years in hard work and poverty paying off the debt. At the end she learns the original necklace was fake and worth very little.

Possible themes: "Caring too much about appearances can cost a person far more than honesty would have," or "Pride can turn a small problem into a lifelong one." Both are supported by the key choice: Mathilde never tells her friend the truth until it is too late.

Example: A Christmas Carol and Romeo and Juliet

Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843) follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser visited by the ghost of his partner Jacob Marley and then by three spirits, of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. Scrooge wakes changed and becomes generous. Theme: "It is never too late for a person to change and to choose kindness over greed." The change in the main character is the strongest clue.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ends with the deaths of both young lovers, after which their feuding families finally make peace. Readers find several themes: "Hatred between groups harms the innocent," and "Acting in haste can turn love into tragedy." Strong essays pick one and prove it with specific scenes and lines, such as Friar Laurence's warning, "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast."

Writing about theme

When an assignment asks for the theme, a good paragraph states the theme, explains how a story element develops it, gives evidence, and explains the evidence. For example:

Notice how the reasoning connects a specific moment (the ending) to the general message. The reading standards for grades 6 to 10 ask for exactly this: determine a theme and analyze how it develops over the course of the text.

• Theme: "In The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry suggests that the worth of a gift lies in the sacrifice behind it."
• Development: "He builds this through an ironic ending in which both gifts become useless."
• Evidence: "Della has sold her hair, and Jim has sold his watch."
• Reasoning: "Because the narrator still calls them the wisest givers, the story shifts value from the objects to the love that made each person give up their most prized possession."

Common mistakes

These errors come up in almost every class:

• Writing one word, such as "courage", instead of a sentence.
• Writing a plot summary: "Scrooge sees three ghosts and changes." That is what happens, not what it means.
• Using the character's name in the theme, which makes it about one person instead of about life.
• Writing a cliché or command, such as "Never give up." Themes are observations, not orders.
• Stating a theme that only fits one scene. A real theme is supported across the story, especially by the ending.

How to practise and check a theme

Test your theme sentence with three questions. Is it a full sentence about people in general? Could it apply to another story or to real life? Can you point to at least two moments in the text, including the ending, that support it?

Short stories are ideal practice because the whole arc fits in one sitting. After reading, write the topic in one word, then the theme in one sentence, then two pieces of evidence. Fables and folktales work for younger readers; then try the stories above, which are all in the public domain and easy to find.