Whether you call it the moral, message, or theme, every story has an underlying meaning or idea. Most stories engage either moral and/or philosophical questions, which the plot demonstrates through a series of relatable situations.
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Engaging Ideas 106-01
How is it that some stories endure far beyond the lifetime of their author? Shakespeare is a prime example. His plays not only endure, they adapt to modern settings, and yet people still recognize Romeo and Juliet even when it’s called West Side Story because the idea behind it is unchanged. Ideas are the questions the story raises, and the answers it chooses to provide. In Romeo and Juliet the idea centers around two people who wish to be together, but social/cultural forces oppose them, man vs. society.
What are stories? Why do we care? 001-01
Change
The audience is introduced to a character with a stable status quo. Something disrupts the status quo, and the character reacts, doing their best to resolve the conflicts brought on by the change. These conflicts raise questions. As the character resolves the questions their perspective changes. They shift from a reactive to a proactive role, or vice versa, as the story moves towards the climactic conclusion. The story narrows to a single event, where the character either chooses or recognizes there is no choice, becoming part of a new status quo.