What Is Theme? What makes a story linger in our hearts and minds long after we’ve read it? Often it is the idea on which the story is built—its theme.

What Is Theme? Theme is the central idea, or insight, about life or human behavior that a story reveals. In other words, it is the moral of the story or life-lesson learned in a story Friends stick together, through thick and thin. (“Amigo Brothers”)

What Is Theme? In most stories, the theme is not stated directly. Instead, it is revealed to us through the characters’ experiences. [End of Section]

It pays to work hard and plan ahead. Appearances can be deceiving. Themes Quick Check Stories 1. Beauty and the Beast 2. The Ugly Duckling 3. The Three Little Pigs Match these familiar stories to the appropriate theme. A It pays to work hard and plan ahead. Appearances can be deceiving. B

Finding the Theme Keep the following guidelines in mind when you want to find & state the theme of a work. The theme is NOT the same thing as the subject. The subject is simply the topic. It can be expressed with a single word, such as loyalty. The theme makes some revelation about the subject and should be expressed in a sentence: example: “Loyalty to a leader is not always noble.”

Other ways to find/identify the Theme 1. Writers often express theme through what their characters learn. Does the main character change? Does a character realize something he or she did not know before?

2. Conflict (the problem) helps reveal theme. Finding the Theme 2. Conflict (the problem) helps reveal theme. What is the conflict, or struggle between opposing forces, that the main character faces? How is the conflict resolved? Conflict Resolution Theme Two friends find a wallet. One friend wants to return it to the owner; the other wants to keep it. They return the wallet and share a small reward. People are often rewarded for making the right decision.

3. Sometimes the title gives clues. Finding the Theme 3. Sometimes the title gives clues. Does the title have a special meaning? Does it point to the theme?

Finding the Theme 4. There is no single way to state the theme. People may express the same theme in different words. *Enjoy life while you’re still alive *Today, make the best out of life. The most meaningful literary stories often have more than one theme.

Let’s find the theme in media selections “The Swan” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tBGJjkPXiY “The Lion and the Jackal” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C07U8QIvxBo&feature=related “The Ant and the Dove” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrIMQwgK0MA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hoiN78UVFI&feature=related Other