HOW TO WRITE A GOOD THEMATIC STATEMENT

Theme is the universal ideal or concept conveyed in this piece of literature.

Your thematic statement is an abstract idea coupled with a comment or observation which addresses:

human motivation or the human condition or human ambition

• "The Most Dangerous Game"

• Our reason, courage and strength – can reach their full potential when challenged

by a hostile environment.

• With great courage and luck, – even in the most hostile environment, man

can overcome the odds against survival.

Do’s and don’ts• AVOID – moralizing – theme is not moral

(nobody should be…)– INSTEAD – observe weigh consider

• AVOID – absolute words – all, everyone, each, none, always, never, etc…– INSTEAD – sometimes, often, adolescents,

frequently, etc…

• AVOID – specifics of plot, character name and setting

Thematic Statements are about the world not just about the book

• Social classes separate people into adversarial groups.

• Courage is taking a stand for what is right.• The strong should not take advantage of the weak.• Prejudice evolves from fear of differences.• Humanity, outside of the restraints of law and order,

is essentially brutal.• Only the restraints of civilization prevent humanity

from descending to the base behavior of an animal.• Born with the blot of original sin, only the saving

grace of God redeems mankind.

Some themes are directly stated

• “…you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them…”

• Courage is “when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.  You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

A thesis should connect the topic / the literature to the

thematic statement• The Topic = character, setting, plot

element, conflict, symbol, image

Character: Simon, Ralph, Jack

Setting: the beach, the mountain, Castle Rock

Image or Symbol: the conch, the fire, the spectacles

The Thesis – questions to ask

• What aspect of the novel are you going to be talking about?

• What does this – the character, the setting, the image, the conflict – reveal about the world around us?

• A thesis statement = an element of the novel + theme

As a group

• Write two thematic statements related to the novel.

• Convert these two statements into thesis statements.

• HW: Write a preliminary thesis about which to write your essay.