THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
14) When a female slave falls in love with a White man, during a time period where
interracial marrying is prohibited, she runs away in search for a better life
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
12) When a loving and caring mother comes into conflict with societies
expectations when she gives birth to a baby with a darker skin tone because of her
husband's family background, the result may be that one must find love into
something or someone to find its true meaning or purpose.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
3) When an innocent dark skinned boy is born to a white family during a time of
racial bias and separation, conflict rises between the couple and their authenticity of
being pure white is questioned along with their morals.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
13) When young, beautiful fair skinned women comes in conflict with society, in a
situation in which she gives birth the a baby of darker skin because of her well
know plantation owning husband's family background the results maybe that you
are forced to love something that you hate the most in order to see where one's
views are at fault.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
7) When young and innocent white women encounter their overbearing, selfish and
judgmental husbands in the sad and cruel era of southern American slavery, the
results may be that people are too harshly judged without even given the benefit of
the doubt.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
11) When an overly devoted wife by the name of Desiree has a handsome baby boy,
she comes in conflict with her husband because the baby is a different skin tone.
Her husband makes a comment stating that she was not white and neither was baby.
Desiree immediately calls her mother to tell her what happened, and her mother
tells her to go back to L'Abri. Two weeks later after her trip, she writes a letter
stating how she loves her son, but he was "cursed with the brand of slavery." The
result may be that Desiree's son is not white, but in fact mixed with black, which
engages her husband.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
1) When encountering a white man that is unfamiliar with his origin of life during
the period of slavery, you have to be careful. When having a conflict with a white
based on the color of skin, you have to come to the sense that they hate colored
skin. Therefore, the result is that what you don't know can hurt you in the long run.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
9) When Desiree, a free white women, is questioned about how race by her husband
who is indeed a slave owner, she decides to leave him, then he is exposed to the
same question about his race, and the answer is not pretty.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
2) When a woman who is born into slavery decides to marry out of her color she
has to be ready to leave knowing that her husband cannot be with her because of
color. She has to be able to take that extra step even if she does not know that his
mother also was born with color.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
4) When a white, racist, slave owner has to come to reality that his own child is
dark skinned meaning he comes from African American decent, the result may be a
loving family torn apart by hatred of black people.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
8) When a woman who feels like her love life has been restored comes in conflict
with the racial identity of her child during a time when a certain race was being
treated poorly by society the result may be that she runs away hoping to find a
better life for her and her child.
THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH THEME STATEMENT FORMULA:
1. When <define the protagonist>
2. comes in conflict with/encounters <define the antagonists/antagonistic forces>
3. in a situation in which <define the relevant circumstances/conditions/setting>
4. the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in
character, resolutions, conclusions>
REMEMBER!
1. Themes are generalizations about life - NO names of the characters or specific places!
2. Don’t make generalizations that are ‘larger’ than the scope of the story:
 Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all, always.
3. A theme is LIMITED or INCORRECT if it:
 ignores an important incident or character;
 contradicts or misinterprets any detail of the story;
 relies on supposed or assumed facts—those that are not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story
4. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
5. Avoid statements that reduce the theme to a cliché, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
___________________________________________________________________
10) When a loving and caring mother comes in contact with an identity crisis in
which, she is unsure of her ethnicity the result may be that one should not judge as
you may never you where you have come from.
“Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin
Well Developed Theme Statement
When a privileged woman, a former orphan with an innocent heart, comes in
conflict with her wealthy, powerful slave-owning husband, in a situation in which
he has grown suspicion over the perceived mixed ethnicity of their child in the
racially and socioeconomically stratified culture of the antebellum South, the result
may be that she is cast from their home with her child in order to preserve her
husband’s pride and the dignity of his family name…
Now, let’s EXTEND this idea and GENERALIZE it, unpacking the AUTHOR’S TONE,
TECHNIQUE, and PURPOSE!
…The ironic revelation to the reader at the story’s end that the husband is in fact
the source of the miscegenation results in the author’s pointed attack on the
antebellum South’s way of life. Namely, she challenges the patriarchal system that
leaves an innocent woman and child doomed without recourse from a husband and
father’s neglect. Moreover, she ironically mocks the institutional bigotry and false
sense of superiority of the story’s antagonist by exposing him to be that which he
loathes. The sad conclusion of the story is that his precious and ultimately false
ideals are of greater value to him than the love of his wife and child, a subversion of
the cliché “love conquers all.”