What is

THEME?

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.

• Theme is the author’s message to the reader as a reoccurring idea

What do I do?

• Part of your job as a reader is to understand what the writer is trying to say. Writers seldom come right out and say, “Hey, reader, this is what I want you to know.”

• You need to make inferences and draw conclusions about what the writer is trying to express.

What to Think About

What is a “big idea” of a work?

• Themes are usually about big ideas like freedom, trust, friendship, family, good vs. evil, and so on.

• Before reading, preview the text to look for clues to the big idea in the title, in the first and last paragraphs, and in any repeated words or ideas.

Finding the Theme

• Keep the following guidelines in mind when you want to find and 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 stated in

a single word, such as loyalty.• The theme makes some revelation about the

subject and should be expressed in a sentence: “Loyalty to a leader is not always noble.”

Finding the Theme

• Conflict can also help determine theme.• What is the conflict, or struggle between

opposing forces, that the main character faces?

• How is the conflict resolved?

Two friends find a wallet. One friend wants to return it to the owner; the other wants to keep it.

ConflictThey return the wallet and share a small reward.

ResolutionPeople are often rewarded for making the right moral decision.

Theme

Universal Themes

Stories

The Little Red Hen

Beauty and the Beast

The Three Little Pigs

The Ugly Duckling

The Frog Prince

It pays to work hard and plan ahead.

Appearances can be deceiving.

A

B

Match these familiar stories to the appropriate universal theme.

Themes that come up again and again in literature are known as universal themes.

A

B

A

B

B

Match the Topic with its Theme

• Be careful how you treat other people because they may treat you the same.

• Face your fears and you can defeat them.

• Do not wish for what others possess. Be happy with what you have.

• Work for what you want in life and you can achieve any goal.

courage dreams jealousyrevenge

revenge

courage

jealousy

dreams

Let’s Practice!

• What is the theme of the following children’s book?

Four-Square

The tornado was approaching Fort Worth early on a Tuesday morning.

Severe rain started pouring out of the sky by the time school was starting.

The beautiful new flowers that were in bloom were beginning to wilt.

All of this excitement occurred on the day of our annual TAKS test.