The primary subject of fiction is human emotion, values, and beliefs. The characters in the story change as a result of the events of the story.

A story must have a purpose. Great stories have purposes of great significance to the understanding of the nature of humanity.

It is not enough for a story to be convincing; a good story entertains and enlightens the reader.

One of the marks of a great work of literature is the significance of its theme.

Basically and broadly the theme is the central idea or statement about life that unifies and controls the total work.

Theme is not the issue or problem or subject with which the work deals but rather it is the comment or statement the author makes about the subject as it necessarily and inevitably emerges from the interplay of the various elements of the work.

Theme is the author's way of communicating and sharing ideas, perceptions and feelings with the reader or of probing and exploring the puzzling questions of human existence with the reader.

Any discussion of theme must take plot, character, point of view, and setting into account.

Theme is organically related to the total structure of a novel. Every aspect of the plot, characters, point of view, and setting in a novel contributes in some way to the theme of that novel.

• In some fiction, especially genre fiction (i.e. romance westerns gothics science fiction detective novels) theme may be less fully developed than other story elements.
  • The basic theme of the romance novel is some variant of "The path of true love never runs smooth."
  • The basic theme of detective fiction is that good triumphs over evil.
• It is entirely possible to disagree on what the theme of a work is. Authors are not always the most reliable guide to the meaning of their own work.
  • Consider D. H. Lawrence's warning: "Never trust the teller; trust the tale."
  • To justify your decision about the theme of the work, you should be able to show how the other elements of fiction (plot, character, point of view, and setting) serve to display and reinforce the theme.
• Don't confuse theme with subject or plot. Theme is the abstract generalized statement or comment the novel makes about a subject or situation.
  • In Gone With the Wind the plot can be simply described as: Girl meets boy; girl gets boy; girl loses boy against the backdrop of the Civil War. The theme is "Tomorrow is another day."
  • In The Wizard of Oz the plot concerns Dorothy's quest to see the wizard and help her friends obtain missing parts of their personalities; the theme is "There's No Place Like Home."
• Beware of the danger of understating (i.e. overlooking) or overstating (i.e¬ attaching too much importance to) the theme.
  • Don't overlook the last two pages of The Great Gatsby which deliberately equate Gatsby's dream with America.
• Theme should be totally supported by the other elements of the work; if it isn't the work itself is flawed.
• The title can often suggest a focus or emphasis in the work and can point to the novel's theme.