【正文】 a phrase, t hen the phrase must be convert ible to sent ence f orm . One can say that the t hem e of a novel is “f uti lit y of envy. ” The phr ase can be changed t o “envy i s fut ile. ” When one chooses to st at e a theme in t he phr ase f orm , he must be very car ef ul about it s convert ibil it y t o sentence for m. For instance ,the phr ase “sel fl es m at ernal love” does not al ways mean that “m at ernal love is self less. ” The t hem e is general izati on about l if e based on the novel, and t he st atement of theme should be true also of ot her people or l if e sit uat ions. Ther efore, names of character s and pl aces shoul d not be m ent ioned, f or they suggest speci fi c thi ngs and i nvi te lim it at ions. So in t hem at ic di scussi on of Wuthering H ei ghts, one m ay menti on “people’s psychology of r evenge, ” but not “Heathcli f ’s.” Though a theme i s a generali zat ion, over general izat ion shoul d be avoided. Since a theme is extr act ed fr om a part icular novel ( a part icular event) , it may not be appl icable t o al sit uat ions. So wor ds li ke “al ways, ” “never, ” “al l, ” and “every” shoul d be avoi ded. I nst ead, one should use wor ds l ike “some,” “som et im es, ” and “m ay.” When making a generali zat ion, one should st ri ct ly keep t o what i s act ual ly in t he novel and not smuggle i nto i t assumpti ons supplied f r om his pa st experi ence. Since theme is t he cent ral and uni fying idea of the novel, it m ust account f or all t he major det ai ls and must not be contradict ed by an detai ls i n the novel. Si nce a theme i s dif ferent from a moral or a leson, one should avoi d reduci ng a them e to a cl ich233。 or pl at it ude li ke “Beaut y is only ski n deep. ” If one crams every new exper ience i nto an ol d f or mul a, he l oses the opport uni ty of new per cepti on provided by r eadi ng novels. IV. Wher e t o Look for t he Theme The noveli st m ay st at e or impl y t he theme. He uses ever y possi ble met hod to convey t he theme. Though t he theme i s based upon the whol e novel, pr act icaly, we can speci fy some i mport ant areas in which t o look f or the t heme. How the novel i s ent it led. The ti tl e is t he nam e of the novel and i n many cases (al most al cases) the novel ist int ends i t o t el l somet hi ng im por tant about t he novel. Someti mes the centr al t hem e of the novel i s pr esent in the ti tl e. For exam ple, Pri de and Prej udi ce is about Dar cy’ s pri de and Eli zabeth Ben’ s pr ejudice. Main Stret i s about the l if e of middle clas people i n a Midwestern town.. Think what t he ti tle of For Whom t he Bel Toll s tel s about it s theme, and As I lay Dyi ng. H ow t he novel ist shows hi s int erest. I f t he novel ist is i nt erested i n som et hing, he woul d al ow m or e space t o it , descri bi ng or nar r at ing i n great det ai l. Yet, someti mes he emphasizes it by l eavi ng it out, as in t he case of Er nest Hemingway. The poi nt concer ned her e is t hat why the novel ist gives more at tenti on to t his part icular char act er, since or event but not others. How t he novel ist deal s wi th a mon subject. Of ten t he novel ist has t o include i n his wor k some mon subjects, but i f he t reats the mon subject s in an unm on way, i t shows that he is t ryi ng to convey som et hing new or i mport ant i n the novel . Maybe it i s the t heme that demands him to do so. Important sym bol s. Sym bol s are l oaded wi th import ant m eanings. So if a symbol appears r epeatedly or at im por tant moments, it may poi nt t o the t hem e of the novel . A good exam pl e is the let ter “A” in The Scarlet Let er . Im port ant speeches. Char act ers t al k and in their t al k are r evealed t heir judgments of t he ot her character s or event. The char act er s’ j udgm ent s may give i mport ant clues t o the t hem e. V. Obvious and unobvious t heme Obvious t hem e: The t hem e of a st ory, si nce we know, i s whatever general idea or insight the enti re st or y r eveals. In some st or ies, the t heme is r at her obvious. For example, in Aesop’s f abl e about t he council of the m ice that cannot decide who wil l bel l the cat, the t hem e is stat ed in t he moral at the end: “I t is easi er t o pr opose a thi ng than t o car ry it out. ” In some novels, the t itl e may of fer a suggesti on about the m ai n theme. For exampl e, Jane Aust en’ s Pri de and Prej udi ce is named aft er it s theme, and t he whole stor y unfol ds i tself around t hat t heme. I n som e novels, the t it le i s not so named but the pl ot exists pr im ar il y t o il lustr at e the t heme and it i s not very di f icult f or us to i nfer what it is. For example, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by H. B. St owe and The Grapes of Wrath by John Stei nbeck voice the t hem es of slavery and m igr at ory l abor r espectively. The ti tl e of The Grapes of Wrath es f rom a l ine in an ext remely famous Ci vi l War song, “The Batl e Hymn of t he Republ ic.” The l ine i s, “He i s tr ampli ng out t he vintage where the Gr apes of wr ath ar e st ored,” whi ch means “an unjust or oppr essive sit uat ion, act ion or poli cy that m ay inf lame desi re for vengeance: an expl osi ve condit ion.” The song was wr it ten by a f amous and infl uent ial soci al acti vi st, Jul ia Ward Howe. Unobvi ous theme: But i n most li terar y wor ks of f ict ion, the theme i s sel dom so obvious. That is, general ly a t hem e is not a mor al nor a message, nei ther is i t cl ear ly conveyed i n the t it le. When we fi ni sh reading a f inely wrought st ory, it i s easier to sum up the pl ot —to say what happens—than to descri be the mai n idea. To say of Jam es Joyce’ s “Araby” that it i s about a boy who goes to a bazaar t o buy a gif t for a young woman but ar ives too l at e i s to summar ize plot , not theme. In many fi ne shor t st o