Theme Basics
What is theme?
The life lesson, author's message, or moral of a story
Mrs. Smith was doing a unit on healthy living with her students. All week she taught her students about eating the correct foods like fruits and vegetables. Over the weekend, some of Mrs. Smith's students were at the mall and saw her eating pizza, a milkshake, and candy. Mrs. Smith's student Molly was going to order a salad, but now decided to order junk food too.
What is the theme?
A) Actions speak louder than words
B) Never eat pizza at the mall
C) Vegetables are good for you
A) Actions speak louder than words
This point of view uses the pronouns He, She, They, Them, and It.
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
C) Third Person
Which type of point of view does the narrator speak directly to the reader or another character?
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
B) Second Person
What point of view is this excerpt written in?
To make lemonade, you add the juice of lemons with water and sugar.
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
Second Person
True or False?
Character names are included in a theme statement.
False
Julia wanted to become a doctor for as long as she could remember. In college when her friends were out at the mall or going out with friends, Julia spent all of her time studying. At graduation, Julia graduated with high honors and was offered a job shortly after.
What is the theme?
A) Julia is a good student
B) It is important to go to college
C) Hard work pays off
C) Hard work pays off
This point of view uses the pronouns I, Me, and We.
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
A) First Person
In which type of third-person point of view does the narrator know the thoughts and feelings of only one character?
A) Third Person Objective
B) Third Person Limited
C) Third Person Omniscient
B) Third Person Limited
Which type of third-person point of view is used below?
The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days.
A) Third Person Objective
B) Third Person Limited
C) Third Person Omniscient
A) Third Person Objective
True or false?
Themes must be inferred.
Infer - to make an educated guess based on information around you.
True
Growing up, Sally was always in the shadow of her older sister Mary. Mary always got better grades, was better at sports, and seemed to even be prettier. Sally spent a lot of time in the family's garden feeling sorry for herself. Then one day Mary needed help on a science project about plants. Due to all of her time in the garden, Sally knew a lot about plants and was able help Mary with the project. Sally was shocked that she was better at something than her sister.
What is the theme?
A) Accept yourself for who you are
B) Sports are not important
C) You can learn a lot from plants
A) A Accept yourself for who you are
This point of view uses the pronouns You, Your, and You're.
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
B) Second Person
In which type of third-person point of view does the narrator know the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story?
A) Third Person Objective
B) Third Person Limited
C) Third Person Omniscient
C) Third Person Omniscient
What point of view is this quote written in?
"It is my belief...that the truth is generally preferable to lies." - Albus Dumbledore
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
A) First Person
Which of the following is a theme example?
A) Be kind to others
B) Math is hard
C) Groot learns the value of friendship in Avengers Infinity War
A) Be kind to others
The Monkey and the Cookies
A monkey put his hand into the jar of cookies. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the cookie jar. Unwilling to lose the cookies, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and cried bitterly.
What is the theme?
A) Eating cookies can be dangerous
B) If you are greedy, you might get nothing
C) Don't put your hand in a jar
B) If you are greedy, you might get nothing
Which type of point of view has a narrator that is a character in the story?
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
A) First Person
In which type of third-person point of view does the narrator know the thoughts and feelings of zero characters?
A) Third Person Objective
B) Third Person Limited
C) Third Person Omniscient
A) Third Person Objective
What point of view is this quote written in?
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
B) Second Person
There can only be one theme in a story.
False
One winter, a monkey found a snake stiff and frozen. The monkey felt sorry for the snake and so he picked the snake up and held it to his chest to try to warm it. The snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and because of its instincts, bit the monkey with all its might.
What is the theme?
A) Even though you have good intentions, others may not
B) Don't hold snakes close to your chest
C) Snakes are dangerous
A) Even though you have good intentions, others may not
Which type of point of view has an external narrator, someone who is not a character in the story, but instead is on the outside, looking in?
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
C) Third Person
True or False?
When trying to find the point of view of a story, you should look at the pronouns used in dialogue.
Dialogue - what is written inside quotation marks "" to signal that characters are speaking.
False
What point of view is this excerpt written in?
"I don't see the big deal," said Sadie. "It was only a few dollars. No one is going to miss it."
Max looked at her with disgust. "You stole money from a kid. That is a big deal. You should be ashamed," he said, his face pinched.
A) First Person
B) Second Person
C) Third Person
C) Third Person