I’ve read any number of books and written several myself. Theme always intrigues me. Do authors intentionally set out to send a message to the reader? Are they trying to share some great insight about morality? Or does theme just happen as we write, even if the message is rather shallow and hard to find?
Consider these ideas as themes for novels. Manipulation–John Grisham writes novels that portray characters willing to control others to get what they want. Warfare—Tom Clancy is a master at putting his hero into modern combat situations. Power—H.G. Well’s Time Machine and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins base their novels on characters struggling for personal lives amidst revolution. Courage—The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is perhaps the better known of older novels while Dee Henderson’s Christian based fiction novels beginning with True Courage give us insight into what kind of person puts his or her life on the line for others. Love—Jennifer Crusie, Jude Deveraux, Nora Roberts and perhaps the author who started the romance novel Kathleen Woodiwiss reign among the best. Friendship—Dr. Watson of Sherlock Holmes fame and Sir Lancelot of Camelot fame are but two wonderful friends who support or kick the hero/heroine’s butt when needed. Sacrifice—The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White are excellent examples of heroes willing to give their lives for others.
Did these authors set out to share a moral ideal with their readers? I have no idea. But they did write with the idea of giving their readers the best story they could produce. And in doing that perhaps the themes—those insights the author believed—spilled over into their words. When I finish a novel, I am often amazed that the underlying ideas I had in the beginning have shifted to what my characters (therefore myself) thought were important enough to pass on. Intentional? Probably not consciously, but the process produces themes that everyone can relate to.
Janie Carver 2011 