Theme in Short Stories


Understanding Theme

The theme of a story is the central idea or message that the story expresses. 
The theme is often an insight about human nature or about society.  Usually, it is timeless.  It is the message that the author is trying to communicate to the reader.

A theme should not be expressed with just a single word.  Love is not a theme.  Love is a topic.  What is the author trying to say about love?  Answering that question might help you express theme when you think the topic is love.

Sometimes, we try to summarize a theme by using a cliché or a moral.  Love is blind is not a theme; it is a cliché.  A story written for young children or a story written mainly for entertainment might have such a simplistic moral, but in most good literature, and certainly most literature that you study in school, the authors explore much more original ideas.

Sometimes, theme is called the unifying concept of a story. 
To unify means to join or bring together. Therefore, the theme must be an idea that combines all elements in the story.  All parts of the story must fit that theme.  Everything in the theme must be shown by some part of the story.  The story cannot contain parts that do not match the theme.  However, there may be a variety of interpretations of theme. Most longer stories and novels will have more than one theme.

Keep in mind, a theme is not just about that story. It is about life or people in general.