1. Theme

2. THEME is the BIG IDEA that stretches across the entire story.
Theme is what the story teaches readers.

3. THEME- Life lesson or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work.
Good things come to those who wait.
Relationships change over time.
It is better to be honest than to have money.

4. Finding the Theme
The theme is NOT the same thing as the subject or topic!
The subject can be stated in a single word or two.
The topic sums up the story in a few words.
The theme is something you learn from the story and MUST be written in a complete sentence.

5. For example, think about the Subject, Topic and Theme of the classic story Cinderella.
Subject- love
TOPIC- a poor girl marries a prince
THEME- Good things happen to good people.

6. A THEME is also different from a MORAL, although the theme can be a moral.
A MORAL is a lesson meant to teach. The story is told to teach the moral.
Aesop’s Fables have morals as themes.
A THEME is an idea or issue that is important that gives some insight about life or human behavior. It is something that can be learned from the story but is not the reason for telling it.

7. What clues lead us to the theme?
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge. Then, it had flown around in the cage, trying to stretch its wings. Although we felt a little sad, we opened the lid to the cage one evening. The butterfly seemed confused and didn’t leave at first. Then, in one burst of zigzag fluttering, it erupted from the cage and flew all the way to the end of the yard and down the hill by the school. “That was the right thing to do,” Aidan said. “I know,” I answered, even though I already worried about the butterfly. What would it eat? How would it live?
What clues lead us to the theme?

8. We knew that it was time to set the butterfly free
We knew that it was time to set the butterfly free. We had seen it make its chrysalis and emerge. Then, it had flown around in the cage, trying to stretch its wings. Although we felt a little sad, we opened the lid to the cage one evening. The butterfly seemed confused and didn’t leave at first. Then, in one burst of zigzag fluttering, it erupted from the cage and flew all the way to the end of the yard and down the hill by the school.
“That was the right thing to do,” Aidan said.
“I know,” I answered, even though I already worried about the butterfly. What would it eat? How would it live?

9. So, what is the theme?
Wild creatures should be free.
If you love something, let it go.
The right thing to do isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
You’ve probably read something with one of these themes before. That’s one of the neat things about theme– the same ideas are repeated over and over.

10. There may be multiple views about the theme of a story.
You do not have to agree with a theme to identify it.
People may express the same theme in different words.
There may be different opinions about what the main theme of a story is.
The most meaningful literary works often have more than one theme.

11. Applies to the “Real” World.
So, what is theme again?
life lesson
Bigger than the story
A complete sentence!!!
Small
World of the
Story
Big World of the Theme.
Applies to the “Real” World.

12. Universal Themes: Come up again and again in literature.
Deal with basic human concerns– good and evil, life and death, love and loss
These are themes that can apply to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

13. Some Universal Themes:
Persistence pays off.
Honesty is better than cheating.
It’s more important to be nice than popular.
Be careful what you wish for…
Love is the most important force.
It pays to work hard and plan ahead.
Appearances can be deceiving.

14. Reasons authors use Universal Themes:
To reveal the lesson the main character has learned
So readers can relate the events to their own personal experiences
To make their writing meaningful

15. Sometimes an author comes right out and tells the theme
Sometimes an author comes right out and tells the theme. This is uncommon.
I looked at all the candy I could buy. I had the dollar, right there in my hand, but suddenly I didn’t feel hungry. I wished that I hadn’t stolen the dollar. I wished that I hadn’t taken the money from my brother’s bank. “I don’t think I want to buy anything today,” I muttered quickly to the clerk. Then I ran from the store. I had learned something important– it’s better to be honest than to have money.

16. More often than not, themes are implied
More often than not, themes are implied. You have to draw them out of the story.
Jenny Puchovier was so excited. She had a pack of Starburst in her lunch and she had been looking forward to eating them all morning.
Lunch finally came and Jenny sat down to eat her Starbursts when her friend Yudy sat next to her. “Let me get the pink ones,” asked Yudy. Jenny liked the pink ones best, but she thought Yudy was funny and Jenny wanted Yudy to like her, so Jenny gave Yudy all of her pink Starbursts.
Before Jenny was done giving Yudy the pink ones, Carrie sat on the other side of Jenny. “Let me get the red and the orange ones, Jenny. Remember when I gave you that Snickers?” Jenny didn’t remember that, though she did remember when
Carrie ate a whole Snickers in front of her,
but Jenny thought Carrie was cool, so
she gave her the red and the orange
Starbursts.
Now that she only had the yellow
ones, Jenny wasn’t so excited about eating her starbursts anymore.