Themes

DO:

draw a general insight from a characters behavior use qualifying words in a thematic statement such as sometimes, can, may, often express the theme in your own words express the theme as an insight into life express the theme as a general comment on a subject

DO NOT

express the theme as a subject or topic express the theme as a cliche make a thematic statement too general. avoid words such as everyone, always, never, all express the theme as a moral refer to specific characters

POORLY WRITTEN THEMES

the theme is goals for the future crime doesn't pay poverty causes crime its wrong to gossip about people Jonas learned not to trust others

WELL WRITTEN THEMES

Friends are not always trustworthy Poverty may transform honest people to criminals People who commit crimes may be punished in unexpected ways Gossip can cause serious damage to a persons reputation people with realistic goals tend to be more successful than those who put little thought into their futures.

HOW TO DETERMINE THEME

1. State the BIG IDEAS like alienation, prejudice, ambition,

HOW TO DETERMINE THEME

1. State the BIG IDEAS like alienation, prejudice, ambition, freedom, love, loyalty, passion, (nouns) 2. combine those ideas comments that reflect the author's observations about human nature, human condition, or human motivation. (is the author, for EX, saying something about the qualities of people or commenting on society.

THEME IS

An observation: avoid judging, make a comment about the world/ society, how human nature works Original and thoughtful: It should be something you find interesting, something a bit philosophical whose wording you have come up with by yourself General, about reality of all people: It translates the characters and plot into, generalization such as, "people" or "Leaders" or "young people" or "parents" or "raising a child" ect. Reasonable: It uses terms like "sometimes" or "often" suggest a more realistic view of the variety of human experiences

THEME IS NOT

A moral, a directive, or an order it doesn't tell us what to do it doesn't tell us how to behave by using words like should Avoid directives like "Be nice to elderly people" or "Love like there's no tomorrow" A common saying: it isn't trite, its not cliche, maximum or aphorism, such as "Actions speak louder than words" or "Love hurts" or "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" Specific to the text: it doesn't refer to the specific characters or plot in the text. Absolute: It doesn't use words like "all" "none" "everything" or "always" because they indicate sloppy thinking; that kind of statement is rarely true, and usually impossible to prove

THEME (what is it anyway)

is the central message of a literary work. it is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in 1 word: courage, survival, war, pride, ect. Theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. its expressed as a sentence or general statement about life, society or human nature a literary work can have more than one theme themes are not directly stated but are implied readers must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences as to which themes seem to be implied