A theme is the author’s message in a work of literature for his or her readers. In the novel, Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White, she talks about how the main character, Woodrow’s mother, disappears one day. He goes to live with his grandparents and he finds a new best friend, his cousin Gypsy. In the poem, Underface, by Shel Silverstein, he talks about how some people hide their true selves under the mask of being someone else. The common theme, from both the novel and the poem, is that a person's genuine self is truly important, not their appearance. One character from the novel that reveals the importance of the genuine self over appearances is Woodrow Prater. After his mother’s disappearance, his father started drinking and couldn't take …show more content…
Benny’s role in the novel is a side character, yet he has a major impact. He was friends with Amos before he died and Benny goes wandering through the streets at night singing to the dogs. He is called names and people don't see him for who he truly is. People are scared of him. He also has very small eyes. The reader knows this because Gypsy states, “‘Yeah. Doc Dot told me he practically has no eyes at all. And that makes him look like something from a horror comic, you know?..’” (White 62). This isn't fair though because Blind Benny is so sweet and never did anything to deserve this. The reader understands this when Gypsy states, “Folks used to be scared of him but he wouldn't hurt anybody as far as I know” (White 62). Blind Benny is gentle, a great singer, and is friendly to everyone. His genuine self is so great, and that's why it shouldn't matter what he looks like on the outside. Blind Benny exclaims, “‘I’m a lucky man’” (White 179). He is always so positive and grateful, even though he has so many things to complain about. Therefore, Blind Benny is a great person and shouldn’t have to struggle with having to only come out at night, getting called names, or anything else that people say or do to him because his genuine self is the true thing that matters. Blind Benny teaches the reader that the real thing they should care about is their true self, because there are so many more things that are great …show more content…
This theme applies to the poem because the poem discusses how people are seen for their “outside face” instead of their “underface.” Some lines that reveal this theme best are, “a face that none can see. But a whole lot more like me” (Silverstein 2 and 5). The difference between someone's outside face and someone's underface is that their underface is the face that not everyone sees (just someone's family, friends, or other people that they know well) and someone's outside face is more guarded towards people they don't feel as comfortable with, yet some people that are very outgoing might show their underface all the time to everyone. It is very important that the reader learns more about a person's genuine self and why not to judge someone based on their appearance, because that's never what it has been about. Why should a person's appearance matter when their genuine self is just so much better than
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based on an author’s opinion on a subject. The theme of innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a conflict that connects to the theme that innocence should be protected is the death of Tom Robinson.
It is not much to explain on how the world views Benny. they just see him as a small average person. He does not truly stand out in Mountainside as an important person. Most of the town (outside of his friends) only know Benny because of his older brother Tom.
One example of the theme occurs when the author first introduces the story. “But the summer I was 9 years old, the town I had always loved morphed into a beautifully heartbreaking and complicated place.” (pg. 1). The author is saying that the year she turned nine, she found out something about her town that broke her heart and changed the way she saw it. This quote is important because it supports the theme. It shows that now she is older she has learned something about her town that made her wiser than when she was younger. She is now more informed because the new information changed her and caused her to begin to mature.
Theme is the subject of talk, a topic, or morals that the author is trying to get readers to comprehend. When reading an excerpt, the theme is not directly stated in the text, so you must dig deeper into the context to understand the matter trying to be portrayed. In both Angela's Ashes and The Street, we can distinguish a like theme of struggling through life’s complications. After reading the two different stories, we could select the theme from using character, events, and the setting.
An idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art of literature can be referred to as a “Theme”. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Theme is an important part of fictional stories. Several themes are presented in the novel to kill a mocking bird. One of the reoccurring themes in to kill a mockingbird is courage.
The theme in a story is the message or big idea that the author is trying to reveal in his or her narrative. If there was no underlining theme in Sherman Alexie’s short story, “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” then readers would have no interest in reading the fictional story. Understanding the message that Alexie is trying to display to his readers can vary in many ways and depends on the reader 's understanding of the story. Strong themes that are presented in the fictional tale are man versus self conflict, family, and tribal identity. Victor is a tribal member that has had a rough life and has to deal with his father passing away. Not only does he have to come to terms with his father 's death, but he also has to face his
Theme is defined as the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. Throughout literary history, authors have been using theme to bring a story together and make a point. In order to make a story have a resounding feeling in readers, authors use themes to leave an underlying message which are usually lessons and morals that should be widely taught, such as in children’s books or in fables. In all three stories, “A Rose for Emily”, “Hills like White Elephants”, and “Harrison Bergeron” the author’s use a mutual theme of death and further show how death brings change to each of the main character’s lives in different
A theme is defined as the subject of a piece of writing. Moreover, the stories of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Old Testament, and Antigone have similar themes. One of which, was the love between siblings. For example, in Antigone readers see the
...rves the way for the plot, the theme is the central idea around which a literary piece revolves. Without the theme the plot would be meaningless and there would be nothing for the readers to derive from the literary piece. Without the plot, the theme would be meaningless as there would be nowhere to consign the message the writer intends to give the reader. It can be said that the plot and theme are the two most important literary elements of a literary piece and are inter-dependant.
Themes are central to the plot of any story. In fact, themes are the purpose to an author writing anything. By definition, a theme is the subject or topic of a work. Some themes, like that in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are more obvious, while others, such as, “Hills Like White Elephants” are less clear and require readers to do some deep reading and critical thinking in order to identify the purpose of it, and through strong reading techniques, audiences will find valuable lessons embedded within the themes can enlighten and even revive our thinking.
Theme is the underlying power beneath a story; the “force” that makes the whole experience worthwhile. Theme is “an idea or message that the writer wishes to convey” (Holt 874). A theme can be either stated or implied. A stated theme is a theme “that the other expresses directly in his work (protic.net); an implied theme is a theme “that is not directly stated in the work” (protic.net). As mentioned before, both of these stories have an implied theme, which now is revealed to mean that the author of the story insinuated it. Themes exist in all stories (verbal or written) and can be long, short, true or false. “Earth people will beat out any other intelligent life-form in any and all competitions” is a theme, but “good always beats evil” is one too. “Once upon a time . . .” stories have themes too, except they are more one-dimensional. For example,...
Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.
Eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau begins his infamous discourse The Social Contract by stating, "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they." Both Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" from The Republic and the Wachowski Brothers' hit film The Matrix discuss man's efforts on his journey towards illumination to break free of his chains and then liberate others imprisoned. While definite connections exist between the allegory and The Matrix, Plato and the Wachowski Brothers present different paths that one may take to achieve that end. The Matrix utilizes the symbolic figure of a hero, Nietzsche's Übermensch, who through fate acquires the responsibility of enlightening all, while Plato presents an individual journey in which others may act as guides but one attains enlightenment through one's desire for knowledge.
A theme is a fundamental and often universal idea explored in a literary work. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are three main themes: the side-by-side existence of good and evil, the importance of moral education, and the presence of social inequality. These themes help the story be what it is and help to create a proper setting, plot, conflict, and characters. The themes in the book have good meaning and make the book what it is.
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many