1 / 12

Theme

Theme. The Search for Meaning. What is a Theme ?. Theme : Life lesson, meaning, moral , or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work. In other words… Theme is what the story teaches readers. Themes. A theme is not a word , it is a sentence .

ksena
Download Presentation

Theme

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Theme The Search for Meaning

  2. What is a Theme? Theme: Life lesson, meaning, moral, or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work. In other words… Theme is what the story teaches readers.

  3. Themes A theme is not a word, it is a sentence. You don’t have to agree with the theme to identify it. Examples Money can’t buy happiness. Don’t judge people based on the surface. It is better to die free than live under tyranny.

  4. IdentifyingThemes Themesare not explicit (clearly stated). Themesare implied. Themes are bigger than the story. Big World of the Theme. Applies to the “Real”World. Small World of the Story

  5. Themes are about the big picture. Not“Strong people are bad.” Not “Harrison shouldn’t have done that.” Think BIGGER. Find “Real” World advice. Big World of the Theme. Applies to the “Real”World. Small World of the Story

  6. Review • Theme is what we can learn from a story. • Themes must be inferred. • Themes are about the BIG world.

  7. Practice • Go back to “Harrison Bergeron”. • Write what you think the theme is: What is the author trying to teach us? What are they saying about society? • Write another sentence explaining what happens in the story that leads you to believe this. How does the small world of the story connect to the big world theme?

  8. Characters and Theme • A theme is interwoven into every aspet of the story – including the characters. • Characters carry the theme. • A theme is carried throughout a novel BIG IDEA… • Theme: the message of the story; usually related to the human experience. Therefore… Characters will prove the theme’s importance and support it by how they deal with conflict.

  9. Characters and Theme • Characters help to show the theme • What is the character like? • Personality • Appearance • Background • Behavior • What they say • How does the character deal with conflict? • What does the character learn about life through the conflict? • What is the author trying to say about life?

  10. Characters and Theme • Theme and character must work together. • The character should not be forced to work with a theme that does not fit his personality. • For example… • A character who benefits from crime and gets away with it all in the end will not support a theme that crime does not pay. • A character who commits many crimes but is remorseful after learning about the affect to victims supports the them that crime does not pay.

  11. Characters and Theme • If the theme of a story is Love conquers all, the writer must show characters that fight for love against all odds. • Romeo and Juliet: the lovers will do anything to be together like defy their parents, meet in secret and ultimately – die.

  12. Practice • Think about Harrison Bergeron • What is he like? • Personality • Appearance • Behavior • What he says • How does he deal with conflict? • What does the character show us about life? • What is the author trying to say about life through Harrison?

More Related