When I asked those discussion questions, I was asking you to think about the author’s intentions. Most authors, in addition to telling a story, want their stories to explore ideas. The “theme” is the dominant or central idea of the story. It is seldom stated explicitly–most stories do not have a “Moral” at the end.
A theme is not the same as a plot. The plot is what happens in a story, the events that take place in the story. A theme is the ideas the story asks you to think about.
For example, in “All About Suicide,” Luisa Valenzuela is telling you about Ishmael–but not just about Ishmael. We know he’s just one of many people in the country who have died. (“It’s becoming a vice.”) So maybe the story is asking you to think about what it’s like to live in a country where you can’t speak freely, and where it’s easy for the government to kill. How might that affect a person’s character? His way of handling problems? And Valenzuela doesn’t tell her story straightforwardly, in the same way that people may not be able to speak straightforwardly in this country. So the truth gets confused, and you never really know what it is–just as someone living in this country would have to deal with never knowing the real truth; the most he could hope for would be the official version of the truth for that day.
A story may have one theme; more often, it has several, as you can see from Valenzuela’s story.
Interpreting Literature
But! A note of caution, here. While it is usually true that there is no single correct reading of a text, your interpretation must be supported by the text. It is often tempting to “read into” a work things that are not there. After all, we all bring our own experiences and preconceptions to anything we read. Like scientific theory, literary interpretation must have a basis in fact: you must be able to support your interpretation with dialogue, descriptions, events, or other details from the text.
The Reading Process
- Read the story once, all the way through.
- Highlight or otherwise mark the text to identify key elements: words, phrases, or images that are repeated; any elements that seem out of place or unnecessary.
- Make notes in the margins of any ideas that occur to you about what the writer’s theme(s) might be, any questions you might have, or the definitions of any words you didn’t know and had to look up.
- Read the story a second time, and make note of anything else that occurs to you.
Literary Criticism
But you should not accept the ideas of any critic unquestioningly. Each critic, like other readers, has his own interpretation. And different critics come up with very different conclusions about the same work. For an example of this, look on pp. 405 ff., where you will find the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, followed by several articles and a sample student paper, each with a different interpretation of the story.
Now, let’s take a look at how to read fiction (short stories and novels).
Plot
The plot of a story is simply the events that take place in the story. Most people read only for plot–but you now know to look for theme, too. And often, clues to the author’s intentions can be found in the plot.
For example, pay attention to beginnings and endings of stories, and ask yourself questions: Why did the author choose to begin the story with this event? Why choose to end it with that event? What has changed between the beginning and the end? “The Secret Lion,” for instance, begins when the boys are in junior high, and then moves back in time. Why wouldn’t Rios choose to begin when the boys were younger, and then work his way up to junior high? And what has changed in the boys, and in their lives, between the beginning and the end of the story?
Look also at the stages in all the important changes. What happens to change things or people? Why do you think the author chose to take this course of action? In “The Secret Lion,” Rios details the changes in the boys’ lives. What happened to change them? Why do you think Rios chose to put these particular events and circumstances into these boys’ lives?
Look for events, people, and/or circumstances that work against the action of the story. In “Dog,” for example, the narrator tells us what he does–but he also takes time to tell us what he thinks and feels, and what his parents think and feel. This slows down the story. Why would Russo choose to include all this information? Why not just tell us what happened?
Look for characters, events, and details which seem to make no contribution to the plot or movement of the story, and ask yourself why they are there. In “Fleur,” for instance (you’ll read this story next week), the narrator tells us a lot of stories about Fleur’s past which seem to have nothing to do with the events taking place in the butcher shop. Why tell us? We are told about a dog owned by one of the men; but the dog is unnecessary to the plot; why is he there? The town where Fleur settles is described; what details are we told about the town? What is left out? Why?
Look for repetition of events and details. What events repeat themselves in Moore’s “How To Talk to Your Mother: Notes”? (You’ll read this story next week.) Is there any sort of pattern that you can detect in this repetition?
The narrator of “The Tell-tale Heart” also repeats himself; why?
Note the conflicts that occur in the story, whether they are between the characters, the characters and their surroundings, or within the characters themselves. And look at how those conflicts are resolved. In “Fleur,” the narrator describes the conflict between Fleur and the men; why are they so angry at her? How does this affect Pauline? And how is the conflict resolved? What does this resolution reveal about Fleur? About Pauline?
Character
Characters in books and stories can function in two ways: they can be individuals, with unique characteristics, habits, quirks, and personalities, so that they seem like real people; or they can be “types”–that is, they can typify or represent something larger than themselves. The best characters do both.
In a story, the main character is called the “protagonist.” The protagonist’s opponent is the “antagonist.” The antagonist is usually another person, but in some stories it is an animal, or a spirit, or even a natural force. Figuring out which character is the protagonist can help you to interpret the story’s theme. For example, in “Fleur,” we might say the protagonist is Fleur–or we might say the protagonist is Pauline. If we choose Fleur, we might see the story’s theme as having to do with victimization of women. If we choose Pauline, we might see the story as having to do with the strength of women.
Some characters are “flat”; others are “round.” Flat characters may play a small or a large role in a story, but they experience no change or development throughout the course of the story. Round characters change, grow, develop. (This does not make round characters superior to flat characters; it simply means they serve a different function in the story, depending on the author’s intention.) In “Fleur,” for instance, Fleur is flat; we do not see her experience any growth or development during the story. But Pauline is round; her experiences change her.
Sometimes it is not easy to figure out whether a character is round or flat, and that in itself can help you arrive at an interpretation of the story. For example, is the narrator of “Dog” flat or round? Does he change or develop during the course of the story, or does he stay the same? The way you answer this question may affect the way you see the theme(s) of the story.
Often, the names of characters are revealing. Authors are usually careful to give their characters appropriate names. Charles Dickens, for example, in Nicholas Nickleby, names a schoolmaster “Mr. Choakumchild”; right away, we know that Nicholas is in for a rough time at this school. Sometimes, the meaning is more subtle. In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, the doomed captain is named Ahab, after a Biblical tyrant who came to a bad end.
And last, examine the character’s motivation: what makes him act as he does? This is important especially if he acts in an unexpected or unusual way. In “The Secret Lion,” for example, why do the boys bury the ball they find? In “Dog,” why does the narrator name the dog? Answering such questions can help you arrive at an interpretation of the story.