1. ThemesThemes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

2. What is a Theme? The theme is the central message of any literary work. It is the message that the author wants to convey to the reader and is usually expressed as a sentence or a general statement about life or human nature Most themes are not directly stated. The reader must often make inferences, drawing from the elements of the work and use those inferences to arrive at theme.

3. Arriving at Theme in “To Build a Fire” 1. Answer the following question in 1-3 words: What is “____________” about? (Insert the title of the piece of literature in the blank) 2.Answer the next question: What does _________ believe/say about_______? (In the first blank, insert the author’s name. In the second blank, insert what you answered for step 1) Answer this question using this format: ____________believes/says that…… (Insert the author’s name in the blank and then complete the sentence) Cross out the first three words from the answer you wrote for step 2.

4. Fine Tuning Theme Avoid the use of 1 st or 2 nd person in theme (I, you, me, mine, yours, ours) Express a human condition/experience. Avoid moralizing-delete should or ought Avoide specific reference to characters of plot Avoid absolutes (everybody, everything, all, none, etc) Avoid sounding like a fortune cookie

5. Thematic Statement Is often used to conclude essay or to begin definition essays Takes a theme idea and combines it with a statement of HOW that idea works within the context of a work to comment a) the human ambition b) the human experience c) the human condition

6. Some possible theme ideas. Do not record these! Alienation Ambition Appearance / reality Custom / tradition Betrayal Bureaucracy Cruelty / violence Loyalty Escape Justice Prejudice instinct Psychological journey Chance / fate/ luck Mysterious stranger Free will / will power Time / eternity Women / feminism Materialism Exile Music / painting / dance Heaven /Utopia Home Search for identity

7. Theme ideas continued Imitation Illusion / innocence Children Defeat / failure Domination / suppression Persistence / perseverance Games / contests / sports Heart vs. reason Education / school Memory / past Faith / loss of faith Repentance War Individual Dreams /Fantasies Family / parenthood greed

8. More Theme Ideas! Ritual ceremony Scapegoat victim Search Social status Supernatural / magic Courage / cowardice despair/ discontent Mob psychology Falsity / pretense Resistance / rebellion Law / justice Loneliness / aloneness Duty Poverty Guilt Youth

9. A few more! Disillusionment Patriotism Prophecy Revenge / retribution ***Many more theme ideas exist!

10. Tying into theme PLOTSUBJECTSTHEMES Summary of the plot or events of a work in paragraph form Subjects of the work – what the work is about – listed as words/phrases A complete sentence identifying what IDEA the author is conveying about the subject In the passage about Sylvia, Sylvia awakens early one morning to climb the largest tree so that she can view the sea. 1)Determination 2)Child’s imagination 3)curiosity To gain a clearer view of one’s place in the world, one must have the qualities of determination and curiosity.

11. Theme statements should… Be one sentence long (aim for a compound- complex sentence) Express an understanding of the work being studied Not include specific references to the text Avoid all-inclusive works like all, never, every, etc. These words hold too many possibility for errors in thinking since they are (rarely) ever universally true.

12. Examples The role of educating the children is often that of the mother; she teaches her children not only the facts of life, but also how to use those facts. In searching for a personal identity, man will often experience great trauma before finding his true self.

13. Your turn!!! Write TWO statements of theme related to “To Build a Fire” Write two statements of theme related to F451