What is a thematic statement on friendship?

Question

What is a thematic statement on friendship?

Answer 1

“Theme is the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in

a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about

that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work

can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied. The reader must

think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to

which themes seem to be implied.” (from Laying the Foundation series of books published by AP

Strategies in Dallas)

For example, friendship as a major theme in a novel could be:

“Friendship, if taken to extremes, can be negative rather than positive.”