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THEME : an idea about life

THEME : an idea about life. Honors English I Stout Unit Two: Chapter Four. Revealing a Truth About Human Behavior. Theme = central idea, or insight, about life that the story reveals Usually a truth about human nature that the writer has experienced and wants to communicate to others.

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THEME : an idea about life

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  1. THEME: an idea about life Honors English I Stout Unit Two: Chapter Four

  2. Revealing a Truth About Human Behavior • Theme = central idea, or insight, about life that the story reveals • Usually a truth about human nature that the writer has experienced and wants to communicate to others

  3. Revealing a Truth About Human Behavior (cont.) • Not stated directly in the story • Characters act out the theme for us • When done well, the audience feels the characters’ experiences so strongly that the truth is revealed to them as well • Although usually “invisible” and unstated, the theme can be the story’s most forceful element

  4. Revealing a Truth About Human Behavior (cont.) • Themes are not just found in novels. They can be found across genres(novels, plays, poems, nonfiction…) • A powerful theme can be the reason that a work of literature gets to our hearts and lingers in our minds.

  5. Universal Themes • Themes are often generalizations about life or human nature. • Generalizations  experiences that are common to all people everywhere  different authors express similar themes • Experiences that are common to all people everywhere  universal themes

  6. How to Find a Story’s Theme • Theme is NOT the subject of the work of literature. • Subject can be expressed in one word (love, hatred, greed…) • Theme = what is revealed ABOUT the subject (ex: Love may be more likely to bloom when we least expect it.)

  7. How to Find a Story’s Theme (cont.) • ALWAYS expressed in at least one full sentence • Often a writer expresses the theme through what a character learns, or how the character changes.

  8. How to Find a Story’s Theme (cont.) • Think about how the conflict is resolved • How the conflict is resolved often provides a clue to the theme.

  9. How to Find a Story’s Theme (cont.) • After reading, think about the title. Does it have a special meaning? (not all titles do, but sometimes there is a big hint) • Test your theme! – does it apply to the whole novel, not just a small part of it?

  10. How to Find a Story’s Theme (cont.) • There is not always ONE correct answer for theme. • You may express the same theme in different words than a classmate, OR your opinion about what the main theme is might be different than a classmate…that’s OK! • Texts richest in meaning often have more than one theme.

  11. How to Find a Story’s Theme IN REVIEW • Subject (what ABOUT it) • Characters (changes/lessons) • Conflict (how is it resolved) • Title? • Test it…apply to the whole novel? • It’s ok to be different

  12. Thinking Critically About Theme Taken from page 209 in your textbook: The wise reader makes a judgment about a writer’s view of the world and doesn’t accept a story’s theme as valid just because it’s in print. The wise reader asks, “Is this story’s view of life too romantic? Is it too cynical? Is it too simple? Is it narrow-minded? Is this writer an overenthusiastic salesperson who is trying to get me to buy an idea that is false or shoddy?” Much of popular fiction is “formula fiction,” fiction written to a plan that satisfies the general preference for happy or upbeat stories over true-to-life ones. As wise readers we must learn to make our own critical judgments about the fiction we read – just as we do about the television shows we watch and the movies we see.

  13. Practice! Look at the Practice map on page 209. Let’s fill this out for “Beauty and the Beast” together. Then you’ll do your own.

  14. “Beauty and the Beast” Topic: love versus fear, appearance versus reality How main character changes: At first, Beauty is afraid of the Beast and repelled by his appearance; but as she comes to know him, she is able to see the gentleness that lies beneath his ugly exterior and falls in love with him.

  15. “Beauty and the Beast” cont. How the conflict is resolved: When Beauty expresses her love for the Beast, he turns into a handsome prince, and the two live happily ever after. What the title suggests: It suggests the central questions and conflicts that are resolved in the story, such as “What is true beauty?” “How much can you tell about a person from his or her outward appearance?” and “What happens when two seemingly opposite qualities are brought together?”

  16. “Beauty and the Beast” Themes: based on all the clues, what do you think? Make a prediction. • Love enables people to see what lies beneath the surface of another person to see the person’s true self. • You can’t always judge a character by his or her outward appearance. • Love can transform people and bring out their inner beauty.

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