Do you need themes/issues for an essay, or just a thesis? (1 Viewer)

[bimatty]

All of the sample essays that I have read don't mention themes, they only mention the thesis. Don't you need themes as well though?

 

[RivalryofTroll]

If you are using prepared 'themes' (let's say in Frankenstein + Blade Runner - you are using the same generic 2 or 3 themes for every essay), you must always use them to directly answer the question - i.e. they should always relate back to the thesis.

 

[strawberrye]

Usually, a good thesis not only answers the question, but will always make some reference/inclusion of the thematic concerns of the texts, can you be more specific about what do you mean by reading essays that don't mention the themes, but only the thesis?-can you give us an example of such a thesis sentence?

 

[bimatty]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone.

Basically, what I mean is, all the how-to guides go on about the importance of developing a thesis behind the concept, eg, Belonging, and then discussing techniques and effects. No mention of themes.by themes, I am talking mostly about issues that are prevalent to the texts, eg isolation, identity etc..., eg you might talk about the thesis, then underlying themes that convey the thesis, then techniques, effects etc...

 

[Mdyeow]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone.

Basically, what I mean is, all the how-to guides go on about the importance of developing a thesis behind the concept, eg, Belonging, and then discussing techniques and effects. No mention of themes.by themes, I am talking mostly about issues that are prevalent to the texts, eg isolation, identity etc..., eg you might talk about the thesis, then underlying themes that convey the thesis, then techniques, effects etc...

In my book I don't talk at all about themes. This is because I reckon they're bullshit. Writers don't think "oooooh what themes am I going to throw in my magnum opus today? Let's start with a slathering of human condition, followed by some darkness of man's heart and a genuflection on the perennial state of alienation." No, they think "if I kill this guy, how will the other guy react?" or "what if the villain ends up doing good deeds on the side?" Questions of narrative, structure, language - all the things your techniques refer to.

Themes are waffling on about big grandiose ideas without detail. Focus on detail. Come up with arguments - that's your thesis, and your topic sentences - that actually SAY something. Like "Hamlet represents the closeted nature of the homosexual in Elizabethan times". That's SAYING SOMETHING. Of course you might touch on matters of the human condition, or the price of belonging, but you'll do so in ways which are razor-specific to the text. Arguments are specific. And then to justify them, talk about how techniques make the audience think, feel, laugh, cry, and react. Always be specific. Always give detail and back yourself. Themes are style - waving around big words and nebulous concepts - without substance.

Don't waste your time on style. Focus on substance.