Universal Themes in Literature

1. Universal Themes in Literature Relating the screenplay and story of Star Wars to other novels we have read.

2. What is a Theme? • A theme is a central message revealed through a literary work. • It is a lesson that the selection teaches or a major point that the selection as a whole is about. • It is a generalization about people or about life that is communicated through the literary work.

3. The Theme can be Directly Stated or Implied • When a theme is directly stated, the reader is told what the theme of the selection is. • When a theme of a work is implied, readers think about what the work seems to say about nature of people or about life.

4. Important things to note about Theme • There is usually no single correct statement of a work’s theme, though there can be incorrect ones. • A long work, like a novel, full-length play or screen play may have several themes. • Not all literary works have themes - a work meant only to entertain may have no theme at at.

5. Understanding the difference between Main Idea, Subject, Topic and Theme:

6. Main Idea The Main Idea is any idea that is particularly important or central in a written work.

7. Subject = Topic The Subject or Topic is what the selection as a whole is about. And remember the Theme is the message or lesson that the author is trying to communicate.

8. Main Idea The Subject/Topic and Theme fall under the umbrella of the Main Idea.

9. When we learn about literature we often ask many questions: • What is genre? • Why read? • Why do authors write? • Do people read and write for the same reasons?

10. What is Genre? • A genre is a category or type of story • There are 3 major genres: Poetry, Prose, Drama • Each major genre is divided into smaller genres • Genre is essentially the kind of story

11. Poetry Prose Drama Lyric poetry, Concrete Poetry, Dramatic Poetry Fiction (novels and short stories) Nonfiction (Biography, autobiography, letters, essays) Serious Drama/Tragedy, Comic drama, Melodrama, Farce 3 Major Genres

12. Why Read? • To gain knowledge, get facts/ideas • Entertainment/pleasure • To forget something • To transport yourself to your own fantasyland • To be alone • To relax • We have to • To learn about life

13. Why Write? • To share stories/ideas • To keep history alive • Express our feelings • To say what we know • To entertain others • To communicate • To tell about yourself • To express yourself

14. Brain’s Winter Son of the Mob Night To Kill a Mockingbird The lord of the Flies The Secret Life of Bees Much Ado About Nothing Catcher in the Rye Novels We Have Read:

15. The only person you can truly trust is yourself It is important to follow your instincts Man is inherently evil Man is inherently good Its not always good to listen to society Its important to never give up Human beings are products of their society It’s a crime to kill innocence The innocent aren’t always treated fairly It is important to stand up for what you believe in Working as a team or group is more powerful than working alone Be careful who you date Be careful who your friends are Trust your instincts Do what you must to survive Follow your imagination There are times when you should get revenge on your enemies Life doesn’t always have happy endings The force is a metaphor for spirituality The force is the energy that binds all life together Common Themes in Literature