I Don't Believe There's an Atom of Meaning In It
I've always been a plot person, valuing books and movies far more for tight, clever plots than for things like beauty of language, interesting characters, or evocative settings. And I've always been downright suspicious of theme - it seemed to me when I first learned about them that pretty much every major work of fiction is about "good and evil" and "death" and "love" and all that. It isn't that I didn't see some validity to the idea of themes, but I thought it was too squishy and subjective a concept to spend much of my time pondering.
Lately, however, I'm finding theme a more and more interesting aspect of fiction, getting right up there with plot as something that makes a work memorable and worth reading/viewing. Not too long ago, I found myself writing a whole essay about the primary theme of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. But that's not to say that my understanding of the concept of themes is anywhere near as clear or elaborate as my understanding of plots - and I'm not sure whether that's the aforementioned "squishiness" or my own inexperience and lack of attention.
So, in a sort of preliminary exercise on the subject of theme, I've been thinking lately of some of my favorite series in terms of whether or not they have a clear major theme for the whole series (as opposed to a single work). It's definitely my hypothesis that one of the things that makes a good series as opposed to a mediocre one is that it does have an overarching theme tying the individual works together, so I expect to be able to find one for any series I truly love. This is what I've got so far:
Pirates of the Caribbean - Freedom
I'm actually feeling rather good about this one.
The Lord of the Rings - Good Versus Evil
Yeah, I know you could kind of say that's the theme of pretty much every story ever, but I really do feel it's the preeminent theme of this one. I'd encapsulate the central question of the series in this quote from The Two Towers:"How shall a man judge what to do in such times?"
"As he ever has judged," said Aragorn. "Good and ill have not change since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house."
Harry Potter - Love Versus Death
Though one might tend to assume that the theme of this series is "Good Versus Evil" as well, I don't think it is, and I think that's a major source of misunderstanding of the series. Nor is it, like you might expect, "Love Versus Hate" or "Life Versus Death" - it's a quirky personal opposition that J.K. Rowling seems to find important, and it gives the whole series a wonderfully idiosyncratic moral vision.
Offhand I can't think of a single quote to sum up the central question, but maybe one will come to me - or you can suggest one!
The West Wing - Power
So many of the questions in this series are about power - how to get it, how to use it, how it can be abused, what you give up for it, what it does to you, etc. The most interesting thing is that they mostly explore the theme in terms of power relationships between people - for instance, between Jed Bartlet and Leo. Perhaps I don't read/watch the right things, but this theme and the frank way the show explores it feels very fresh and interesting to me.
House - Truth Versus Falsehood
This one's pretty damn obvious, but that doesn't make it any less true. I suppose this is a common theme for mystery/detective fiction, but the House writers stick to it with great faithfulness. For instance, the most interesting relationship in the series - that between House and Wilson - is explored almost exclusively in terms of hiding/revealing truths rather than, for instance, power or good vs. evil.
Bujold's Vorkosigan series - Duty and Honor
I was surprised at how easy it was to assign a theme to this entire series. Of course single works have other themes (such as "Motherhood" for Barrayar) but in general the same questions of duty and honor are explored again and again and again. Even the one-book themes are played out in the context of duty and honor ... and then there's the title of the first book.
I'd almost think that Bujold was personally obsessed with this question, but when I thought of her other two series, I saw completely different unifying themes:
Bujold's Chalion series - Redemption
This one seems so easy it almost leaps to the mind. These books are NOT about Good Versus Evil - the gods don't even work in that way. Every single plot and subplot is focused like a laser on redeeming some past wrong or failure and the joy that flows from that.
Bujold's Wide Green World series - Individual Versus Community
I can't be sure about this one with the final volume not coming out for (OMG!) two more days, but I'm pretty confident. Reconciling the desires of the individual with the needs of the community (NOT the same as duty and honor, by the way) seems to have driven the plots so far. The main dynamic is team-building, from a marriage to a community to the survival of the whole world. In fact, one might call this a series about community organizing!
Avatar - Individual Versus Community
I put this one last because I'm the least certain of it. I considered both "Good Versus Evil" and that perennial favorite for coming-of-age stories, "Quest for Identity," but I rejected them both. I finally concluded that the series concentrates on exactly the same questions as Bujold's series above - how can you be true to yourself and still fulfill your responsibility to your family/community/world? How can you build a team, a family, a community, that works, and works for all its members? How can you play your destined role and still be you?
I'm very curious to know whether these thematic perceptions are similar for most people, or if the above opinions are wildly idiosyncratic and basically only make sense to me. Responses?
Lately, however, I'm finding theme a more and more interesting aspect of fiction, getting right up there with plot as something that makes a work memorable and worth reading/viewing. Not too long ago, I found myself writing a whole essay about the primary theme of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. But that's not to say that my understanding of the concept of themes is anywhere near as clear or elaborate as my understanding of plots - and I'm not sure whether that's the aforementioned "squishiness" or my own inexperience and lack of attention.
So, in a sort of preliminary exercise on the subject of theme, I've been thinking lately of some of my favorite series in terms of whether or not they have a clear major theme for the whole series (as opposed to a single work). It's definitely my hypothesis that one of the things that makes a good series as opposed to a mediocre one is that it does have an overarching theme tying the individual works together, so I expect to be able to find one for any series I truly love. This is what I've got so far:
Pirates of the Caribbean - Freedom
I'm actually feeling rather good about this one.
The Lord of the Rings - Good Versus Evil
Yeah, I know you could kind of say that's the theme of pretty much every story ever, but I really do feel it's the preeminent theme of this one. I'd encapsulate the central question of the series in this quote from The Two Towers:"How shall a man judge what to do in such times?"
"As he ever has judged," said Aragorn. "Good and ill have not change since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house."
Harry Potter - Love Versus Death
Though one might tend to assume that the theme of this series is "Good Versus Evil" as well, I don't think it is, and I think that's a major source of misunderstanding of the series. Nor is it, like you might expect, "Love Versus Hate" or "Life Versus Death" - it's a quirky personal opposition that J.K. Rowling seems to find important, and it gives the whole series a wonderfully idiosyncratic moral vision.
Offhand I can't think of a single quote to sum up the central question, but maybe one will come to me - or you can suggest one!
The West Wing - Power
So many of the questions in this series are about power - how to get it, how to use it, how it can be abused, what you give up for it, what it does to you, etc. The most interesting thing is that they mostly explore the theme in terms of power relationships between people - for instance, between Jed Bartlet and Leo. Perhaps I don't read/watch the right things, but this theme and the frank way the show explores it feels very fresh and interesting to me.
House - Truth Versus Falsehood
This one's pretty damn obvious, but that doesn't make it any less true. I suppose this is a common theme for mystery/detective fiction, but the House writers stick to it with great faithfulness. For instance, the most interesting relationship in the series - that between House and Wilson - is explored almost exclusively in terms of hiding/revealing truths rather than, for instance, power or good vs. evil.
Bujold's Vorkosigan series - Duty and Honor
I was surprised at how easy it was to assign a theme to this entire series. Of course single works have other themes (such as "Motherhood" for Barrayar) but in general the same questions of duty and honor are explored again and again and again. Even the one-book themes are played out in the context of duty and honor ... and then there's the title of the first book.
I'd almost think that Bujold was personally obsessed with this question, but when I thought of her other two series, I saw completely different unifying themes:
Bujold's Chalion series - Redemption
This one seems so easy it almost leaps to the mind. These books are NOT about Good Versus Evil - the gods don't even work in that way. Every single plot and subplot is focused like a laser on redeeming some past wrong or failure and the joy that flows from that.
Bujold's Wide Green World series - Individual Versus Community
I can't be sure about this one with the final volume not coming out for (OMG!) two more days, but I'm pretty confident. Reconciling the desires of the individual with the needs of the community (NOT the same as duty and honor, by the way) seems to have driven the plots so far. The main dynamic is team-building, from a marriage to a community to the survival of the whole world. In fact, one might call this a series about community organizing!
Avatar - Individual Versus Community
I put this one last because I'm the least certain of it. I considered both "Good Versus Evil" and that perennial favorite for coming-of-age stories, "Quest for Identity," but I rejected them both. I finally concluded that the series concentrates on exactly the same questions as Bujold's series above - how can you be true to yourself and still fulfill your responsibility to your family/community/world? How can you build a team, a family, a community, that works, and works for all its members? How can you play your destined role and still be you?
I'm very curious to know whether these thematic perceptions are similar for most people, or if the above opinions are wildly idiosyncratic and basically only make sense to me. Responses?