ShmoopTube

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[Coop and Dino singing]

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Oliver Twist…is bummed. No, it’s not because he’s an orphan and

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doesn’t know who his parents are. No, it’s not because he’s half-starving. [Oliver twist walks up to a store entrance and the sign is closed]

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It’s because…he can’t figure out what the themes are in his story.

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It’s a hard-knock life, huh? Fortunately for Oliver, it shouldn’t be

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too tough for him to figure out the themes that Charles Dickens had in mind when he put [Charles puts his hand in a jar of themes]

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his story to paper. There are some things that keep showing up

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in literature, which makes them easy to spot. For example, “imagination can change the

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world.” Or, “we get by in life thanks to the kindness [Hand placing sticky notes to a table]

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of strangers.” Or, “putting your drink directly on the

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table without using a coaster can result in serious injury.” [Mother's head releases steam and her face turns red]

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Okay…maybe that last one is just something we remember our mother saying…

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In any case, to think about themes, a reader just needs to think about the conceptual words

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that seem to keep repeating in a story. The words that repeat at key points in a story [A paragraph on a piece of paper beside a pepsi can]

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are key to this process— like imagination and kindness.

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Of course, themes are not always quite so… on the nose. [A bee with fear on it's body lands on a girls nose]

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If you keep seeing words like belief, optimism and expectation…

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…well, they might be technically different words, but they’re all hinting at a theme

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of “hope.” If you come across the words gloom, misery

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and anguish during the important scenes… …there just might be a heavy “despair”

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theme running through the narrative. We’ll take the first one, please… [Boy and girl working in a coffee shop]

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Once you think you’ve tracked down a potential theme…

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…ask yourself how that word relates to the characters and the plot.

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Then, think about what the writer seems to be saying about it.

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If the theme is “hope”…is he saying that…hope springs eternal? Or that there’s [Hope elevating up to the clouds]

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no hope for our future? Or that we should all name our daughters “Hope”? [Pregnant girl holding a baby and father walks in]

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Finding the theme is just the beginning…

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…nailing down the author’s opinion of that theme is another story entirely. [Hammer nailing down the word opinion]

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Certain themes tend to keep popping up, because they are universal.

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In other words, they’re relevant to just about everyone…just about everywhere…

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and in just about every time period. It doesn't matter if you’re a little kid

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in ancient Rome or an adult in modern-day South America. [A kid dressed in Ancient Rome clothing and a modern-day man]

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There are some things about being human that we all share…

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…and there are endless ways to tell stories that use these universal themes. [Man reading a boy a bedtime story]

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So, Oliver…any luck? Social Classes…Poverty…Criminality…

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Hopelessness… Wow. You’re really in an “upper”, aren’t you, kid? [Oliver drawing graffiti on a brick wall]

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Looks like Oliver has successfully identified some of his themes.

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Too bad it didn’t cheer him up much…

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