Share your “unreliable narrator” stories with other people in your table group When you are all finished, vote on the one you would like to share!

Topic vs. Theme and “The Tell-Tale Heart”

As you read/listen…please complete the questions

Topic: the main focus of the text This is general one word long There can be more than one Examples: Love Jealousy Violence (as seen in “The Black Cat”) Injustice Death

Theme: the main message a writer sends to the reader This message should be a universal Doesn’t include character names or anything totally specific to the text This message is about life or human nature This message is communicated in a sentence rather than a word Examples: Love is the greatest creator of common ground and mutual understanding Those who allow their lives to be ruled by jealousy sacrifice their own happiness. Those who commit acts of violence cannot escape the negative consequences of those actions.

Creating a Theme Statement: connects a specific text to a chosen theme. Should include: The author’s name The name of the text A cause and effect relationship The theme References to elements that prove that theme Example: In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”, the narrator’s journey from personal dread to the gallows makes it clear that those who commit acts of violence cannot escape the negative consequences of those actions.

Using what you know about topic, theme, and theme statements… Use “The Tell-Tale Heart” to identify: A topic A theme A theme statement This may be done independently or with one partner