Themestatements Thefollowingisalistofcommon,universaltopics: Topic

Meaning

alienation

feelingaloneorseparatefromthegroup

pursuitofgoals

doingwhatyoumusttoaccomplishsomething

hopeanddisillusionment

anticipatingsomethingonlytodiscoverwhat youwantisimpossible

realityandillusion

whatisrealversuswhatyouwronglythinkis real

traditionandchange

movingfromusual,comfortablepracticetonew methods

relationships

howindividualsgetalonginallcircumstances

censorship humaninteraction

preventingthepopulationfromlearning informationthatmayharmthem theimportanceofauthenticcontactwithothers

Tofocusthesetopicstoformthebasisofinterestingdiscussions,youfirst havetouncovertheircomplexity.Thefollowingtutorialdemonstratesone methodofexaminingatopictocreateastatementoftheme.

Tutorial:ComposingaThemeStatement Tocomposeawelldevelopedthemestatement,considervarious aspectsofatopic.Dothisbyaskingyourselfseveralquestions. Whatisthetopicabout? Whyisthetopicanimportantissue? Whodoesthetopicinvolve? Howdoesthetopicaffecttheaverageperson? Whatproblemsorissuesarisebecauseofthistopic? Howdoesthetopicaffectthewaysocietyfunctions?

Forexample,ifyourtopicisthegenerationgap,youmightask yourselfthefollowingquestionstogainanunderstandingofthe topicanduncoversomeofitscomplexities. Whatisthegenerationgap? Whyisthegenerationgapanimportantissue? Whodoesthegenerationgapinvolve? Howdoesitaffecttheaverageperson? Whatproblemsorissuesarisebecauseofthistopic? Howdoesitaffectthewaysocietyfunctions?

Youranswerstosuchquestionswillquicklyuncoverthecomplexity ofthistopic.

SampleProcedureforComposingaThemeStatement RefiningaTopic: TheGenerationGap Whatisthegenerationgap?

Thegenerationgapisaseparation(gap)ofonegenerationfromanother becauseofvaluesandbeliefs.Forexample,parentswhobelievethat educationisessentialtoasuccessfullifestylemaypushtheirchildrento succeedinschool,college,anduniversity.However,childrenmaybelieve socializationleadstoasuccessfullifestyleandmaybecontentwith mediocregradesinhighschoolandnoaspirationsforpostsecondary education.

Whyisthegenerationgapanimportantissue?
Familiesarethebasisofsocietyparentsteachchildrenfundamental valuestosucceed.Iffamilymembersclashconstantlyregardingone belief,memberswillseparateassoonaspossibleandthefamilyunitwill breakdown.Valuesessentialtopeaceandharmonywillceasetoexist insidethehome.

Whodoesthegenerationgapinvolve?
Parentsandchildren,orindividualsfromsuccessivegenerationswho usuallyhaveagreatdealofinteractionandinfluenceoneachother.

Howdoesgenerationgapaffecttheaverageperson?
Anindividualwhoregularlydoesnotagreewithsomeonefromanother generationmaythinksurvivalofthefittestresultinginonewinneristhe onlywaytosolveconflicts.Heorshemaynotlearnthebenefitsof cooperationandmayhaveanegativeoutlookinlife.

Whatproblemsorissuesarisebecauseofthistopic? Individualsfromdifferentgenerationsusuallyhaveopposing viewpointsanddonotrespectoreventrytotoleratetheothers values. Howdoesgenerationgapaffectthewaysocietyfunctions?

Individualswhoresorttosurvivalofthefittestmethodstendtobully otherstoaccomplishtheirgoals.Appreciationofsharing,helping,and kindnessarelostanddailyroutinebecomesonewiththebattlefield. Peoplemaychoosetocutthemselvesofffromotherstoavoidan altercation,andthuswillbedeprivedofthejoysoffriendshipand togetherness.

Afteryourquestionandanswerexercise,youmaybeabletoexpressthe topicasanextendedthematicstatement,suchasinthefollowingexample.

ThematicStatementforTheGenerationGap: Whenindividualsofsuccessivegenerationsdisagreeabout essentialbeliefsandvalues,theresultinggapin communicationhasadestructiveeffectontheirrelationship aswellashowsocietyfunctions.

Noticethatthefollowingthematicstatementscanapplytoyouoranyonein theworld.Themestatementsdonotmentiondetailsfromliterature.

SampleThemeStatements Longheldbeliefsandvaluesrarelychangeunlessstimulatedbya dramaticevent.

Whentornbetweentwoseparateworlds,eachwithitsownsetof values,individualsmustworktofindtheirowntruebeliefs.

Achild'ssenseofidentitycomesfrominteractingwithothers. Ifno positiverolemodelisavailable,thechildmayneverreachhis/her truepotential.

Thefollowingcharthassomehelpfulhintsforwritingstatements oftheme. Do expressthethemeasageneral commentonasubject. WellWrittenStatements Peoplewithrealisticgoalstend tobemoresuccessfulthanthose whoputlittlethoughtintotheir future. Peoplewhocommitcrimesmay bepunishedinunexpectedways. Gossipcancauseserious damagetoapersonsreputation. Povertymaytransformhonest peopleintocriminals.

expressthethemeinyourown words. expressthethemeasan insightintolife. usequalifyingwordsina thematicstatement,suchas sometimes,can,may,and often. drawageneralinsightfroma charactersbehaviour.

Friendsarenotalways trustworthy.

Donot expressthethemeasasubject ortopic. expressthethemeasanadage orfamiliarsaying. expressthethemeasamoral. makeathematicstatementtoo general.Avoidbroad generalizationswithwords suchaseveryone,always, never,andall. refertospecificcharactersina thematicstatement.

PoorlyWrittenStatements

The theme is goals for the future. Crime doesnt pay. Its wrong to gossip about people. Poverty always causes crime.

Montag learned not to trust others around him.