【正文】 i ce t hat cannot decide who wi l bel t he cat , t he t hem e i s stat ed i n t he m oral at t he end: “It i s easi er t o pr opose a thi ng t han t o car ry i t out . ” I n some novel s, t he ti tl e may of fer a suggest i on about the m ai n t heme. For exampl e, Jane Aust en’ s Pri de and Prej udi ce is named aft er i t s t hem e, and t he whole st or y unfol ds i tself ar ound t hat t hem e. I n som e novel s, t he t it le i s not so named but t he pl ot exist s pr im ar il y t o il lustr at e t he t hem e and it i s not ver y di f i cult f or us to i nfer what it is. For exam pl e, Uncl e Tom’s Cabi n by H. B. St owe and The Grapes of Wrat h by John Stei nbeck voi ce t he t hem es of sl avery and mi gr at or y l abor r espect i vel y. The ti tl e of The Grapes of Wrat h es f r om a li ne i n an ext remel y fam ous Ci vi l War song, “The Bat tl e Hym n of t he Republ ic. ” The l i ne i s, “He i s tr ampli ng out t he vi nt age wher e the Gr apes of wr ath ar e st ored,” whi ch means “an unj ust or oppr esive sit uat i on, act ion or poli cy that m ay i nf lame desir e f or vengeance: an expl osi ve condit i on. ” The song was writ t en by a fam ous and i nf luent i al soci al acti vist, Jul i a War d Howe. Unobvious t hem e: But in m ost li t er ary wor ks of fi cti on, t he t hem e i s sel dom so obvi ous. That i s, general y a t hem e is not a m or al nor a m essage, nei ther is i t cl ear l y conveyed i n t he ti tl e. When we fi nish r eadi ng a fi nel y wr ought st or y, i t i s easi er t o sum up t he pl ot —t o say what happens—t han to descr i be t he mai n idea. To say of Jam es Joyce’ s “Araby” t hat it i s about a boy who goes t o a bazaar t o buy a gi ft f or a young wom an but ar ri ves t oo lat e is t o summ ari ze pl ot, not them e. In m any fi ne short st or i es, them e i s the cent er, t he m ovi ng f or ce, t he pri nci pl e of unit y. Cl ear ly, such a t hem e i s som et hi ng mor e t han t he char act er s and events of t he st ory. Most of t he shor t st ori es chal enge an easy e t heme. I n Hem i ngway’s “A Clean, Wel l Li ght ed Pl ace, ” as obser ved by Kennedy and Gioi a, t he events ar e rat her sim pl e—a young wait er m anages t o get ri d of t he ol d m an f r om t he caf 233。 or plati tude l ike “Beauty i s onl y ski n deep.” I f one crams ever y new experi ence i nt o an old for mula, he loses t he oppor tunit y of new percepti on pr ovided by r eading novels. IV. Wher e to Look f or the Theme The novel ist may stat e or i mpl y the t hem e. He uses ever y possibl e method t o convey t he theme. Though t he theme is based upon t he whole novel, practi cal ly, we can specif y some im por tant areas in whi ch to look f or t he theme. How t he novel i s enti tl ed. The ti tl e is the name of the novel and i n many cases ( al most al cases) the novel ist int ends i t to t el l som et hing i mport ant about t he novel. Someti mes the centr al t hem e of the novel i s present in the t it le. For example, Pri de and Prej udi ce is about Dar cy’s pri de and Eli zabeth Ben’ s prejudice. Mai n Street i s about the l if e of middl e clas people i n a Midwestern town.. Think what t he ti tl e of For Whom t he Bel Toll s tel s about i ts t heme, and As I l ay Dyi ng. How t he novel ist shows hi s int erest. I f the novel ist is i nterested i n somet hing, he would al ow mor e space t o it , descri bing or nar r at ing i n great det ail . Yet , someti mes he emphasizes it by l eavi ng it out, as in the case of Er nest Hem ingway. The poi nt concer ned her e is t hat why the novel ist gives more at tenti on to this 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 r eats the mon subject s in an unm on way, i t shows t hat 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. Symbol s ar e l oaded wi th i mport ant meanings. So if a symbol appear s r epeatedly or at im por tant moments, it may point t o the t hem e of the novel . A good exampl e is t he let er “A” in The Scarlet Let ter . Im port ant speeches. Char act er s tal k and in t hei r tal k are r evealed t hei r judgments of the ot her characters or event . The character s’ j udgments may give i mport ant clues to the theme. V. Obvious and unobvious theme Obvious theme: The t heme of a st ory, si nce we know, i s whatever gener al idea or insight the enti re stor y r eveals. In some stor ies, t he theme i s rat her obvious. For exampl e, in Aesop’s f abl e about the counci l of the mi ce t hat cannot deci de who wil l bel l the cat, the t hem e is st at ed in t he mor al at the end: “I t is easi er to pr opose a t hi ng than t o car r y it out. ” In some novels, the t it le m ay of fer a suggesti on about the m ai n t heme. For exampl e, Jane Aust en’ s Pri de and Prej udice is named af ter it s theme, and t he whole stor y unfol ds itself ar ound t hat t hem e. I n som e novel s, t he ti le is not so named but the pl ot exist s pr im ar il y t o il lustr ate t he theme and it i s not very dif fi cul t f or us to i nfer what it is. For exampl e, Uncle Tom ’s Cabin by . Stowe and The Grapes of Wrat h by John Steinbeck voi ce the t hem es of slavery and mi grat or y l abor r espect ively. The ti tl e of The Grapes of Wrath es f rom a li ne in an extr emely f amous Civi l War song, “The Bat tl e Hymn of t he Republi c.” The l ine i s, “He i s tr am pli ng out t he vi ntage where t he Gr apes of wr at h are st or ed,” whi ch means “an unjust or oppressi ve si tuati on, acti on or pol icy t hat may i nfl ame desi re f or vengeance: an explosive condit ion.” The song was wr it ten by a f am ous and i nfl uent ial social act