I don't get it...

gophergrrrl said:

Oh, and one more thing; should the protag alone have inner and outer motivation or should there be other characters (antag, maybe?) who have one/both/either as well?

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When a story's theme is properly constructed, we see it present in every aspect of the story -- in the hero and his or her decisions, in the nature of the antagonist, in subsidiary characters and what they represent, in sub-plots and what they represent. It should pretty much be present everywhere.

Let's take an example -- The Wizard of Oz.

What's the theme? There's no place like home? Absolutely not. That is simply the external expression of the underlying theme.

The theme of Wizard of Oz is that you can't find the solution to your problems outside of yourself -- the solution is within.

The "return home" is a metaphor for that realization -- for that self-empowerment.

How does the story start? Dorothy is confronted with a problem -- what does she do? She dreams of a place without any problems -- she looks to Uncle Henry and Auntie Em to solve her problems -- and then she runs away, she goes searching for "Professor Marvel" --

But it's clear (at least to us) the Professor Marvel is a fraud. He can't help her -- when she tries to get back home -- she's whisked off to Oz, confronted, in "Oz" terms by the same menace that existed back in real life. She hasn't escaped it even in this magical place.

So what does she do?

She tries to get home - How? She looks to *others* for help. The Good Witch. The Munchkins.

And ultimately, her three companions.

But if you look at the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and The Cowardly Lion -- every one of them is a variation on *her* theme -- someone who is in need, who seeks *elsewhere* for the solution, but who ultimately discovers that they possessed the very quality within themselves that they were seeking elsewhere. The Scarecrow, from the very beginning, was smart, the Tin Man full of feeling, the Lion brave.

And Dorothy, over the course of her adventures comes to realize that she also has the ability to return home -- but what she has accomplished is not simply the power to return home in a literal sense -- rather she has grown as a person and come to realize that she has the ability to solve her own problems -- just as she overcame the "witch" in Oz, just as she faced her fears in confronting the Wizard, just as she stood up for the rights of her friends -- she is no longer a person who dreams of running away to a place over the rainbow -- at the end, she is a person who is ready to face and live in the real world.

NMS

I highly recommend reading Story by Robert McKee (if you haven't already). Best discussion on theme (and on every aspect of storytelling) I have ever read.

gophergrrrl said:

I'll try to get me a copy of that, Stucky. Thanks for the suggestion! =o]

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You won't regret it. Quick disclaimer though: I don't think he actually uses the word theme. Instead, look for words like meaning, value and controlling idea!