what is theme? discovering a theme stating a theme practice theme feature menu
TRANSCRIPT
What Is Theme?
Discovering a Theme
Stating a Theme
Practice
Theme
Feature Menu
What Is Theme?
A work’s theme is the central idea about human life.
Many elements contribute to a work’s theme.
Theme
settingconflict
characters plot
Note
What Is Theme?
The theme:
• reveals the writer’s personal attitude toward the world and the people in it
• may give readers insight into life and human nature or help them realize the importance of what they already know
Identifying the Theme
The theme will always be a statement of some kind, not a single word.
Example Theme:
“Sometimes if you love someone, you have to let them go and give them their freedom. Love is not possessive.”
NOT
• “Love” and “Freedom”
A work’s theme is sometimes confused with its
What isn’t a Theme
• subject—what the story is about
• plot—the events of the story
• moral—the rule of conduct that the story teaches
These parts of a story are important, but they are not its theme.
What Is Theme?
Identify each item as one of the following:• subject• plot • moral• theme
Three siblings go swimming in a creek even though their grandfather warns them not to. One sibling is almost swept away by the current.
The story of a dangerous swim
Young people’s overconfidence can put them in danger; young people often learn a lesson the hard way.
[End of Section]
Quick Check
Listen to your elders.
Discovering a Theme
Usually, the author does not say what the theme is directly. You must INFER what the theme is.
• Think about the title.
• Pay attention to story’s conflict and how it is resolved.
• Think about what the protagonist learns. If the protagonist realizes something important about life at the end of the story, that is probably the theme of the story.
Apply your knowledge to a story you know.
Practice
“The Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”
What does the title mean?
How does the main character change?
How is the conflict resolved?
What, in general, does the story reveals about life?
What is the story’s theme?
[End of Section]
The End