Short Story Themes
Which answer choice would NOT be a good central theme selection for “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros?
a. It can be hard to speak up in embarrassing times.
b. People get hurt when those in authority make assumptions.
c. Every birthday is a good birthday.
d. Getting older and getting wiser are not necessarily the same thing.
What is every birthday is a good birthday?
What is identity?
a. a particular way of seeing something
b. to agree with something
c. a person's name and other facts about who they are
What is a person's name and other facts about who they are?
Which of the lines from “New Clothes” by Julia Alvarez BEST shows the speaker’s family identity being shared or passed down to a new generation?
a. "Sometimes she let me stand on her left side, taking the fabric in hand....
b. "Threading the levers, eyepieces, winding the turquoise string...”
c. "I begged for the odd job...”
d. “I remember the whirr and whine of her black Singer, the gold traceries...”
What is "Sometimes she let me stand on her left side, taking the fabric in hand....
What theme is NOT present in The Lion in Love?
a. love
b. deception
c. fear
d. entertainment
What is entertainment?
Which answer choice would NOT be a good central theme selection for “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan?
a. Family love is just as important as social acceptance.
b. Family dinners are a valuable part of everyday tradition.
c. Public reputation is the most important thing in life.
d. Identity is more important than temporary wants.
What is public reputation is the most important thing in life?
What is cultural identity?
a. a group of people of the same race, religion and traditions
b. A person's view of life
c. A person's hobbies
What is a group of people of the same race, religion and traditions?
How is the speaker in Langston Hughes’ “If-ing” unlike the Roger we meet at the beginning of “Thank You, Ma’m”?
a. The speaker would like to have more money.
b. The speaker has goals for his life or changes he wants to make.
c. The speaker imagines things he would like to have.
d. The speaker has made peace with what he cannot get.
What is the speaker has made peace with what he cannot get?
Which answer choice would NOT be a good choice as the central theme of “Thank You, M’am”?
a. Get what you can while you can.
b. Mentoring can change young people’s lives.
c. Poor choices can be made into learning opportunities.
d. It is wiser to wait patiently than to rush in without thinking.
What is get what you can while you can?
Which of the themes below is the BEST match as the central theme of “The Lion in Love” by Aesop?
a. Fathers should decide who their daughters marry.
b. Lions can never be trusted to keep their word.
c. Fathers cannot be trusted to keep their daughters safe.
d. Never give up your strengths to make others comfortable.
What is never give up your strengths to make others comfortable.
____, which includes TV, newspapers, movies, and magazines, also has an impact on how we understand ourselves.
- Peers
- Media
- Adolescence
What is media?
Which of the answer choices below does NOT describe Laurie (the little boy who tells stories about school) in Shirley Jackson’s story “Charles”?
a. Difficult
b. Projecting
c. Honest
d. Deceptive
What is Honest?
Which lines from the text “Names/Nombres” best support the idea that changing nicknames can show how identity changes over time?
a. "My friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames which recalled our high school good times: Beans and Pepperoni and Alcatraz.”
b. "My mother blushed and admitted her baby’s real name to the group.... My mother thought it was the ugliest name she had ever heard...”
c. "My friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames which recalled our high school good times: Beans and Pepperoni and Alcatraz.”
What is "My friends and I signed yearbooks with nicknames which recalled our high school good times: Beans and Pepperoni and Alcatraz.”?
Which is the BEST theme for the short story "Charles"?
a. Don't believe everything a child says about himself
b. Children should be seen and not heard at home
c. School gatherings are not as important as family
d. Mothers always overreact to bad news
What is don't believe everything a child says about himself?
Identity is complex and ___.
- Simple
- Static
- Fluid
What is fluid?
Which answer choice does NOT explain Hazel’s protective behavior over Raymond in “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara?
a. Raymond cannot fully care for himself, and Hazel helps.
b. Hazel is generally defensive and rude around everyone.
c. Other children might mistreat Raymond without her help.
d. Raymond must be monitored so he doesn't walk on the curb.
What is Hazel is generally defensive and rude around everyone?
Which answer choice does NOT represent people’s insensitivity to Julia’s name and identity in “Names/Nombres” by Julia Alvarez?
a. "… there was a push to pronounce Third World names correctly.”
b. "At the hotel my mother was Missus Alburest, and I was little girl...”
c. "I was known as Hoo-lee-tah and home, but at school I was Judy...”
d. "An English teacher mistook me for Juliet.”
What is "… there was a push to pronounce Third World names correctly.” ?
Which of the themes below is the BEST match as the central theme of “From Scratch” by Susie Castellano?
a. Fitting in with others is more important than cultural identity.
b. Indian food is the best food in the world.
c. Priya misses India and wants to go back.
d. Establishing common interests with others lessens loneliness.
What is establishing common interests with others lessens loneliness.
Which of the answer choices is not an interactive element that influences identity?
a. What my teachers tell me about myself
b. My thoughts about myself
c. Who my peers say I am
d. What my family says about me
What are my thoughts about myself?
Which of the answer choices below is NOT represented by the satchel in Lynette Samuel’s “The Satchel”?
a. Kojo’s heritage
b. Family history
c. Hard work and responsibility
d. Kojo’s discomfort in school
What is Kojo’s discomfort in school?
Which of the themes below is the BEST match as the central theme of “The Man Who Had No Eyes.”
a. No man can be trusted.
b. Sickness doesn’t have to be miserable.
c. Corporate greed is evil.
d. Beggars can’t be trusted to be honest
What is sickness doesn’t have to be miserable?