Determining the Central Idea of a Text Topic v. Theme Determining the Central Idea of a Text

Topic A topic is a subject within a text It is typically one word, or a short phrase Topics are what the text is “about” For example… The Avengers is about “heroes” and “friendship” Romeo and Juliet is about “love” Jurassic Park is about “science” and “life”

Find some topics in this picture…

Find some topics in this picture… Some possible examples are: -technology -sheep herding -living in the mountains

Theme A theme is a complete statement about a topic within a text It is not one word Also referred to as a thematic statement or central idea This is what the author is trying to say about the topic he or she is writing about. The author’s message. To continue the examples… What does The Avengers show us about heroes? What does Romeo and Juliet tell us about love? What does Jurassic Park tell us/show us about science?

Let’s explore the topic of technology in this picture… …what does this photograph show us about technology?

One possible theme about technology… “Modern technology can be found in unlikely places.”

Determine a central idea (theme) for the following topic in these two pictures: respect

Turning to literature… Remember, we make meaning when the reader and the text meet together. Read the following paragraph and notice not only the basic terms of literary analysis but also their relationship to each other: The writer of fiction creates some people [CHARACTERS], puts them in a time and place [SETTING], has things happen to and around them [PLOT], lets them talk to and about each other [DIALOGUE] , and creates a person [NARRATOR] to tell the story from a position [POINT OF VIEW] in language [DICTION; SYNTAX] using devices of figurative language [IMAGERY, METAPHOR, SIMILE, SYMBOLISM, etc.] so that the reading makes meaning [THEME]. The elements of literature work together to make meaning. That is the purpose of fiction: for a reader to make meaning, which we call THEME! Turning to literature…