EXAMPLES OF THEMES & MOTIFS
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Crime and Punishment.- Th: 1.Alienation / Isolation from Society; 2. The Idea of the Superman 3. Nihilism. 4. Crime doesn't pay
1. At first, Raskolnikov’s pride separates him from society. He sees himself as superior to all other people and so cannot relate to anyone. Within his personal philosophy, he sees other people as tools and uses them for his own ends.
2. At the beginning of the novel, Raskolnikov sees himself as a “superman,” a person who is extraordinary and thus above the moral rules that govern the rest of humanity. His vaunted estimation of himself compels him to separate himself from society. His murder of the pawnbroker is, in part, a consequence of his belief that he is above the law and an attempt to establish the truth of his superiority. Raskolnikov’s inability to quell his subsequent feelings of guilt, however, proves to him that he is not a “superman.”
3. Nihilism was a philosophical position developed in Russia in the 1850s and 1860s, known for “negating more,” in the words of Lebezyatnikov. It rejected family and societal bonds and emotional and aesthetic concerns in favor of a strict materialism, or the idea that there is no “mind” or “soul” outside of the physical world. Linked to nihilism is utilitarianism, or the idea that moral decisions should be based on the rule of the greatest happiness for the largest number of people.
4. Crime will ultimately not benefit a person. if you do something illegal, you will probably be caught and punished
East of Eden. Th: 1. The Perpetual Contest / struggle between Good and Evil; 2. The Freedom to overcome evil.
1. In Chapter 34 of East of Eden, the narrator articulates his belief that the struggle between good and evil is the one recurring narrative of human history. In fact, he goes so far as to state that there “is no other story.”Every human individual since Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel has struggled with the choice between good and evil. The narrator writes that each person, when looking back on his or her life, “will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?” Because the struggle is an individual one, the narrator implies that no progress is made through the generations—each person must reenact the same ancient story and grapple with the same ancient problems.
2. This idea of free choice is encapsulated in the Hebrew word timshel, the meaning of which Adam’s housekeeper, Lee, has researched. The word, which translates to “thou mayest,” appears in the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible, when God tells Cain that he has the freedom to choose to overcome sin. Lee sees this idea of free will as central to the human condition—in fact, he says that timshel might be the “most important word in the world.”
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You might like to choose one of the following examples of themes – that appeals to you and try writing a story about it.
- Alienation – The effects of, the loneliness of, to cure it.
- Ambition – getting what you want, stunted by, thwarted.
- Betrayal – the pain of, in love and friendship.
- Coming of age – loss of innocence.
- Courage – courage to deal with conflict, lack of, developing, conquering with.
- Deception – how to deceive, results of.
- Discovery – what does it take to discover new places, inner meaning, strength, even treasure.
- Escape – from life, routine, prison, family pressures.
- Death – how to escape, facing, what happens after, consequences of.
- Fear – driven by, dealing with, conquering.
- Freedom – loss of, gaining, handling, fight for.
- Good versus evil – survival of one despite the other, triumph of one over the other.
- Isolation – physical and emotional.
- Jealousy – trouble caused by, denial of, driven by.
- Justice – the fight for, injustice, truth versus justice.
- Loss – of life, innocence, love, friends, to avoid.
- Loneliness – no man is an island, or hell is other people.
- Love – love fades, is blind, can overcome all obstacles, can
- Lust – for power, for sex.
- Power – the search for, the loss of, what we are willing to exchange for.
- Prejudice – racism, bigotry, snobbery, dealing with.
- Security – the loss of, the finding of the need for, how we act when security is shattered.
- Spirituality and God – the struggle to find faith, live without faith etc.
- Survival – man versus nature
CHOOSING YOUR STORY THEME – KEY POINTS
- Give a lot of thought to choosing your story theme. Remember you will need to be obsessed with your chosen theme to keep writing about it for long periods of time.
- Being aware of your themes can help you sell your books.
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* Crime doesn't pay.- Crime will ultimately not benefit a person. if you do something illegal, you will probably be caught and punished (Crime and Punishment)
* Bullying and Isolation
* Vanity.- The vanity of human wishes.
* Human reactions.- The fact that human reactions are unpredictable.
* Human wisdom vs materialism.- "The Bet" proves that if a man achieved the highest human wisdom he wouldn't care about money and material things. (Anton Chekhov).
* Old money vs new money. Big spender. Who spends more? New money tend to be more driven (motivated, determined), they're willing to get their hands dirty and they came from much less so they know what it's like to have to work your way to the top (The Great Gatsby)
* The decadent downside (disadvantage) of the American dream. (The Great Gatsby)
* The excesses of the rich and the recklessness of the youth.The hedonistic Jazz Age; (The Great Gatsby).
* Social expectations of the upper-class White woman: dutiful wife, keeper of the house and charming socialite (member of fashionable society). "A beautiful Little fool" who is completely reliant on her husband for financial and social security, status and confort. (The Great Gatsby).
* The corruption of the American Dream
* The perils of Idealism. He puts Daisy Buchanan into a pedestal, and as a result, he loses clarity. Infatuation based on objectification. She becomes the symbol of everything he wants, rather than the complex human being she really is. Because of this tendency to romaticize, Gatsby cannot see Daisy's selfishness. He puts on rose-colored glasses and cannot see clearly.
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