When you are talking about literature, one of the most important things you need to discuss is the “Central Theme” of the text. The theme refers to the central idea or underlying message of the text. The theme is rarely stated in the text –instead, the reader must usually consider the plot, characters, and setting to infer the theme.

Theme is often confused with other literary elements such as plot or topic (or subject). However, the theme of a piece of literature is a message about people, life, and the world we live in that the author wants the reader to understand. The topic, on the other hand, is the main idea or gist of the story.

For example, think about the topic and theme of the classic story Cinderella. If you are describing the TOPIC, you might say it is a story about a poor girl who marries a prince. But if you are describing the THEME, it could be described as an example of good things happening to good people.

The book begins when John Arable's sow gives birth to a litter of piglets, and Mr. Arable discovers one of them is a runt and decides to kill it. However, his eight-year-old daughter Fern begs him to let it live. Therefore her father gives it to Fern as a pet, and she names the piglet Wilbur. Wilbur is hyperactive and always exploring new things. He lives with Fern for a few weeks and then is sold to her uncle, Homer Zuckerman. Although Fern visits him at the Zuckermans' farm as often as she can, her visits decrease as she grows older, and Wilbur gets lonelier day after day. Eventually, a warm and soothing voice tells him that she is going to be his friend. The next day, he wakes up and meets his new friend: Charlotte, the grey spider.

Wilbur lives happily with the other animals in the cellar of Zuckerman's barn. However, he learns from an old sheep that he is going to be killed and eaten at Christmas and turns to Charlotte for help. Charlotte has the idea of writing words in her web extolling Wilbur's excellence ("some pig," "terrific," "radiant," and eventually "humble"), reasoning that if she can make Wilbur sufficiently famous, he will not be killed. Thanks to Charlotte's efforts, and with the assistance of the gluttonous rat Templeton, Wilbur not only lives, but goes to the county fair with Charlotte and wins a prize. Having reached the end of her natural lifespan, Charlotte dies at the fair. Wilbur repays Charlotte by bringing home with him the sac of eggs she had laid at the fair before dying. When Charlotte's eggs hatch at Zuckerman's farm, most of them leave to make their own lives elsewhere, except for three: Joy, Aranea, and Nellie, who remain there as friends to Wilbur.

Theme(s) Self-Sacrifice True Friendship Perseverance Topic A talking spider helps a pig.

It is a beautiful summer day. The sun shines warmly on an old house near a river. Behind the house a mother duck is sitting on ten eggs. One by one all the eggs break open. All except one. This one is the biggest egg of all. Mother duck sits and sits on the big egg. At last it breaks open. Out jumps the last baby duck. It looks big and strong. It is grey and ugly. The next day mother duck takes all her little ducks to the river. She jumps into it. All her baby ducks jump in. The big ugly duckling jumps in too. They all swim and play together. The ugly duckling swims better than all the other ducklings. - Quack, quack! Come with me to the farm yard! - says mother duck to her baby ducks and they all follow her there.

The farm yard is very noisy. The poor duckling is so unhappy there. The hens peck him, the rooster flies at him, the ducks bite him, the farmer kicks him. At last one day he runs away. He comes to a river. He sees many beautiful big birds swimming there. Their feathers are so white, their necks so long, their wings so pretty. The little duckling looks and looks at them. He wants to be with them. He wants to stay and watch them. He knows they are swans. Oh, how he wants to be beautiful like them. Now it is winter. Everything is white with snow. The river is covered with ice. The ugly duckling is very cold and unhappy. Spring comes once again. The sun shines warmly. Everything is fresh and green. One morning the ugly duckling sees the beautiful swans again. He knows them. He wants so much to swim with them in the river. But he is afraid of them. But he runs into the river. He looks into the water. There in the water he sees a beautiful swan. It is he! He is no more an ugly duckling. He is a beautiful white swan.

Theme(s) Patience Self-confidence Individuality Topic An ugly duckling grows up to become a beautiful swan

Dorothy lives on a farm in Kansas until a tornado arrives, and picks up her, her house, and her dog Toto. They somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she meets some memorable friends and some enemies on her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz, who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, a heart, and courage. Dorothy is helped by the Good Witch of the North, but she's also in trouble with the Wicked Witch of the West, who seeks revenge for the death of her sister; the Wicked Witch of the East, who was killed when Dorothy’s house landed on her.

Theme(s) Friendship Appreciate what you already have Things you seek are already inside you Topic A girl goes on an adventure in a magic land.

The theme can also be described in terms of a moral, or message, or lesson that the reader can gain from the piece of literature. The Tortoise and the Hare is a lesson in perseverance. The Gingerbread Man is a lesson in arrogance and the folly of pride.

Now you try it.

Many years ago there lived a very, very rich king named Midas who had one little daughter, whose name was Marigold. It was said that he had more gold than any other king in the world. The King grew so fond of his gold that he loved it better than anything else in all the world. One day while he was in his gold room counting his money, a beautiful fairy appeared. The fairy offered to grant the king one wish. "If I could have but one wish," said the King, "I would ask that everything I touch should turn to beautiful yellow gold." "Your wish shall be granted," said the fairy. "At sunrise to- morrow morning your slightest touch will turn everything into gold. But I warn you that your gift will not make you happy." "I will take the risk," said the King. The next day King Midas awoke very early. He was eager to see if the fairy's promise had come true. As soon as the sun arose he tried the gift by touching the bed lightly with his hand. The bed turned to gold. He touched the chair and table. Instantly, they were turned to solid gold. The King was wild with joy. He ran around the room, touching everything he could see. His magic gift turned all to shining, yellow gold.

The King soon felt hungry and went down to eat his breakfast. When he raised a glass of clear cold water to drink, it became solid gold. The bread turned to gold when he touched it. He could eat nothing. All was gold, gold, gold. His little daughter came running in from the garden. He gave her a kiss. At once the little girl was changed to a golden statue. A great fear crept into the King's heart, sweeping all the joy out of his life. In his grief he called upon the fairy who had given him the gift of the golden touch. "O fairy," he begged, "take away this horrible golden gift! Take all my lands. Take all my gold. Take everything, only give me back my little daughter. I no longer think gold is the greatest thing in the world." The fairy gave the king a pitcher and told him to fill it with water then sprinkle the things he had touched. The King took the pitcher and rushed to the spring. Running back he first sprinkled the head of his dear little girl. Instantly she became his own darling Marigold again. The King sprinkled the golden food, and to his great joy it turned back to real bread and real butter. The King hated his golden touch so much that he sprinkled even the chairs and the tables and everything else that the fairy's gift had turned to gold.

Which of the following is the THEME of The Midas Touch? A. A king gains magic powers. B. Greed never leads to happiness. C. Magic can cause problems.

A country mouse invited his cousin who lived in the city to come visit him. The city mouse was so disappointed with the sparse meal which was nothing more than a few kernels of corn and a couple of dried berries. "My poor cousin," said the city mouse, "you hardly have anything to eat! I do believe that an ant could eat better! Please do come to the city and visit me, and I will show you such rich feasts, readily available for the taking." So the country mouse left with his city cousin who brought him to a splendid feast in the city's alley. The country mouse could not believe his eyes. He had never seen so much food in one place. There was bread, cheese, fruit, cereals, and grains of all sorts scattered about in a warm cozy portion of the alley.

The two mice settled down to eat their wonderful dinner, but before they barely took their first bites, a cat approached their dining area. The two mice scampered away and hid in a small uncomfortable hole until the cat left. Finally, it was quiet, and the unwelcome visitor went to prowl somewhere else. The two mice ventured out of the hole and resumed their abundant feast. Before they could get a proper taste in their mouth, another visitor intruded on their dinner, and the two little mice had to scuttle away quickly. "Goodbye," said the country mouse, "You do, indeed, live in a plentiful city, but I am going home where I can enjoy my dinner in peace."

Which of the following is the THEME of City Mouse Country Mouse? A. A country mouse visits his cousin in the city. B. A mouse discovers he does not like the city. C. Be grateful for what you already have.

Horton is the average elephant who lives in an average forest. One day, he comes upon a speck of dust. and discovers a world of small creatures. They are Whos. He talks with the mayor of Who-ville and agrees to keep the small community safe. Horton places the speck of dust on a clover. Unfortunately, the other animals in the forest cannot hear the Whos. The Kangaroo and the others believe Horton is batty. They tie up Horton and steal the Who-ville clover. An eagle flies away with it and drops it in a field of clover. Horton chases the animals and the soaring eagle. He tracks the eagle day and night. Exhausted, he reaches the field of clover. Horton takes his responsibility seriously and searches millions of clovers until finding the Who- ville clover. Throughout his chase and search, Horton repeats, “A person is a person. No matter how small.” The animals believe Horton is crazy and threaten to destroy the clover because they do not hear or see this Who-ville. Horton urges the mayor of Who-ville to have the citizens make a sound so loud the other animals will hear them. The citizens rally and create quite a ruckus. Yet, the forest animals hear not a squeak. The mayor of Who-ville races about town urging the people to make any sound. He discovers a little Who who is not participating. The little Who with encouragement joins the shouting and the forest animals hear the citizens of Who-ville. Who-ville is saved!

Which of the following is the THEME of Horton Hears a Who? A.An elephant struggles to save a community. B. True friendship knows no boundaries. C.Elephants have very good hearing.

Think about studying theme across different works of literature. How many stories can you think of that have a central theme of: Friendship? Generosity? Self-Sacrifice? Honesty?

How many stories do you know where good conquers evil? How many stories can you think of where people get what they deserve?

You reap what you sow. It is always darkest just before the dawn. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Pride goes before a fall. Honesty is the best policy.