A theme is otherwise known as an 'idea' or a 'message' that is hidden within the text.
EXAMPLE: Riddles in the Dark (Chapter 5 of The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein)
When Bilbo opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut. No one was anywhere near him. Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothing, see nothing, and he could feel nothing except the stone of the floor.
Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything: nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment. He did not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while. He thought of himself frying bacon and eggs in his own kitchen at home - for he could feel inside that it was high time for some meal or other; but that only made him miserabler.
He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened; or why he had been left behind; or why, if he had been left behind, the goblins had not caught him; or even why his head was so sore. The truth was he had been lying quiet, out of sight and out of mind, in a very dark corner for a long while.
After some time he felt for his pipe. It was not broken, and that was something. Then he felt for his pouch, and there was some tobacco in it, and that was something more. Then he felt for matches and he could not find any at all, and that shattered his hopes completely. Just as well for him, as he agreed when he came to his senses. Goodness knows what the striking of matches and the smell of tobacco would have brought on him out of dark holes in that horrible place. Still at the moment he felt very crushed. But in slapping all his pockets and feeling all round himself for matches his hand came on the hilt of his little sword - the little dagger that he got from the trolls, and that he had quite forgotten; nor do the goblins seem to have noticed it, as he wore it inside his breeches.
Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours, till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything: nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming, and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment. He did not go much further, but sat down on the cold floor and gave himself up to complete miserableness, for a long while. He thought of himself frying bacon and eggs in his own kitchen at home - for he could feel inside that it was high time for some meal or other; but that only made him miserabler.
He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened; or why he had been left behind; or why, if he had been left behind, the goblins had not caught him; or even why his head was so sore. The truth was he had been lying quiet, out of sight and out of mind, in a very dark corner for a long while.
After some time he felt for his pipe. It was not broken, and that was something. Then he felt for his pouch, and there was some tobacco in it, and that was something more. Then he felt for matches and he could not find any at all, and that shattered his hopes completely. Just as well for him, as he agreed when he came to his senses. Goodness knows what the striking of matches and the smell of tobacco would have brought on him out of dark holes in that horrible place. Still at the moment he felt very crushed. But in slapping all his pockets and feeling all round himself for matches his hand came on the hilt of his little sword - the little dagger that he got from the trolls, and that he had quite forgotten; nor do the goblins seem to have noticed it, as he wore it inside his breeches.
ACTIVITY
Read the above text and highlight words or ideas that are repeated. Then group the ideas into bundles of ideas.
LOST AND FOUND
'nor could he find anything; no nothing at all'
'he felt for matches and he could not find any at all' - he finds a ring - he finds his pipe and tobacco pouch - he finds his dagger He has lost his friends. He doesn't know where he is. |
UNCERTAINTY
'he groped around'
very slowly 'he was far from certain' 'he guessed' 'Goodness knows what...' 'He could not think what to do' 'What had happened' 'He felt for...' 'why' 'why if...' 'even why...' Goblins didn't 'seem to have noticed' |
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IDEA BUNDLES
IDEAS OF DARKNESS AND TOUCH
IDEAS OF LOST AND FOUND
IDEAS OF UNCERTAINTY
IDEAS OF EMOTION ranging from fright to hope
IDEAS OF DARKNESS AND TOUCH
IDEAS OF LOST AND FOUND
IDEAS OF UNCERTAINTY
IDEAS OF EMOTION ranging from fright to hope
EXPLANATION
Closely analysing a text in this way helps you to identify repeated words, ideas or suggestions and repetition is a key indicator of theme.
It's important to note 'implication' from within the text as well as just words. For example, There is nothing that explicitly states that Bilbo has been left behind, but the word use and the obvious fact that he is alone in the dark implies that he is lost or has been left behind. We can assume from this (if we didn't already know the first part of the story) that a) he has been deliberately left behind by his friends b) he has a characteristic of self-pity because he feels as though he has been left behind. The reader only has the evidence of this sentence:
He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened; or why he had been left behind; or why, if he had been left behind, the goblins had not caught him;
to interpret and understand which of the options is correct or appropriate to the situation.
People who are more familiar with the book will know that this is the introduction to the rest of the chapter whereby Bilbo and Gollum have a sparring match through riddles. Once aware of this fact, then the reader is able to understand more why Tolkein has used this suggestive writing style. He is giving us clues to the pending guessing game by writing about nothing much at all. In his situation, Bilbo has nothing much to go on in order to discover his location or a way out. However, the writer has already illustrated the process that should be undertaken through his word use. The 'uncertainty bundle' above shows us the strategies that should be used when engaging in guessing games such as: groping around for information; finding out what is known; and considering using other senses such as touch and feel. Texts are always rich with clues and Tolkein was a talented writer who carefully led his reader into this puzzle-rich scene from a place of isolation and despair.
It's important to note 'implication' from within the text as well as just words. For example, There is nothing that explicitly states that Bilbo has been left behind, but the word use and the obvious fact that he is alone in the dark implies that he is lost or has been left behind. We can assume from this (if we didn't already know the first part of the story) that a) he has been deliberately left behind by his friends b) he has a characteristic of self-pity because he feels as though he has been left behind. The reader only has the evidence of this sentence:
He could not think what to do; nor could he think what had happened; or why he had been left behind; or why, if he had been left behind, the goblins had not caught him;
to interpret and understand which of the options is correct or appropriate to the situation.
People who are more familiar with the book will know that this is the introduction to the rest of the chapter whereby Bilbo and Gollum have a sparring match through riddles. Once aware of this fact, then the reader is able to understand more why Tolkein has used this suggestive writing style. He is giving us clues to the pending guessing game by writing about nothing much at all. In his situation, Bilbo has nothing much to go on in order to discover his location or a way out. However, the writer has already illustrated the process that should be undertaken through his word use. The 'uncertainty bundle' above shows us the strategies that should be used when engaging in guessing games such as: groping around for information; finding out what is known; and considering using other senses such as touch and feel. Texts are always rich with clues and Tolkein was a talented writer who carefully led his reader into this puzzle-rich scene from a place of isolation and despair.