How to Write a Theme Statement

Only 17 days remaining until Christmas Break! Let's start this off with some good news! Say "hello" to our newest classmate, Regal the Eagle!

That's the answer to our bonus question this week. Be ready to give the answer on Friday for some candy!

This week, we will begin discussing theme and theme statements in relation to Lord of the Flies. 

We began today by clarifying the difference between a thematic subject and a theme statement. A thematic subject is usually one or two words and identifies the subject matter present in the text. A theme statement extends this to include the author's message or perspective on the subject. 

For example, here is a list of all of the thematic subjects we came up with during class based on our current reading:

Survival
Savagery
Childhood
Family 
Obstacles
Civilization
Isolation
Danger
Hope
Leadership
Fear
Nature
Adventure
Loneliness
Beauty
Innocence
Logic/Intelligence
Learning
Death
Evil/The Devil
Exploration




Imperfection
Maturity
Hatred
Masculinity
Teamwork
Friendship
Responsibility
Recklessness
Culture
Freedom
Violence/Ruthlessness
Self-defense
Adaptation
Sanity
Authority
Discipline
Courage
Instinct
Corruption
Abandonment
Identity

We then proceeded to begin step 1 of our Theme Statement Generator. We started by narrowing down our list of thematic subjects to 1-3 ideas. 

You can use this generator for any text - just insert the title into that blank and PRESTO!

As you can see, I chose more than 3 (sorry, overachiever alert!). I chose subjects that I felt like, if I had to, I could explain them and how they show up in LOTF verbally.

For the next step, find out who the author of the text is. So, I reached into my bag and found my book and...

Yes, I was extra enough to make a gif of me getting my book out. WHEN IN DOUBT, TAKE YOUR BOOK OUT!

AHA! The author is William Golding. Not WG. Not Will. Not Gucchi Golding. Not Ya Boi Willy G. 

William. Golding. 

Put the author's name in the FIRST blank of the question in step 2. 

Now, it's decision time. Take a look at your 3 (or 5 in my case) thematic subjects and choose ONE that you feel like, if you had to, you could write at least three sentences about how that thematic subject shows up in LOTF.

So, I chose to focus on the thematic subject of fear, since it shows up in so many different ways in the text. I wrote this subject in the second blank of the question in step 2.

But, now I have to actually ANSWER that question.

When it says "what does William Golding believe/say about fear," it doesn't mean what did he write about that had to do with fear. It's asking me what does he believe about the CONCEPT of fear. What does William Golding have to teach us about this very powerful emotion? What lesson can we learn from this text regarding fear?

So, I thought about it and considered the way that fear affects the course of the story and the characters involved. A majority of the boys, except possibly Roger and maybe Jack, are not inherently mean. In fact, they are more interested in having fun and playing around and swimming in the lagoon than anything else at the beginning of the book. It isn't until someone brings up a beastie or a snake that the boys begin to change and focus more on "survival" and destroying whatever might threaten them. 

It isn't until each of the boys feel fearful or threatened by something that they begin to turn to a more brutal nature. Jack's role as leader of hunters is threatened by Ralph's authority; Piggy's intelligence and logical voice is threatened by the bullying and teasing of the other boys; the littluns' safety is threatened by the Beast. 

From that, I began to deduce that maybe William Golding was trying to teach us that fear can bring out our worst tendencies. It can uncover our darkest potentials (thanks, Miguel V. from 2nd period for that awesome insight!)

When writing your response, try to avoid just finishing by saying "is important/good/bad/some other adjective." You can say this, but you need to follow it up with a "because."

Still having trouble? Try these sentence stems:

Thanks for the sentence stems, Mrs. Wise!

The last step is the EASIEST. Just cross out the first 3-4 words (the part that says "William Golding believes/says that...") and PRESTO!

There's a working theme statement!

I say WORKING theme statement only because we have to do a little fine-tuning to make sure the metaphorical engine of our literary analysis powerhouse is running smoothly. 

Go through each of the fine-tuning tips and check off each one as you confirm you have followed their guidelines.

And that's it! We wrote our final theme statements on a notecard and put our names on the blank side, so if you were not in class today, be sure to get a notecard when you come to class tomorrow to turn yours in!

Now get a good night's sleep and be ready for our station activities tomorrow!