What do you know about this picture?

What can you remember about “The Tortoise and the Hare?”

“Slow and steady wins the race.”

THEME!!!

ThemeThe central message of a work.

Themes have the following characteristics:

• Must be expressed as a sentence (complete thought)• Can be applied to many situations, not just the text. • Must have information from the text to support it• Can be different for different audiences

happiness is NOT A THEME

True happiness does not depend on money. IS A THEME

The message

Ways to Discover Theme

• What was the plot of the story?• What was the main conflict of the

story?• Did a main character learn anything

or change by the end?

Theme or Topic?Work Topic Theme

Romeo and Juliet

The Outsiders

Of Mice and Men

“The Monkey’s Paw”

true love True love cannot be stopped by petty differences.

differences We all share more similarities than differences.

friendship Sometimes friendship can be taken too far.

fate and free will

Trying to tempt fate can have disastrous results.

Moving From Topic to Theme

“The Open Window” “The Necklace” “Lamb to the Slaughter”

mind tricks greed revenge

AVOIDING CLICHÉS Overused statements are boring and show little original thought.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. "Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?"

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad situation in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse.

What is the theme?

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."

"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew what the Ant had known all along.

What is the theme?