Relation of Symbols and Theme
14 the title of the story. After the readers read the story they can state whether or not
the title indicates something. The title of the story may indicate something which is important to the whole story. Second, the readers need to pay attention to the
main character of the story. The character may change in any way over story. It may indicate something important related to the idea of a story. Understanding the
changes that happen or are made by the character may help the readers to find the idea of a story. Characters are possible to utter opinions with which the readers are
not supposed to agree. Third, a story may contain any special suspicious object, mysterious flat characters, significant animal, repeated names, song titles or
anything which can has meaning more than its literal meaning. In a literary work, symbols may point to the central idea or themes of the story. In formulating
theme, the readers should formulate it in a statement not a summary to make it easier to understand. The last is readers need to make sure their formulated theme
hold all details of the whole story, not just part of the story. Besides, Kennedy and Gioia 2010 also provide some statements to clarify
the vague sense of theme into a sharp and intriguing thesis. “Start by making a list of all the story‟s possible themes. Next,
Determine which points seem most important; then formulate a single sentence in which you combine them and try to capture the
story
‟s essence in a single sentence.”p.221 There are also some checklists that can help the reader to write or
formulate a theme of a literary work. “First, lists as many possible themes as you can. Second, circle the
two or three most important points and try to combine them into a sentence. Third, relate particular details of the story to the theme you
have spelled out. Consider plot details, dialogue, setting, point of view, title or any elements that seem especially pertinent. Forth,
15 check whether all the elements of the story fit your thesis. Have you
missed an important aspect of the story? Or, have you chosen to focus on a secondary idea, overlooking the central one? Last, if
necessary, rework your thesis until it applies to every element in the story
.” p.222 The writer used those points as a guide to help the writer in formulating the
theme of the literary work selected. Those points also strengthen the contribution of symbol in revealing the theme of a literary work.