Writing a literary analysis essay part one: identifying theme Student Goals: I can identify the topic of a piece of literature. I can identify what an author is saying about the topic in a piece of literature. I can write a theme statement that expresses the author’s intended message about the topic and the human condition.

Review: A theme is… • A message or idea • Stated in a sentence • An author’s observation about human nature or the human experience • Found in all literary elements of a story: characters, setting, symbolism, and conflict, etc. • Arguable • Implied; not directly stated • Applicable to multiple texts A theme is NOT… • A moral • A lesson • Advice • A “you” statement • Fortune cookie message • One word (a topic) • A summary

Simply put… A theme is… –the author’s central message or idea in a story. –expressed in a general statement. –is about human beings, human nature, or about some aspect of a universal human experience. -is often shown through literary devices like symbolism, setting, characters, etc.

Let’s Practice Look at the card. Discuss: What’s going on here? What do you see? What could these objects or images REPRESENT? Analyze: What message could we take from this card? What could this image be “saying” about human nature or the human experience? WRITE THIS DOWN IN A COMPLETE SENTENCE. Note: This should not be a statement specific to the card – think of it this way, you want the message to represent the card, but not make it easy for someone to pick out exactly which card you have.

How to figure out a theme of a piece of literature: What is the author saying about these topics? What topics or big ideas does the story deal with? Create a theme statement.

Create a theme statement for your topic/idea human condition/experience: the characteristics, key events, and situations which compose the essentials of human existence, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality Use this template to help: In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” Richard Connell presents the idea that _____(topic)_____ + ___(comment about the human experience)____. Ideas: Competition Violence Perseverance Man & the Natural World Fear Hunter/Hunted

Theme Statement thesis In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” Richard Connell presents the idea that _____(topic/abstract concept)_____ + ___(comment about the human condition)____. + Answer the question: How is this shown by the author? (Ex: through characters’ actions, setting, symbols, etc. Note: You can rephrase the template so that it doesn’t sound awkward. This is just a guide until you feel comfortable making your own thesis.

Thesis TEMPLATE: In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” Richard Connell presents the idea that _____(topic/idea)_____ + ___(comment about the human experience/condition)____, and he shows this through ______(literary device)_____.