Symbol, Motif, Theme

December 7, 2016

Memoir Essential Questions

How do you know you can trust your
memory?
What does truth look like in memoir?
How do you write about people you love
without somehow betraying them?
How do you find your authentic self and
authentic voice and recreate it on the page?

Are memoirs true?

The memoir interprets, analyzes, and seeks the deeper
meaning beneath the surface experience of particular events.
The memoir continually asks the following questions:
a. Why was this event of particular significance?
b. What did it mean?
c. Why is it important?

 In general, memoir is a highly detailed sensory account of

events which, though personally significant, are also of
universal import, since they convey a central point or
lesson (THEME) that the writer wishes to share.
Although based on actual events, memoir is defined as
creative nonfiction.
Authors of memoir therefore use creative writing
techniques such as character, plot, symbolism, etc. to
convey a theme

We will examine how Satrapi uses symbols and

motifs in the story and infer a theme from these
techniques.

Symbol | A person, a place, an object, or an activity that stands

for something beyond itself. For example, a flag is a colored piece of
cloth that stands for a country. A white dove is a bird that represents
peace.
Motif | A dominant or recurring image or idea in an artistic
work; may be a word or phrase, image, object, action, person
Theme | An underlying message or insight about life or human
nature that a writer wants the reader to understand.

Theme is NOT:
A word or a phrase
A subject
A lesson or moral (unless you are reading a
fable)
A clich (Everyone gets hurt, Love is
blind)

Theme IS:
The theme of a piece of literature is its view about life
and how people behave.
The main idea or message of a literary work.
A universal truth
Not stated directly but must be inferred.
A significant statement a story is making about
society, human nature, or the human condition.
Expressed in full sentences.

THEME OF FARENHEIT 451

A. Mass Media, Censorship, Control, or
Technology
B. Popular, mass media causes people to be less
able to digest more complex forms of media, like
books.

Are there others or is there one, correct

answer?

Common Literary Subjects

How justice and injustice are decided

What it means to be a hero or antihero
What it means to be a survivor
An individuals experience with alienation or despair
What the future holds
Love and hate, and the effects of

Motif
A recurring image, word, phrase, or action that tend to create
unity within a literary work.
Reinforces the theme in literature
A motif differs from a theme in that it can be expressed as a
single word or fragmentary phrase, while a theme must be
expressed as a complete sentence.

Motif Examples
A recurring motif in George Orwell's "1984" is
urban decay. As readers, we start to notice a pattern
in how the buildings and city are described, and this
helps clue us in to a potential theme
The motifs of Winston Smith's run-down home,
London's crumbling buildings, and the overall
disintegration of the city all support Orwell's theme
of the miserable results of total government control.

Below is a short list of common literary motifs and

subjectsthere are sooo many more!
Clothing
Seasons
Colors
Death
Supernatural Adversaries
Extraordinary Animals Wishes Magical Objects
Magic Powers
Deep Sleeps
Witches
Trickery Illness Consequences of Greed
Flowers/plants
Beautiful Princess
Foolish or Dimwitted Hero Beauty of simplicity Capitalism
Change of power Change versus tradition
Chaos and order Circle of life
Coming of age
Communication verbal and nonverbal Companionship as salvation
Convention and rebellion
Dangers of ignorance
Darkness and light
Death inevitable or tragedy
Desire to escape
Destruction of beauty
Disillusionment and dreamsDisplacement Empowerment
Emptiness of attaining
false dream
Everlasting love
Evils of racism
Facing darkness Facing reality
Fading beauty Faith versus doubt
Family blessing or curse
Fate and free will
Fear of failure
Gender roles Fulfillment
Good versus evil Greed as
downfall

Derive a theme from

these symbols and motifs
Example:
Symbols/Motifs: Car, Letter, Maid
Subject: Class Struggle, Inequality
Subject Phrase: Class hierarchy creates discontent
Explore how the text comments on this idea, then come up
with a full sentence that expresses the authors insight into
this subject:
Theme Statement: We are united by a common humanity but
separated into unequal social classes, which leads to conflict
and suffering.

 Complete the chart in full using

your notes and book.
Focus on a subject of interest to
you that you consider relevant
to the books themes.
The paper, completed on both
sides, is due at the beginning of
Fridays class