Theme essay- “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
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wrnaxb1998
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As discussed earlier, theme is often defined as the truth about life as an author sees it. However, because of your experiences you might discover any number of lessons or truths in a piece of literature. It doesn’t matter what message or lesson you discern as long as you provide EVIDENCE to back up your position. The problem here is often that you might glean one idea and head off into the wild blue yonder without much evidence. Remember you are arguing an interpretation. Make your claim in your introductory paragraph then build your case in the body paragraphs of the essay through examples and quotations from the piece.
Be sure to support your positions with specific, concrete examples from the story.
OVERVIEW: ELEMENTS OF FICTION: THEME
Theme - the controlling idea or central insight. It can be a revelation of human character but a theme is not the "moral" of the story.
A. A theme must be expressible in the form of a statement - not "motherhood" but "Motherhood sometimes has more frustration than reward."
B. A theme must be stated as a generalization about life; names of characters or specific situations in the plot are not to be used when stating a theme.
C. A theme must not be a generalization larger than is justified by the terms of the story.
D. A theme is the central and unifying concept of the story. It must adhere to the following requirements:
1. It usually accounts for all the major details of the story.
2. It must not rely on supposed facts - facts not actually stated or clearly implied by the story.
E. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
F. Any statement that reduces a theme to some familiar saying, aphorism, or cliché should be avoided. Do not use "A stitch in time saves nine," "You can't judge a book by its cover, " "Fish and guests smell in three days," and so on.
B. Theme— Another look…
Theme has to do with what you see as the story’s point, message, function, or implied view of life and conduct. The “theme” is always a generalization gathered from the collective effect of all elements of a story. Remember that there may be multiple themes in a story that often reinforce, but sometimes even contradict each other. Enjoy the pleasure of making compelling connections and the responsibility that comes from questioning and critiquing the story as a whole.
MLA format- 12 in font- 1” margi
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