Theme: the heart of a story By: Ms. Foster

Definition Theme: an idea or “truth” about life or people in general, revealed in a poem or other written work. It’s the message about life the writer wants us, the readers, to take away from a story. Several themes usually emerge* within a single story. *emerge: come into view

More about themes For example: One theme in The Three Little Pigs might be “It’s best to be prepared for the worst situations.” What might be another theme from this story?

“We should build strong houses General Application To qualify as a theme, the message should be transferable from the writing to our own world. In other words, it should make sense both places. Is the following statement a theme? “We should build strong houses in case a wolf comes.”

Theme vs. Plot Theme is what the story means to us. Theme involves the message of the story. “This story showed me that. . .” Plot is progression of events in the story. Plot involves major events and conflict in a story. “This story is about. . .”

Theme vs. Topic A theme is the idea or the message inside the topic. A theme is expressed in a full sentence: Love challenges us to be our best. Example: “Family provides support and helps a person grow” is a theme. A topic is the item(s), people, or concept the writer is discussing. A topic is expressed in a word or two: love, childhood, death of family. Example: “Family” (is the topic).

How to find the theme A theme is usually not stated directly in the work, unless it is a moral. Readers infer, make an educated guess about, the theme by looking at all the elements of the work to figure out what they mean for the reader.

Check for EVIDENCE that you are correct! Proof, Proof, Proof BEFORE stating a theme you believe exists, (“This story shows me that . . .”) Check for EVIDENCE that you are correct! What evidence from the story supports (helps prove) that theme? If you can’t find specific situations in the book that demonstrate your inference, it’s probably not a theme. Also remember: stories can have multiple themes.

Bibliography All information in this slide show was taken from the sixth grade textbook: Elements of Literature Introductory Course – Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.