A Complex Concept Simply Defined By Ms. Mandel

 The central message or insight into life revealed or expressed through a literary work.  For example, the theme of a work on the subject of suffering might be… “Suffering is in God’s plan and should therefore be accepted.”  For example, the theme of a work on the subject of money might be… “Money is the great corruptor and makes all men behave despicably.”  For example, the theme of a work on the subject of maturity might be… “We all have to grow up at some point, but it can be hard to act your age when life presents challenges.”

 The subject of a work  Usually stated directly. A reader who seeks a directly stated theme, may miss the complexity of the author’s message.  A cliché that may also teach a moral such as “don’t judge a book by its cover” or “look before you leap”  A moral or a lesson for both those words connote that the theme is a helpful bit of advice or even a value that the reader can simply take away and apply to his or her life. Theme often doesn’t work that way.

 Derived through the words and behaviors of characters or individuals in a work  Influenced by the direction of events and the responses of characters or individuals to the events or happenings  Developed using symbols, setting, plot, motifs even imagery  What a reader gains from reading about the events in an author’s or narrator’s world

 The plot or detailed events of a narrative  A summary of the events of the author’s or narrator’s world  Black and white  Expressed in a single, correct way

 Major and Minor-complex works with multiple characters and plot lines can illustrate numerous themes  Expressed in a complete sentence

 Exclusive to fiction; both fiction and nonfiction works express or imply themes  Expressed in a single word such as honesty, racism, open-mindedness. These may be concepts, subjects, images, symbols or even motifs that relate to the major or minor themes, but they do not express or imply a fully developed message

 Of Mice and Men  Everyone can feel loneliness regardless of their status in life  The Outsiders  Growing up and losing important people is a painful and universal experience  The Giver  Memory, both good and bad, is a crucial aspect of human survival

 What did we learn about the literary term theme?  Let’s examine thematic statements in To Kill a Mockingbird