The root theme of a story.

I have been attending courses at Cardiff University,  taught by the writer Lynne Barrett-Lee.  I just completed her ten week course 'Telling tales', on short story writing, and am making my way through the notes from each week.

She writes 'Taken back to it's roots....a piece of fiction is there to illustrate a fact, or group of facts.  A universal truth, very often, in the case of proverbs and aphorisms, a piece of important religious teaching, in the form of a parable, and the case of a fable, an example of an accepted moral code'.

This started me thinking about the root theme of a story. I sometimes have trouble pinpointing what mine are, which can lead me to go off on too many tangents, and get overwhelmed by my own story, short or long (novel) which then makes everything a nightmare to edit, and I'm back in the land of welcoming any distraction.

I recently saw Peters Jackson's new film 'The Hobbit', a classic and favourite. So I sat here thinking about the true root theme of that story, which is evident really clearly, even though this is essentially the first part of a three part telling of the whole story.

It's HOME.

That's the basic human thing, that any reader or watcher can relate to, however unconsciously or consciously.

The Dwarfs have no home, no land to call their own, and they need help to reclaim it.  Bilbo Baggins is afraid, but he overcomes his fear because he has a home, and knows how important it is to him, so he understands their quest, and he wants to help.  He wants them to have what he has, and he's willing to take a big risk because of it.

It reminded me of the plight of the people of Israel, and I wondered if because Tolkien was a Christian, if his story was even a parable of biblical history.  The Israelites have been without a home, a land to call their own..I lack the political and historical knowledge to get into that too deep, it was just a thought.

Still, we all need a place to call home, even if that place is inside of us, and not a physical place. It's a universal theme that anyone could identify with, and therefore a great theme for a story, a world, and characters to be built on.

COURAGE is another very strong theme in the story, but with out the quest for HOME, there would be no need for courage.

So understanding my root theme, for a short story, or a novel that I'm writing is important, and may be another key in creating a consistent working environment, where things are completed to a standard and put 'out there'.

To summarise, the root theme is the one that gives any other theme it's purpose for being.