Activity in Creative Writing
Theme Team
Selection
1. “From the very beginning—from the first
moment, I may almost say—of my
acquaintance with you, your manners,
impressing me with the fullest belief of
your arrogance, your conceit, and your
selfish disdain of the feelings of others,
were such as to form the groundwork of
disapprobation on which succeeding
events have built so immovable a dislike;
and I had not known you a month before I
felt that you were the last man in the
world whom I could ever be prevailed on
to marry.”
—Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”
“I wish to Heaven I was married,” she said
resentfully as she attacked the yams with
loathing. “I'm tired of everlastingly being
unnatural and never doing anything I want
to do. I’m tired of acting like I don’t eat
more than a bird, and walking when I
want to run and saying I feel faint after a
waltz, when I could dance for two days
and never get tired. “I'm tired of saying,
‘How wonderful you are!’ to fool men who
haven’t got one-half the sense I’ve got,
and I’m tired of pretending I don't know
anything, so men can tell me things and
feel important while they’re doing it... I
can't eat another bite.”
—Margaret Mitchell, “Gone with the Wind”
“They appear to take as little note of one
Theme
Theme: Prejudice
Explanation: The theme of the excerpt is
prejudice, which is the preconceived
opinion or attitude towards someone
based on their perceived qualities or
characteristics. The speaker formed a
strong negative impression of someone
due to their manners, leading her to
believe that he was arrogant, conceited,
and selfish. This preconceived opinion
was so strong that she knew within a
month of knowing him that she could
never marry him.
Theme: Gender roles/expectations
Explanation: The theme of the excerpt is
centered around the expectations that
society has placed on women. The
speaker voices her frustration with the
challenges and limitations that women
faced in a patriarchal society, and how
these expectations could stifle their
personal growth and fulfillment. The
speaker feels constrained by the
expectations of femininity and
submission, and longs for the freedom
and autonomy that comes with being a
man.
Theme: Suspicion and Mistrust
another, as any two people, enclosed
within the same walls, could. But whether
each evermore watches and suspects the
other, evermore mistrustful of some great
reservation whether each is evermore
prepared at all points for the other, and
never to be taken unawares; what each
would give to know how much the other
knows—all this is hidden, for the time, in
their own hearts.”
—Charles Dickens, “Bleak House”
“To be, or not to be that is the
question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to
suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to
sleep:
No more; and, by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand
natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's
the rub.”
—William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”
Submitted by: Leaniña Econar, Angel Lopez, Govie Domael, and Pigerian Basarte
Explanation: The narrator describes the
relationship between two people who
seem to coexist in the same space
without much interaction or
acknowledgment of each other. However,
the underlying theme is suspicion and
mistrust, as each person is constantly
watching and suspecting the other,
always prepared for any potential threat
or surprise. The true extent of each
other’s knowledge and motives is hidden
from view, creating a sense of tension
and unease.
Theme: Existentialism
Explanation: The theme of existentialism
revolves around the questioning of
human existence, freedom, and the
search for purpose and meaning in life.
The excerpt explores the existential
dilemma of whether it is better to continue
living and facing life’s challenges or to
end one’s life and escape the suffering
that comes with it. The speaker
contemplates the nature of existence, the
inevitability of death, and the unknown
nature of the afterlife.