Journal 27: Theme in Your Original Short Story

The meaning of a work of literature is its theme--the central idea or insight into life or human nature that the writer wants the reader to remember. (In a short story, usually one theme stands out. However, in novels and movies, there is often more than one theme communicated.) To give you examples of themes, here are four universal themes that show up again and again in literature:

  • People can learn from the mistakes and triumphs of past generations.
  • When it comes to war, there are no winners.
  • Difficult choices are part of growing up.
  • Love binds people together.

Please take a few minutes to reflect on your short story so far. How well does your short story communicate a theme so far, and what else can you still do in your story to bring this theme to life for your reader?

1. In a few sentences, summarize your story's plot--its main characters, central conflict, most significant events and details, and the way the conflict is resolved at the end.

2. At this point, what do you think is the theme of your story? In other words, what issue of importance does your story examine or bring to life, and what central idea or insight about this issue (about life, about human nature, about relationships or growing-up, etc.) does your story seem to communicate?

3. How do you think you can bring your story's theme to life more fully or more powerfully? Specifically, what can you add to your story to give your reader clues to your story's theme?

Can you use any of these techniques to bring your story's theme to life?

    • A Significant Statement — A line of dialogue spoken by a character or an observation made by the narrator can communicate theme clearly.
    • A Character's Traits, Learning, and Growth – What key traits do the main character's thoughts and actions reveal about her or him? Moreover, what does the main character learn, or how does the main character grow or change?
    • Conflict and Plot - A story revolves around conflicts that are central to its theme. What conflicts do the characters face, and how are the conflicts resolved? Is the resolution portrayed positively or negatively?
    • Title - The title may reflect a story's subject or significant idea. It may refer to a significant detail or symbol in the story, it may express multiple meanings, and it may also emphasize key ideas in the story.
    • Setting - Setting can convey theme because of what it means to the characters and readers. How does the setting affect the characters and the plot? What might it represent?
    • Foil Characters – To communicate theme, writers often use a minor character as a foil to emphasize the significant traits of a main character. 
    • Motif and Symbolism – A motif is a pattern created in a story by the repetition of an image, word, action, or idea that points to some sort of meaning. A symbol is an image, word, object, action, or anything else in a story that not only plays a literal role in the story, but that also suggests a larger idea or meaning. (For example, Ponyboy’s and Johnny’s greased hair in The Outsiders can be viewed as a symbol. So can the church on the mountaintop. So can George’s solitaire games in Of Mice and Men. And so can Slim’s puppies.)
    • Irony – Irony is an intentional discrepancy between appearance and reality, between expectation and outcome, or between what the author seems to be saying and what the author actually is saying. When an author uses irony, there is something significant readers should recognize and understand that one or more characters fail to recognize or understand. (In The Outsiders, Johnny writes to Ponyboy, “There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don’t think he knows.” This statement is an example of irony because Dally already gave up on life and got himself killed before Ponyboy read Johnny’s letter.)
    • Allusion – An allusion is a reference to another story, poem, song, book, myth, or person that suggests a key idea or theme. (In The Outsiders, the reference to Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is an allusion.)

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Journal 26: Great Stories, Characters, & Conflicts

Today we are beginning a creative-writing project: an original short story. Before we start on the project, here are a few topics I would like you to consider and write about:

1. What are your favorite stories; the stories you find most interesting or exciting, most compelling or worth reading? Discuss a few of these stories that stand out in your memory and imagination. What exactly about each of these stories makes it one of your favorites, or makes it a great story for you? (You may include movies, if necessary.)

2. Who are some of your favorite characters you have encountered in your reading (and in movies, if necessary)? What traits, actions, or other characteristics makes each of these people a favorite character for you? Moreover, are any of these characters your favorites because they are complicated, multi-sided characters--or for the opposite reason, because they are simple, one-sided, and easy to understand? Do any of these characters actually help you understand better what it means to be human? 

3. Conflict in fiction can be internal (person vs. self) or external (person vs. person, person vs. society, or person vs. nature). What are the most interesting conflicts you have ever encountered in stories? What made these conflicts interesting? Moreover, can you think of any particularly interesting conflicts or struggles that you might like to explore for a character in a story of your own?

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Journal 25: First Half of Whale Rider

Speaking about leadership and about being the director of Whale Rider, director Niki Caro said these words: "I needed to understand what leadership is, and as the leader of this film, as the director, I understand that leadership is not about shouting and screaming. It's about being the person that serves the rest and creates an environment in which people feel encouraged to do their best work."

1) Traits of a Leader - Whale Rider is the story of a community that needs a new leader to guide the people forward and to bring out what is best in the people. In your opinion, what makes someone a good leader, and why? Discuss the three most important traits that you think a leader needs to possess, and explain why each trait is important.

2) Koro's Rules - Koro is the Chief and the leader of Pai’s community; he is looking for the boy who will become the next leader of the community. Nanny, Pai's grandmother, tells Pai that Koro "has a lot of rules he has to live by.” What seem to be the most important rules that Koro lives by, and how can we tell? Identify at least three "rules" that Koro lives by so far. Moreover, is Koro a good leader for his people, or not? Support your answer by giving three specific examples from the movie that show whether or not Koro is a good leader.

3) Your Ancestors' Cultural Traditions - One important dimension of Whale Rider is the fact that it provides us with an interesting "window" into Maori culture, traditions, and customs. Every human being has ancestors, and every human being's ancestors come from a culture that possesses traditions and customs. Describe the cultural traditions and customs of your ancestors. (These can include ethnic or regional traditions and customs; religious beliefs, traditions, and customs; important arts, crafts, and activities specific to a cultural tradition, etc.) Where did your ancestors come from, and what cultural traditions and customs did they follow? Moreover, have you continued to follow any of these same customs and traditions, or have you left behind any of these ancestral customs and traditions? Explain why.

4) Pai's Conflicts & Character - What are the specific conflicts that Pai has faced in the movie so far, and how do her actions, words, and decisions reveal her important character traits? Identify at least three significant things Pai does, says, or decides so far and the character traits that are revealed by each of these examples. 

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Journal 24: Chores, Responsibilities, Manners, & Consequences

1) Who cooks and prepares your meals? Also, who washes your dishes? Moreover, whowashes, dries, and folds your clothes, bedsheets, towels, etc.? (In other words, are youresponsible for doing any of these chores for yourself, or are these chores done for you by other people?) Overall, what percentage of these chores would you say that you do yourself, and what percentage of these chores do other people do for you? How do you feel about that fact? 

2) Now here is a more general question: If children are not taught to clean up their own messes, prepare their own meals, and take care of themselves in these basic ways, what negative consequences can occur when they reach adulthood and no longer have people to clean up after them? How can this fact harm their relationships with other people? Moreover, how can this fact actually harm the planet on which we live?

3) In your opinion, does teaching manners to children and teaching children to be politehelp children learn to respect and consider the well-being of other people, or are manners and politeness not very effective at teaching children to respect and consider the well-being of other people? If teaching manners and politeness is not very effective, what do you think is the most effective way to teach young children to go beyond their self-centeredness care about the well-being of others? 

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Journal 23: Morality & Human Goodness

It's no secret that human beings can be selfish creatures who care only about themselves, who view other humans as either rivals or allies, and who ignore the needs and suffering of others. However, we also know that human beings can be kind creatures who treat others with respect, fairness, and even compassion. Apparently, we humans can go either way; perhaps we can choose to be selfish OR kind. 

Why are people good and kind to others, and not 100% selfish all the time? In your opinion, what makes us human beings "moral" creatures who actually treat others withkindness, honesty, and compassion? Where do you think our moral goodness comes from?

Do your best to explain your ideas, and provide some evidence from your own life and experiences, from your relationships, etc.

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Journal 22: Heroism

1) To you, what does it mean to be a hero? In your view, what are the most heroic traits or actions that a person can demonstrate? Why do you find these specific traits or actions heroic? Please explain your reasoning fully.

2) Based on what you said in #1 above, identify two or three specific people who strike you as heroic, and for each person, explain what specific traits or actions make that person heroic to you. Also, is each of these people's heroism obvious, or is it easy to miss? Why?

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Journal 21: Ancient Stories & Myths

In this class, we read and study a number of stories, including Homer's Odyssey, which is one of the oldest stories in existence. As a matter of fact, the Odyssey actually existed before the ancient Greeks invented written language; this story could be as old as 3,500 to 4,000 years old.

In general, do you think ancient stories and myths are worth knowing, or not? Why do you think so?

  • To explain your ideas, discuss at least one ancient story or myth that you know of andwhy or why not it seems worth knowing to you.
  • Moreover, are there any ancient stories you know of that are actually important in the world today, stories that actually have an important influence in how people live their lives?
Last modified: Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 11:55 AM