1. Looking for Deeper Meanings
Theme
Looking for Deeper Meanings

2. What Is Theme?
Theme is the general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals.
Some themes are recurring—they appear over and over again in works from different cultures.
Paul Schulenburg

3. Subject and Theme
The subject is what a story is about. The subject can usually be expressed in a word or two.
family, dreams, unfair punishment
The theme is what the story means. The theme is an idea or message that the writer wishes to communicate about the subject.
One theme of “Cinderella” is that kindness will be rewarded.

4. Where Is the Theme?
Writers usually do not directly state their story’s theme.
Readers make inferences, or educated guesses, about a story’s theme based on what happens in the story.
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5. Inferring a Story’s Theme
Take these steps to make an inference about a story’s theme:
Step 1—Look for clues in the story.
Does the story’s title hint at the theme?
How do characters change as the story progresses?
What do the main characters discover about life or about themselves as a result of the story’s events?
Which scenes or passages in the story seem especially important?
How are conflicts and problems in the story settled?

6. Inferring a Story’s Theme
Take these steps to make an inference about a story’s theme:
Step 2—Make connections between the story and your own experience.
How does the story compare to what you know about real life?
How do you feel about the outcome of the story?

7. Inferring a Story’s Theme
Take these steps to make an inference about a story’s theme:
Step 3—Write a sentence that tells what the story reveals about life and people in general.
Remember that no two readers will state a theme in exactly the same way. Different readers may discover different themes based on their backgrounds and attitudes.
You may even find several themes in one story.

8. What Have You Learned? 1. A story may have more than one theme.
a. true
b. false
2. All of the following clues would help you determine a story’s theme EXCEPT
a. the story’s title c. the way the characters change
b. the story’s author d. the way conflicts are settled
3. A theme that appears over and over again in works from different cultures is called a(n)
a. inferred theme c. general theme
b. original theme d. recurring theme

9. The End