Theme, as we generally understand it to be, is the idea or the thought that dictates the work of literature or art. It is the main subject matter that the creator or the author wishes to communicate to the audience that receives his creation. The content of that art work in its various methods of expression only tries to reach out to its audience to permeate this idea. There could be one or more themes that are expressed in the work some predominant while others could be subsidiary or just as essential. .
Children, as they are inexperienced, try to observe what goes around them, and copy the action, or more appropriately try to imbibe the values that they see around them. Therefore they are highly influenced by their surrounding environment. Their thirst for wanting to do what they are not allowed to is very strong, and though variable, they do try to experience situations, if not individually, through the stories and narratives told to them by the elders in need to keep them occupied and also to infuse in their cultural history.
Themes are intrinsically related and tainted by the culture of the author or the place. They speak of the ideas that are prevalent and preferred ˜on the part of the community at specific moments of history'.
In children's fairy tales a theme that is predominantly found is the battle between ˜Good and Evil' and for the soul purpose for teaching good values to the child. In the fairy tales Good must always win over Evil. It is Goodness, which even after a lot of suffering, results to rejoice and though in the beginning Evil is seen to have far more advantageous and more powerful, it is inevitably its destruction in the end that is required, for the children need to believe, learn and follow the correct path and try to be good. A possible set of feelings like loneliness, suffering and sadness is evoked in the child so as to make them understand through the protagonist of the tales, with whom they start empathizing as the tale is told.