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Finding Themes in Literature

Finding Themes in Literature. The Reader’s Job. Reading Objective: You , as the reader, must make inferences and draw conclusions about what the author is trying to express. HEY! What’s the BIG IDEA?!!. Themes are usually about BIG IDEAS. For example: Freedom Trust Friendship

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Finding Themes in Literature

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  1. Finding Themes in Literature

  2. The Reader’s Job Reading Objective: You, as the reader, must make inferences and draw conclusions about what the author is trying to express.

  3. HEY! What’s the BIG IDEA?!! Themes are usually about BIG IDEAS. For example: • Freedom • Trust • Friendship • Good vs. Evil

  4. THIS is THEME… • Theme is the underlying meaning of the story. • It is a universal Truth. • It is a significant statement the story is making about society, human nature, or the human condition.

  5. Get to the POINT! • Theme is NOT the TOPIC. • Theme IS the POINT being made about the TOPIC. • Theme is a statement about LIFE.

  6. Theme and Idea Definition: The theme of a literary work is its underlying central idea or the generalization it communicates about life.

  7. Words of the Wise Please be reminded: • At times the author’s theme may not confirm or agree with your own beliefs. • Even then, if skillfully written, the work will still have a theme that illuminates some aspects of true human experience.

  8. You and Theme • An understanding of theme is dependent upon one’s previous experiences of life and with literature. • At the same time, theme in literature can enlarge one’s understanding of life in general. Reading can actually teach you something! Imagine that!

  9. Be aware: • The theme never completely explains the story. • It is only one of the elements that are needed to gain full understanding of the story. • Literary texts can have more than one theme.

  10. Finding the Theme • What is the topic or “BIG IDEA” of the work? • What do the characters say or do that relates to the topic? • What do the events and actions tell you are important to learn about life in general? • The topic is… • The BIG IDEA is… • The characters say… • The characters do… • The text tells me… • It is important to…

  11. Theme topics/Ideas

  12. Common LITERARY TOPICS – Not THEMES! • Friendship • Survival • Family • Love & Hate • Life & Death • War & Peace • Motherhood & Fatherhood • Poverty & Wealth • Freedom • Patriotism • Education • Homelessness • Prejudice • Honesty • Land • Laws & Justice

  13. Characteristically Speaking • Questions to ask yourself when thinking about theme and the characters in the text: • How does the character change? • What made him/her change? • What lessons did the character learn? • What are the characters’ feelings about what happens in the story? • What conflicts do the characters engage in and what happens as a result?

  14. (Themes repeated in many works) Common Literary Topics/Ideas Freedom Poverty Education Life Law Bravery

  15. How to write a thematic statement

  16. Creating general thematic statements Hypothetical Story Example: Courage • Courage allows people to attempt difficult tasks in their lives even when the possibility of failure is very high. (Thematic idea) (assertion about the thematic idea) (qualifying clause: when, because, unless, even, so that, whether, if, etc.)

  17. Creating thematic statements specific to a literary work. Example • Work: Beowulf • Thematic idea: leadership • The epic Beowulfreveals that good leaders embrace challenges even when others simply run from them.

  18. Creating thematic statements specific to a literary work. • Work: “The Pardoner’s Tale” • Thematic idea: ex= greed, betrayal, disrespect • Model: ___________ ___________reveals that _____________________________________________________________________________ (Name of literary work) (assertion about what the text reveals to the reader about the thematic idea) (qualifying clause: when, because, unless, even so that, whether, if, etc.)

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