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.