Finding and Testing a Thesis Statement

First, read a story DEEPLY: Pay attention to details; stop and notice, underline things that strike you as interesting.

Push your thoughts: “I see…,” “The thought I have about this is…,” “I realize….”

Think about the author’s language choices, even in small words….

What kind of person is the character? What does s/he long for? Fear? What is s/he struggling against? What relationships are important? How does the character change? What lessons does s/he learn? Pay special attention to characters:

What is the character learning in this story? Which single section best captures the story’s meaning? Is there one object or moment that symbolizes the whole message of the story? How do different elements of the story contribute to the message? Think about the title, setting, beginning, ending, specific word choices that the author makes, etc. Is this a lesson that connects to my life? Think, “What is this story really about?”

After you’ve developed lots of ideas about what you’ve read, it’s time to develop a thesis.

Thesis: A claim that is interesting and defensible.

“You ought to be able to put your bottom-line message on the inside of a matchbook.” ~ Fred Fox, speechwriter for US President Dwight Eisenhower

Think to yourself: What is this story really about?

Little Red Riding Hood: the external story

Little Red Riding Hood: the internal story

A thesis template:

Testing your thesis ideas: Does the idea relate to the whole story? (both the 1 st and 2 nd half)

Testing your thesis ideas: Does the idea relate to the whole story? (both the 1 st and 2 nd half) In The Turtle, Dennis is overwhelmed by grief when his pet turtle dies. In The Turtle, Dennis is overwhelmed by a sense of loss when his pet turtle dies, but he copes with death by learning about how to honor his pet.

Testing your thesis ideas: How can you support your idea? at the start of the story, and the end of the story with one character and then another with one reason and then another

The important question is: What interesting (non-obvious) idea do I have about this text that I can use the text to support?

What is this writer’s thesis? How does she support it? Parvana may not be as courageous as Malili, but she has definitely got it in her blood. When her father had gotten arrested, she dug up all the courage she had, and she had managed to yell “I’m here for my father!”(pg.41), at the Taliban over and over. She had broken many of the country’s rules, but she didn’t care. She let the Taliban hit her, and although she felt horrible, she kept on yelling at them. I think this act shows courage because Parvana knew there would be consequences, but she yelled anyway. She also knew she was breaking many rules, but she knew that her number one priority was to get her father out of jail. She let herself get hit but didn’t think about herself, she only thought about how much she loved her family and how much she wanted to see her father again.

What is this writer’s thesis? How does he support it? Throughout the book, Parvana and her family do all sorts of small rebellion. When Mrs. Weera comes in, the family becomes more courageous and rebellious along with making the secret school. lOn pg 100, Mrs. Weera says ‘“I have been thinking of starting up a little school here,” said Mrs.Weera to Parvana’s surprise, “A secret school, a few hours a week. You must attend. Parvana will let you know then.”’ And then Mrs. Weera says that the Taliban won’t be invited to join, and winks at Parvana.

What is this writer’s thesis? How does she support it? In the book The Breadwinner the main character Parvana matures a great deal. This is one of the main themes of the book. At the beginning Parvana is rather babyish and gets mad about little things. For example, on page 19 Nooria tells Parvana that they need water. “Parvana groaned. If the tank was almost empty, she’d have to make five trips to the water tap. Six, because her mother hated to see an empty water bucket.” This shows her reluctance to help out. It also shows that she is only thinking about what she wants. However, she does mature. On page 53 Parvana realizes that she has Nooria in a tight spot. They need food and Parvana is refusing to get it. No one will force her to get it, but if she won’t Nooria will have to. She knows that this frightens Nooria and now she has the chance to torment her. “Now I’ve got her, Parvana thought. I can make her as miserable as she makes me. But she was surprised to find that this thought gave her no pleasure. Instead of turning her back, she took the money from her sister’s hand.”