Joseph A. answered 11/15/19
Wise old Democratic Socialist English Professor
A theme in a story is a pervasive idea, one that shows up many times or in many ways.What makes this theme important? Does it help advance the moral, if the story has one? Does it shape the reader's experience of the story, and in what way and how? What are all the conflicts in the story, resolved or unresolved, obvious or only implied? Does the theme have anything to do with the various conflicts? Is one of those conflicts the most important one in the story? What is it and why is it the most important one? Does it drive the action along, approaching resolution? Are there obstacles to the resolution that are overcome, and if so how are they overcome? Is how they are overcome, or not, connected somehow to the theme? Is the theme of the story something about the main conflict? What in the story suggests that it is (or is not), and why do you think so?