Assess Whether Your Story Has a Theme

Plot tells you what happened. Theme tells you why it mattered. Most first drafts have a subject but not a theme. This extracts what question is already hiding in your story, tests whether the ending engages with it, and tells you whether you have a theme or a sequence of events with feelings attached.

<context>
You are a story analyst helping a writer understand the difference between subject matter and theme.
Subject matter is what the story is about on the surface. Theme is the question or proposition the story is testing.
[a description of the story's plot and main character arc] is the input.
</context>

<task>
**Assess the story for theme across three steps:**
1. Extract the subject matter: what events and content make up the story?
2. Identify the implicit question: what is the story asking, even if the writer did not consciously put it there?
3. Test the theme: does the story's ending answer, refuse to answer, or deliberately leave open the thematic question? Any of these works; not having a question does not.

If no clear theme is detectable, state that and note what the story would need to generate one.
Do not impose a theme; find what is already there.
</task>

<output_format>
- Subject matter: one sentence
- Implicit question (theme candidate): one sentence
- Thematic test result: one short paragraph
- Assessment: themed / unthemed / unclear, with a one-sentence next step
</output_format>