1. Binder Core “A Boy & His Puppy” Stories
Short Story Review
Binder Core
“A Boy & His Puppy” Stories

2. Theme It is not the "moral" of the story.
A moral is a piece of practical advice that can be gained from the novel to apply to our own lives.
A theme is more complex than a moral and may have no direct advice or philosophical value that the reader can apply
It is not the subject of the story.
It is not a "hidden meaning" that needs to be pulled out of the story.

3. Theme
What theme is:
Theme is the meaning released by the work when we take all aspects of the work in its entirety into account.
It is an aspect of human experience that the author wishes to express.
The importance of theme in literature can be overestimated; the work of fiction is more than just the theme. However, the theme allows the author to control or give order to his perceptions about life.

4. Theme
Discovering theme: Theme can be discovered only by becoming aware of the relations among the parts of a story and of the relations of the parts to a whole:
Characters: What kind of people does the story deal with?
Plot: What do the characters do? Are they in control of their lives, or are they controlled by fate?
Motivation: Why do the characters behave as they do, and what motives dominate them?
Style: How does the author perceive reality?
Tone: What is the author's attitude towards his subject?
Values: What are the values of the characters in the story? What values does the author seem to promote?

5. Motif
recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

6. “The Monkey’s Paw” setting: characters: climax: themes & motifs:
literary devices:
danger of wishing
foreshadowing
home vs. outside
symbols:
groups of three
paw
chess

7. “There Will Come Soft Rains”
setting:
characters:
climax:
themes & motifs:
literary devices:
war
personification
technology
foreshadowing
nature’s triumph
suspense

8. “A Sound of Thunder” setting: characters: literary devices: climax:
allusion:
themes & motifs:
Bible
interconnectedness
Nazi Germany
purpose of all actions
irony
foreshadowing
simile & metaphor

9. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
setting:
characters:
climax:
literary devices:
themes & motifs:
realism
fluid nature of time
foreshadowing (widens towards end)
blurred line between reality & illusion
tone (seem)
distorted sensory experience
symbols:
driftwood
color gray
bridge

10. “Charles” setting: characters: climax: themes & motifs:
identity
literary devices:
home vs. outside
point-of-view
appearance vs. reality
character:
lies & getting caught

11. “The Lottery” setting: characters: climax: themes & motifs:
blindly following tradition
random persecution
rules
foreshadowing
literary devices:
suspense (lack of detail)
specific details (sets up shocking end)
symbols:
lottery
black box

12. “Lamb to the Slaughter”
setting:
characters:
climax:
themes & motifs:
literary devices:
betrayal
internal conflict
identity
suspense
devotion
dark humor
irony

13. “The Man From the South”
setting:
characters:
climax:
literary devices:
themes & motifs:
dark humor
trust
point-of-view
too good to be true

14. “The Tell-Tale Heart” setting: characters: climax: themes & motifs:
love & hate
literary devices:
self vs. alter ego (in/sanity?)
flashback
irony
eyes
mood (sound)
guilt
imagery
time