Basic theme questions
What is theme?
the lesson or message of the 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
Define tone.
How the author sounds / their attitude in the story
How does character teach a theme?
Choices and consequences
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 - Studying is important.
B - It is important to go to college.
C - Hard work pays off.
C - Hard work pays off.
When analyzing tone, what is the first step you should do?
Read the passage and look at the words
What is a setting?
time and place a story takes place
Can a theme be applied to other stories?
Yes
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 Accept yourself for who you are.
When determining tone, you needs to first determine if the words are _________ or _________. You can then narrow it down to a more specific emotion.
positive or negative
Why is the climax of a plot important to theme?
It is the critical choice / action the character must make. The consequences of that choice teach the lesson / theme.
Should the theme statement include specific information from the story?
No
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.
What purpose does an author have for using a specific tone?
To make the reader feel a certain way about the material in the story = create a mood
Make an inference about this character:
"Her skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let along snag her skin. She didn’t encourage familiarity. She wore gloves too."
examples:
refined, cold, stern
When the theme you come up with is a cliché (such as "don't judge a book by it's cover") what should you do to make it unique?
Write the message in your own words.
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 strongest theme?
A - Don't hurt others because that isn't kind.
B - Don't trust strangers because you don't know if they are good or not.
C- Even though you have good intentions, others may not.
c - Even though you have good intentions, others may not
How can tone help teach the overall theme?
It will let us know the author's attitude towards a specific topic, and therefore help figure out which lesson they are trying to teach.
Make an inference about this character:
A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.
Examples:
he doesn't take good care of himself, strong and imposing, rough and tough