In this video, I address a subtle but important question many writers grapple with: What’s the real difference between a story’s theme and its moral concept?
We’ll break down how these two elements relate and function differently within a narrative, using a classic, familiar example to illustrate how a theme acts as a broader idea and how a moral emerges from it.
Hello, Jane Cleland here.
The question is what’s the difference between a theme and a moral concept? A theme is a unifying element, a dominant idea. It is a concept. The moral lesson is a manifestation of that concept. For example, the theme is self-reliance. This is an example, right? Self-reliance. Think, plan, don’t go off half cocked, know your strengths, and then stick to your guns. That would be an interesting theme, right? Well, a moral story, a parable, that shares that concept is “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Slow and steady wins the race.
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