Writing Help 129 | - ☆ Freelance Writer
Apr 06, 2013 | #1
Terms You Need for Writing about the Novel
Another term that has fallen out of popular usage, motif is a useful and valid concept that does not often receive its proper due in the classroom. Students are encouraged to search for the themes of a work, but often symbolic elements like motifs are overlooked in an attempt to grasp a work's larger significance. This is most unfortunate, since motif and theme should go hand-in-hand; both gain depth and richness from their connection to the other, and both are integral aspects of novelistic construction.
As we have discussed in a previous article in this series, a theme is a general idea, a powerful thought aimed in a specific direction, that shapes the content and course of a novel (or any literary work). War is an example of a general theme, while the futility of war, the loss of innocent life, and the camaraderie of soldiers, are more specific themes. Motif is similar to theme, in that it deals with an idea that occurs several times over the course of a novel. However, the motif is usually far more specific, and most often involves a single phrase, object, or other discrete entity, rather than a large representative concept.
To make this clearer through a concrete example, let's look for a moment at John Steinbeck's masterful novel The Grapes of Wrath. This novel tells the story of a family forced off its traditional farming land, and forced to go west in search of employment and brighter fortunes. Of course, this family is not alone, and the novel is just as much about the larger phenomenon of social injustice and American poverty as it is about the family which serves as the primary focus. So, one might say that the themes in the work include social injustice, the poor plight of the migrant worker, governmental and cooperate corruption and trickery, and so on.
Most interestingly, through much of the novel we are presented with very brief sections which seem to be tracking the progress of a turtle. This does nothing to forward the main thrust of the plot, and we never see how, or if, this turtle ever crosses paths with the main characters of the work. Many students ignore or dismiss this little fellow, excluding it from consideration since it does not seem at all relevant. However, what they fail to realize is that this turtle is a powerful motif which serves to highlight the main themes of the work and to symbolize the migrant workers about which the novel has been written.
This seemingly insignificant turtle is described as heading west in an indirect fashion; we are told he is moving toward the setting sun. We are also told that he is traveling along the very same stretch of road that so many of the workers had to take toward California. He is determined and persistent, but so low and small that he is difficult to see, and takes more than one plunge into a ditch after being nicked by a speeding car. Each time, however, he climbs back out and keeps going in the same direction. We are never told why he keeps going, or what drives him on, but he continues on nonetheless. Thinking back to the themes discussed above, we can see that this turtle is actually a recurring symbol of the displaced workers. He is traveling their path, and is so low and insignificant that he is hardly noticed, just like the migrant workers seem so insignificant to business and government concerns. The turtle also carries his home on his back, just as the workers must do when they pack up and head cross country, taking all they own with them. Thus, the turtle becomes a motif, a repeated symbol and reflection of the major themes of the novel.
Motif
Another term that has fallen out of popular usage, motif is a useful and valid concept that does not often receive its proper due in the classroom. Students are encouraged to search for the themes of a work, but often symbolic elements like motifs are overlooked in an attempt to grasp a work's larger significance. This is most unfortunate, since motif and theme should go hand-in-hand; both gain depth and richness from their connection to the other, and both are integral aspects of novelistic construction.
As we have discussed in a previous article in this series, a theme is a general idea, a powerful thought aimed in a specific direction, that shapes the content and course of a novel (or any literary work). War is an example of a general theme, while the futility of war, the loss of innocent life, and the camaraderie of soldiers, are more specific themes. Motif is similar to theme, in that it deals with an idea that occurs several times over the course of a novel. However, the motif is usually far more specific, and most often involves a single phrase, object, or other discrete entity, rather than a large representative concept.To make this clearer through a concrete example, let's look for a moment at John Steinbeck's masterful novel The Grapes of Wrath. This novel tells the story of a family forced off its traditional farming land, and forced to go west in search of employment and brighter fortunes. Of course, this family is not alone, and the novel is just as much about the larger phenomenon of social injustice and American poverty as it is about the family which serves as the primary focus. So, one might say that the themes in the work include social injustice, the poor plight of the migrant worker, governmental and cooperate corruption and trickery, and so on.
Most interestingly, through much of the novel we are presented with very brief sections which seem to be tracking the progress of a turtle. This does nothing to forward the main thrust of the plot, and we never see how, or if, this turtle ever crosses paths with the main characters of the work. Many students ignore or dismiss this little fellow, excluding it from consideration since it does not seem at all relevant. However, what they fail to realize is that this turtle is a powerful motif which serves to highlight the main themes of the work and to symbolize the migrant workers about which the novel has been written.
This seemingly insignificant turtle is described as heading west in an indirect fashion; we are told he is moving toward the setting sun. We are also told that he is traveling along the very same stretch of road that so many of the workers had to take toward California. He is determined and persistent, but so low and small that he is difficult to see, and takes more than one plunge into a ditch after being nicked by a speeding car. Each time, however, he climbs back out and keeps going in the same direction. We are never told why he keeps going, or what drives him on, but he continues on nonetheless. Thinking back to the themes discussed above, we can see that this turtle is actually a recurring symbol of the displaced workers. He is traveling their path, and is so low and insignificant that he is hardly noticed, just like the migrant workers seem so insignificant to business and government concerns. The turtle also carries his home on his back, just as the workers must do when they pack up and head cross country, taking all they own with them. Thus, the turtle becomes a motif, a repeated symbol and reflection of the major themes of the novel.