Understanding The Meaning of Theme

Moral

A lesson learned or advice given in a story. Example: It's better to be honest and disappoint other people than to lie and disappoint yourself.

Theme

An idea or meaning that runs through a piece of music, literature, visual art, or other form of artistic expression.

Variations of Theme

Broad themes - Childhood - Growing up - Friendship and loyalty Complex themes - As people change, so do their friendships. - The sacrifices and rewards of loyalty - The sometimes painful journey of growing up Not a theme in the passage - Luck in finding wealth and fame - Falling in love

As literary critics, you should dig deeper to uncover the more ____________ themes of a work.

Complex

True or False: Older themes in literature generally don't translate well to the present day.

False A good piece of literature usually has themes that people can relate to across cultures and time periods.

Discovering Theme

In order to find a theme , we have to look at the different parts of a story and how they fit together. Keep in mind the following questions as you search for themes: - What are the time and place of the story? What relationships do the characters have with their surroundings? - What is the main character's motivation? What matters to this character? What does he or she want? What obstacles are in the main character's way? How does he or she overcome them? - What about the other characters in the story? Who are they? What relationships do they have with the main character? - Is there a specific idea or refrain — a phrase that's repeated — that seems to be important? Is this idea accepted or rejected by the main character? Are we as readers supposed to support this idea?

Theme is one of the most basic pieces of information a literary critic might examine in order to find the _____________ of a story.

Meaning

A _____________ is a lesson learned or advice given in a story, and is often found in children's stories.

Moral

A _______ is different from a theme because it's a simple lesson learned and you can usually find it at the surface level of a story.

Moral A moral is a lesson learned or advice given in a story, and it usually doesn't ask for the kind of analysis that a theme does.

Moral, Theme, or Neither?

Moral - Look before you leap. - Beware of liars. - It is better to bend than to break. Theme - The way that power changes people's behavior - Time is experienced in different ways by different people. Neither - Water takes the shape of its container. - Superman

How Do Other Characters Contribute?

So far, we've examined and found a deeper meaning in the theme there's no place like home. But what about the story's other themes? To uncover these other themes, a literary critic might also ask: - Who are the other characters in the story? - What is their relationship with the main character?

To find themes, we look at the ________________ of the story and their underlying meaning.

Specific Details

Do specific details in a story help us find theme, or do themes help us find specific details?

Specific details help us find a theme. Asking questions about character, time and place, and other details helps us find themes.

According to the article "Five Star for Literary Critics," what is one role that a literary critic fulfills?

The consumer advocate who gives the reader information about the book

What's a theme in this story from 1906, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, that might still apply today?

The dangers of keeping secrets

Identify what theme is suggested by the help that Dorothy gets on her journey.

The role of friendship in achieving goals

What's a way of phrasing the "there's no place like home" theme from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that might help the reader understand the story better?

The value of choosing family over magic and adventure

___________ help a reader connect.

Theme

___________ are ideas or meanings that run through a piece of music, literature, painting, or other form of artistic expression.

Themes

Relationship Between Theme and Moral

Themes are more than simple lessons. A moral, for example, is a type of lesson or advice often found in children's stories. While some people consider morals a type of theme, they're not as complex as the ones you want to look for as a literary critic. For example, in Aesop's fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare," the hare brags about his speed, and is sure that he could win a race against the tortoise. Meanwhile the tortoise just puts his head down and starts running. The hare ends up losing the race because he is so confident, he takes a nap in the middle of it. The moral of this story? Slow and steady wins the race. The themes you're looking for are usually more complex than morals and require a little more thought.

True or False: One of the purposes of a literary critic is to point out what a piece of literature means.

True The role of a literary critic is to help the reader understand a piece of literature in a deeper way.

True or False: The theme of a piece of literature is what helps us understand and connect with it.

True Theme is an idea or meaning that runs through a piece of art, and this is usually what we connect with.

Chaz and Michael used to be best friends but had grown apart when they started high school. Chaz, a good-looking baseball player, was accepted into the popular group, while Michael, a shy "bookworm," kept quiet and tried not to draw attention to himself. After a party, Chaz gets into trouble and is abandoned by his new friends. Michael agrees to help him, even though they haven't spoken in a long time. Which sentence best states the complex theme of the passage?

True friends will always be there for you

What's a theme in this ancient Greek story, The Odyssey, that might still apply today?

With leadership comes responsibility.