Theme Literary Element
What is the subject? The subject of a story is the main topic of the story, movie, painting, etc. The subject can be stated with one word Examples: life, love, war
What is Theme? The theme of a story, movie, painting, etc., is the message the artist is trying to say about the subject. The theme should be stated as a complete sentence. Example: Love is the answer to world peace. You do not have to agree with the message. Remember: it is the author’s message about the subject.
How can you determine the theme? 1. Determine the subject of the piece. 2. Analyze what the characters are saying and doing in relation to the subject. 3. Based on the previous information, determine the author/artist’s message about the subject (theme). Hint: sometimes the theme is straightforward and easy to figure out. Sometimes, however, it is more difficult and requires you to use inferences.
Listen to the following songs What is the subject of the song? One word What is the theme of the song? What is the artist trying to say about the subject? Complete sentence
“War” By: Edwin Starr I said, war, huh Good God, y'all What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Uh-huh War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again, y'all War, it ain't nothing But a heartbreaker War, friend only to the undertaker Ooooh, war It's an enemy to all mankind The point of war blows my mind War has caused unrest Within the younger generation Induction then destruction Who wants to die Aaaaah, war-huh Good God y'all What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it, say it, say it War, huh What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me War, whoa, Lord What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Uh-huh War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again y'all War, huh, good God What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me War, huh, good God What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me Ohhh, war, I despise Because it means destruction Of innocent lives War means tears To thousands of mothers eyes When their sons go to fight And lose their lives
War, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker War, it's got one friend That's the undertaker Ooooh, war, has shattered Many a young mans dreams Made him disabled, bitter and mean Life is much to short and precious To spend fighting wars these days War can't give life It can only take it away Ooooh, war, huh Good God y'all What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again War, whoa, Lord Listen to me War, friend only to the undertaker Peace, love and understanding Tell me, is there no place for them today They say we must fight to keep our freedom But Lord knows there's got to be a better way Ooooooh, war, huh You tell me Say it, say it, say it, say itWar, huh Stand up and shout it Nothing
“Peace Train” by: Cat Stevens Now I've been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be, something good has begun Oh I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one And I believe it could be, some day it's going to come Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again Now I've been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be, something good has begun Oh peace train sounding louder Glide on the peace train Come on now peace train Yes, peace train holy roller Everyone jump upon the peace train Come on now peace train Get your bags together, go bring your good friends too Cause it's getting nearer, it soon will be with you Now come and join the living, it's not so far from you And it's getting nearer, soon it will all be true Now I've been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is Why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again
“Right Now” by: Van Halen Don't wanna wait 'til tomorrow Why put it off another day? One by one, little problems Build up, and stand in our way. Oh One step ahead, one step behind it Now ya gotta run to get even Make future plans I'll dream about yesterday, hey! Come on turn, turn this thing around (Right now) Hey! It's your tomorrow (Right now) Come on, it's everything (Right now) Catch your magic moment Do it right here and now It means everything Miss a beat, you lose a rhythm An nothin' falls into place. No! Only missed by a fraction Slipped a little off your pace. Oh! The more things you get, the more you want Just trade in one for another Workin' so hard to make it easy Whoa, got to turn. Come on, turn this thing around (Right now) Hey, it's your tomorrow (Right now) Come on, it's everything (Right now) catch that magic moment Do it right here and now It means everything Said a lie to me Right now What are ya waitin' for? Oh! Yeah! Right now (Right now) Hey! It's your tomorrow (Right now) Come on, it's everything (Right now) Catch that magic moment And do it right, right now (Right now) Oh, right now! It's what's happening Right here and now Right now, it's right now Oh! Tell me, what are ya waitin' for? Turn this thing around
“Every Rose has its Thorn” by: Poison We both lie silently still in the dead of the night Although we both lie close together We feel miles apart inside Was it something I said or something I did Did my words not come out right Though I tried not to hurt you Though I tried But I guess that's why they say Chorus: Every rose has its thorn Just like every night has its dawn Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song Every rose has its thorn Yeah it does I listen to her favourite song playing on the radio Hear the DJ say love's a game of easy come and easy go But I wonder does he know Has he ever felt like this And I know that you'd be here right now If I could let you know somehow I guess Chorus Though it's been a while now I can still feel so much pain Like a knife that cuts you the wound heals but the scar, that scar will remain Solo I know I could saved a love that night If I'd known what to say Instead of makin' love We both made our separate ways and now I hear you found somebody new and that I never meant that much to you To hear that tears me up inside And to see you cuts me like a knife I guess Chorus
“Beautiful” By Christina Aguilera Don't look at me Every day is so wonderful Then suddenly it's hard to breathe. Now and then I get insecure From all the pain, I'm so ashamed. I am beautiful no matter what they say. Words can't bring me down. I am beautiful in every single way. Yes, words can't bring me down... Oh no. So don't you bring me down today. To all your friends you're delirious, So consumed in all your doom. Trying hard to fill the emptiness. The pieces gone, left the puzzle undone. is that the way it is? You are beautiful no matter what they say Words can't bring you down....oh no You are beautiful in every single way Yes, words can't bring you down, oh, no So don't you bring me down today... No matter what we do (no matter what we do) No matter what we say (no matter what we say) We're the song inside the tune Full of beautiful mistakes And everywhere we go (and everywhere we go) The sun will always shine (the sun will always, always shine) And tomorrow we might wake on the other side We are beautiful no matter what they say Yes, words won't bring us down, no, no We are beautiful in every single way Yes, words can't bring us down, oh, no So don't you bring me down today Oh, yeah, don't you bring me down today, yeah, ooh Don't you bring me down ooh... today
Read the Story “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs!” By: Jon Sciezska
"Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs "Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story. I'm Alexander T. Wolf. You can call me Al. I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all wrong. Maybe it's because of our diet. Hey, it's not my fault wolves eat cute little animals like bunnies and sheep and pigs. That's just the way we are. If cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you were Big and Bad too. But like I was saying, the whole big bad wolf thing is all wrong. The real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar.
THIS IS THE REAL STORY. Way back in Once Upon a Time time, I was making a birthday cake for my dear old granny. I had a terrible sneezing cold. I ran out of sugar. So I walked down the street to ask my neighbor for a cup of sugar. Now this neighbor was a pig. And he wasn't too bright either. He had built his whole house out of straw. Can you believe it? I mean who in his right mind would build a house of straw? So of course the minute I knocked on the door, it fell right in. I didn't want to just walk into someone else's house. So I called, "Little Pig, Little Pig, are you in?" No answer. I was just about to go home without the cup of sugar for my dear old granny's birthday cake.
That's when my nose started to itch. I felt a sneeze coming on That's when my nose started to itch. I felt a sneeze coming on. Well I huffed. And I snuffed. And I sneezed a great sneeze. And you know what? The whole darn straw house fell down. And right in the middle of the pile of straw was the First Little Pig - dead as a doornail. He had been home the whole time. It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw. So I ate it up. Think of it as a cheeseburger just lying there. I was feeling a little better. But I still didn't have my cup of sugar . So I went to the next neighbor's house. This neighbor was the First Little Pig's brother. He was a little smarter, but not much. He has built his house of sticks. I rang the bell on the stick house. Nobody answered. I called, "Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in?" He yelled back."Go away wolf. You can't come in. I'm shaving the hairs on my shinny chin chin."
I had just grabbed the doorknob when I felt another sneeze coming on I had just grabbed the doorknob when I felt another sneeze coming on. I huffed. And I snuffed. And I tried to cover my mouth, but I sneezed a great sneeze. And you are not going to believe this, but the guy's house fell down just like his brother's. When the dust cleared, there was the Second Little Pig - dead as a doornail. Wolf's honor. Now you know food will spoil if you just leave it out in the open. So I did the only thing there was to do. I had dinner again. Think of it as a second helping. I was getting awfully full. But my cold was feeling a little better. And I still didn't have that cup of sugarr for my dear old granny's birthday cake. So I went to the next house. This guy was the First and Second Little Pig's brother. He must have been the brains of the family. He had built his house of bricks. I knocked on the brick house. No answer. I called, "Mr Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in?" And do you know what that rude little porker answered? "Get out of here, Wolf. Don't bother me again."
Talk about impolite. He probably had a whole sackful of sugar Talk about impolite! He probably had a whole sackful of sugar. And he wouldn't give me even one little cup for my dear sweet old granny's birthday cake. What a pig! I was just about to go home and maybe make a nice birthday card instead of a cake, when I felt my cold coming on. I huffed And I snuffed. And I sneezed once again. Then the Third Little Pig yelled, " And your old granny can sit on a pin!" Now I'm usually a pretty calm fellow. But when somebody talks about my granny like that, I go a Little crazy. When the cops drove up, of course I was trying to break down this Pig's door. And the whole time I was huffing and puffing and sneezing and making a real scene.
The rest as they say is history The rest as they say is history. The news reporters found out about the two pigs I had for dinner. They figured a sick guy going to borrow a cup of sugar didn't sound very exciting. So they jazzed up the story with all of that "Huff and puff and blow your house down" And they made me the Big Bad Wolf. That's it The real story. I was framed. "
What is the subject of the “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs?” What is the THEME of the story? Think-Pair-Share Write: Do you agree with the theme of this story? Why, or why not?