Theme

This week we discussed theme and how it enhances a story. The theme of a story is extremely important in establishing early on and maintaining consistency throughout. It can be seen as essentially the foundation of an idea for a story upon which the characters and events that take place build on. A theme is typically the first idea that an author has for a story and uses it as a jumping off point. They begin by saying, "I want to write a story about humans and their dependence on technology or the importance of family." This then flourishes into a story from which different characters interact and engage in relationships with each other while dealing with different obstacles that are thrown at them. Along this path, their relationships and experiences are direct examples that support the theme and aim to further the authors intended idea. One of the stories we read was, "Second Variety." The story details a world war involving the Soviets and the United Nations. After almost complete annihilation, the United Nations responds to the Soviets attacks by developing a lethal model of robot intended to even the score. The two superpowers then meet to come to a truce, but discover that the robots have somehow created an alternate version of the robot model, one that looks and acts like a human in every way. The major theme that I found to be present in this story was identity. The different characters, after discovering this new type of robot, began to question each other as to who was the second variety and who was an actual human. When it was discovered that one person was actually a robot, it caused the remaining characters to question everything. The theme of identity and relating to our surroundings is very primitive in the sense that we will do what we must to survive. When one thing that is so familiar to us is in question, everything becomes that way. I think the interactions between the different characters during the story enhances the theme of identity and keep the story flowing. With a strong theme, a story will always have the ability to convey its message to its readers.