Definition of Main Idea
The main idea in literature is defined as the key concept, which is being delivered in a particular piece of writing. It is the central message or the major idea of the story that the author wants to convey to the target audience. The general theme is what a particular text is mainly all about and therefore it is afforded by details and incidents in the narrative. In most cases, its visualization resembles the subject matter of the work, as well as the main symbols and the goal of the composition.
Functions of Main Idea
The main idea serves several critical functions in literature:
- Provides Focus: The main idea extends clear focus. It guides the plot and character development. This is useful in maintaining continuity of the narrative and makes it easier to get the flow of the story as well as all the aspects of text working towards a common goal.
- Communicates Themes: The main idea in most writing styles captures the principles that the author desires to convey the readers. It helps the reader to comprehend further layered implications of the text and the concept of an author behind the work.
- Engages the Reader: The main idea grabs the attention of the reader and makes him or her stay focused on it. It gives readers a goal to stay reading the given text, making the process interesting and with defined goals.
- Facilitates Understanding: The identification of the main theme helps the readers comprehend and analyze the text in the correct manner. They can better comprehend what the author wants to convey and the role of the story and its components.
- Encourages Analysis: The author invites the readers to think critically about the text and encourage them to analyze the characters, themes and events with regard to the central message.
Examples of Main Idea in Literature
Example#1
“The Odyssey” by Homer
“Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover, he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might, he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home.”
The passage serves as a central idea to the whole epic poem. It presents the main character, Odysseus (a ingenious hero) and the outlines the core story of his journey.
The main idea encompasses several key elements: Odyssey adventures after the Trojan war, his exposure to other cultures and customs, his sea ordeal, and the goal of his returning home.
The passage also conveys the theme of divine intervention, where the ‘Sun-god Hyperion’ is mentioned, as well as the notion of people being hopeless and following their folly to the worst possible end.
In addition, it resonates the main theme of the loss of Odysseus’s crew magnifying the suspense of the story. When the poet calls upon the Muse, he lays the foundation for an epic that traces the vein of human struggle, resistance and the intercessions of gods and mortals.
Example#2
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”
The central theme of the novel is the warning of Frankenstein to Walton. The idea of Victor’s uncontrolled attempting to receive the knowledge and desire to create life ultimate leads to the tragic end.
The novel embodies Shelley’s thoughts and ideas on the moral obligations of creators towards their creations, as well as exploring the stakes of greed. The story also seeks to bring the reader’s attention about the fact that there is much about the universe and origins of life that people do not know including the moral implications of scientific research.
Example#3
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
The quote encapsulates a central theme and main idea of the novel: the importance of viewpoint of others while recognizing and accepting them.
Spoken by Atticus Finch with his daughter Scout, this means that one should strive to understand the actions and peculiarities of a certain individual regardless of one’s own preferences.
The use of metaphor of climbing inside someone’s skin and walking around in it strongly demonstrates the depth of understanding required for true awareness.
This main idea is integrated into the novel and guides the characters’ behaviours and the readers’ understanding of the events. It precipitates critical thoughts on how the characters and viewers address social issues, particularly those of racism, with preconceptions and prejudice while trying to look deep underneath the skin of other people.
Example#4
“1984” by George Orwell
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
This slogan of the Party describes the purpose of the novel as its major theme is built around the issue. As seen in Orwell’s narrative, there is a potential of a society where language and news are weapons used to dominate citizen’s freedom and information.
Example#5
“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
This first line acts like a curtain raiser to the theme of marriage as well as social standing in the novel. In the critical love affairs of the novel’s protagonists Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the theme of pride and prejudice is explored in conjunction with how they affect human relations and the community.
Example#6
“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
The closing line indicates the main idea of the novel. The Tragedy of the American Dream in the novel shown by Fitzgerald’s use of the character Gatsby mortgage daughter, property and many more properties just to get the love of his life, Daisy.
See also: Malapropism Examples In Literature
Example#7
“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
“I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”
The excerpt reflects the main idea of the protagonist Holden Caulfield, his utmost desire and view of his role in the world. The passage shows Holden’s desire to protect innocence and especially the children from the nuisances of adulthood.
The use of metaphor of catching children before they fall off a cliff – shows his desire to retain their innocence and do not let them in for the sphere of vices of the grown-up world.
This idea of becoming the “catcher in the rye” turns into a key theme of the novel and elaborates Holden’s attempts to mitigate the process of moving to the next stage of life.
The idea mentioned here can be regarded as the main idea of the work, as it unveils Holden’s view of his purpose in life and also indicates his internal conflict between the desire to remain the safe world of childhood and the inevitable progression into adulthood.
Literary Devices Related to Main Idea
1- Theme
A theme is a unifying message or idea that is present in a piece of literature. Theme is the message that the text convey or the general issues dealt with by the narrator and is very similar to the subject matter.
For example: In “Pride and Prejudice”, two main themes – love and money, are intertwined with the central idea which controls characters’ behaviors and contributes to the plot development. Themes contribute to the strengthening of the phenomenon by offering additional levels of meaning and references to the main concept. Inferring about the author’s perspective and the implications or higher meaning of the text is possible.
See also: Euphemism in Pride and Prejudice
2- Motif
Motif is also used to describe an element that repeats, it could be in terms of an image, symbol or phrase which helps in building up the theme and main idea. Motif enhances the main idea through constant drawing the attention of the readers to important concepts and reinforces the central message of the text. They contribute to the creation of consistency and, at the same time, provide depth to the narrative.
See also: Literary Devices That Start With M
