ENGL 102 Week 5 assignment

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Insights: Understanding Theme and the Introductory Paragraph

In Week 2, you learned about some of the literary elements in a short story, including one of the most interesting ones—theme.

Theme

A theme sums up a story's meaning. The theme may be explicit, but most often it emerges indirectly through our interpretation of a story's recurrent ideas, images, and motifs. 

A theme can be abstract and subject to interpretation, so identifying it requires critical thinking. It may be connected to universal ideas such as love, death, grief, family, war, revenge. As these universal ideas are philosophical concepts, the theme needs to make a statement about a concept.

For example, in O'Connor' s story "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the theme might be stated as follows: "When faced with death, the grandmother appears to respond with compassion that is a form of divine grace." Note how this statement of theme not only involves the concepts of death and compassion, but also is connected to the story's characterization and plot.

A theme is an important idea woven throughout a story. It is not the plot or a summary of the plot, but the deeper message embedded in a work of literature. A theme links a big idea about our world with the action that occurs in the story.

Sometimes a theme beckons you to reflect on a question the story is exploring, such as "What does it mean to be a family?" or "What are we afraid of?" A statement of theme answers the question; for example, "You don't have to be related to someone for them to be your family" or "We are afraid of losing our individuality."

Although a theme may be similar to a moral, unlike a moral a theme is not necessarily about teaching a lesson. A theme could be a lesson, but it doesn't have to be. The theme is a message that you can take out of the story and apply to your whole life, rather than a specific situation. Themes are universal. 

Ask Yourself

Sometimes you can discover the theme by asking yourself questions like these:

· What did the characters learn?

· How did they grow and change?

· Why did the characters act the way they did?

· What's changed by the end of the story?

· What stayed with me after reading the story?

The Introductory Paragraph

When you are writing for an audience—in this course and in other settings—the purpose is to have another person or group read what you have written. In writing about literature, it's important to craft an attention-grabbing, purposeful introductory paragraph.

The first paragraph of your paper should be engaging. It should name the story, author, and theme you will address, and finally, state your thesis. 

Picture your introduction as a storefront window: You have limited space to attract your customers (readers) to your goods (subject) and bring them inside your store (discussion). Once you have enticed them with something intriguing, you can point them in a specific direction and try to make the sale (convince them to accept your thesis).

Your introduction is an invitation for readers to consider your thesis and then follow your argument as you expand upon your thesis statement.

An introduction serves the following purposes:

· establishes your voice and tone, or your attitude, toward the subject;

· introduces the general topic of the essay; and

· states the thesis that the body paragraphs will support.

First impressions are crucial and can leave lasting impact on your reader, which is why the introduction is so important. If your introductory paragraph is dull or disjointed, your reader probably will not have much interest in continuing to read.

Attracting Interest in Your Introductory Paragraph

Your introduction should begin with an engaging statement to provoke your readers' interest. In the next few sentences, introduce them to your topic by stating general facts or ideas about the subject. As you move deeper into your introduction, gradually narrow the focus, moving closer to your thesis. Moving smoothly and logically from your introductory remarks to your thesis statement can be achieved using a funnel technique.

Funnel Technique for an Introductory Paragraph

In writing an introductory paragraph, the funnel technique is used to move from generalities toward a focused thesis statement.