【正文】 her obvious. For exam pl e, i n Aesop’ s f abl e about t he counci l of t he mi ce that cannot decide who wil l bel t he cat , the t hem e i s stat ed i n t he m oral at he end: “It i s easi er t o pr opose a t hi ng than t o car r y i t out . ” In 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 it s them e, and t he whole st or y unf ol ds i t self ar ound t hat t hem e. I n som e novel s, t he t it l e i s not so nam ed but t he pl ot exi st s pr im aril y t o il l ustr at e t he them e and it i s not ver y dif fi cul t for us t o i nf er what it i s. For exam pl e, Uncl e Tom ’s Cabi n by H. B. St owe and The Grapes of Wrat h by John St ei nbeck voi ce t he t hemes of sl aver y and mi gr ator y l abor respecti vel y. The t it l e of The Grapes of Wrath es f rom a li ne in an extr emel y famous 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 t r am pl i ng out t he vi ntage where t he Gr apes of wr at h are st or ed, ” whi ch m eans “an unj ust or oppr essi ve sit uat ion, acti on or pol i cy t hat m ay infl ame desi r e f or vengeance: an expl osi ve condit i on. ” The song was writ t en by a fam ous and i nf l uenti al soci al acti vist, Juli a War d Howe. Unobvi ous t hem e: But i n most l it erar y wor ks of f icti on, t he theme 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 t her 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 is easi er t o sum up t he pl ot —t o say what happens—t han t o 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 to buy a gi ft f or a young wom an but ar ri ves t oo l at e is t o sum mari ze pl ot, not t heme. I n 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 l y, s uch a them e i s som et hi ng m or e t han t he char act er s and events of t he st or y. Most of the shor t st ori es chal enge an easy e t hem e. I n Hem i ngway’ s “A Cl ean, Wel Li ghted Pl ace,” as obser ved by Kennedy and Gi oi a, t he events ar e rat her sim pl e—a young wait er m anages to get ri d of t he ol d man f r om t he caf233。 or pl at it ude li ke “Beaut y is only ski n deep. ” If one crams every new experi ence i nto an ol d for mula, 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 bl e met hod t o 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 is enti tl ed. The t it le i s the name of t he novel and in many cases ( almost al l cases) t he noveli st i ntends i t to tel something i mport ant about t he novel . Somet imes t he centr al theme of the novel is present i n the t it le. For example, Pride and Prejudice i s about Darcy’s pr ide and El izabeth Ben’ s prej udi ce. Mai n Street i s about t he lif e of mi ddl eclass peopl e in a Midwester n town. . Thi nk what the ti tl e of For Whom the Bel l Tol ls t el l s about i ts t hem e, and As I l ay Dying. How t he novel ist shows his i nterest. I f the novel ist is i nter ested i n something, he would al low more space to i t, descri bing or nar ating in gr eat detail . Yet , somet imes he emphasi zes i t by leavi ng it out, as i n the case of Er nest Hemi ngway. The poi nt concerned her e i s that why the noveli st gives mor e at ent ion t o thi s par ti cul ar character, since or event but not others. How the noveli st deals wi th a mon subj ect . Oft en the novel ist has t o i ncl ude in hi s work some m on subjects, but i f he tr eat s the mon subjects i n an un mon way, i t shows t hat he i s tr ying t o convey something new or i mport ant i n t he novel. Maybe i t i s the t hem e that dem ands him t o do so. Important symbols. Sym bol s are l oaded wi th impor tant meani ngs. So if a symbol appears r epeatedly or at i mport ant moments, it m ay poi nt t o t he theme of the novel. A good exampl e i s the l et ter “A” in The Scarlet Let er . Import ant speeches. Char act ers t al k and in their t al k are reveal ed their j udgments of t he other character s or event. The char act er s ’ j udgment s may gi ve i m port ant clues to 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 stor 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 mi ce 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 propose 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 its theme, and t he whole stor y unfolds i tself around t hat t heme. I n som e novels, the t it le i s not so named but the plot exists pr im ar il y to il lustr at e the t hem e and it i s not very di f icult f or us to i nfer what i t is. For example, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by . Stowe and The Grapes of Wrat h by John St einbeck voi ce the themes of slaver y and mi grator y labor respect ively. The ti tle of The Grapes of Wrat h es fr om a li ne in an extr emely f amous Civi l War song, “The Bat tle Hymn of the Republi c. ” The li ne is, “He is tr ampl ing out the vi nt age wher e the Gr apes of wr ath ar e stored,” which means “an unj ust or oppr essive sit uat ion, act ion or poli cy that may inf lame desir e for vengeance: an expl osi ve con