Theme What is theme What is Theme Theme

Theme What is theme?

What is Theme? Theme is the central, underlying, and controlling idea or insight of a work of literature. Theme is the idea about life that the author wants to convey to the reader. THE MORAL OF THE STORY What the main character learns and/or what YOU learn by the outcome of your book.

Theme vs. Topic Theme and topic are NOT the same thing. THEME is a life lesson about a topic. TOPIC is the subject the author chooses to write about. For example: What is the topic of Romeo and Juliet?

Theme vs. Topic = War Theme= War is Difficult

Theme may be stated directly or implied. Usually it is implied. This means you have to read and figure out what lesson the author wants you to learn. He/She doesn’t tell you.

How to State the Theme Use a complete sentence. State theme in the form of a general life lesson. This means that you aren’t using characters/events from the story. Try to avoid using commands (“You should do this…”, etc…) Avoid common phrases (called clichés). Example: Money is the root of all evil.

Examples of Themes You do not know a person until you walk in his shoes. You should not text and drive. Study hard and make good grades. **Remember that theme of the story is the moral, or life lesson, that the author wants you to learn.

Questions to help identify Theme WHAT DOES THE MAIN CHARACTER LEARN? What do YOU learn by watching (reading about) the main character and the outcome of the book?

The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss What do the Sneetches learn by the end of the movie? What is theme of this story/movie? The Sneetches