Theme Notes

How do you determine the theme of a story?

1. Theme
The Story’s Meaning and Roots

2. What is a Theme?
•Theme: some idea or insight about human life
and human nature that gives meaning to the
story
•A good story should mean something to the
reader.
•The story can reveal the writer’s whole view of
life (how it works or fails to work).

3. What Do We Mean by
Theme?
•A theme is unseen and usually unstated
•Theme is an idea; it may give insight into some
aspect of life
•Theme is not the same as the story’s plot (series
of events)
•Theme is not the same as the story’s subject

4. Discovering a Story’s
Theme
1. A theme may be stated in no less than a single
sentence (may need to be longer).
•Ex. Hard work will always be rewarded.
2. A theme is not the same thing as a moral,
which is a rule of conduct.
•Ex. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
(This is a moral because it tells you what to do.)

5. Discovering a Story’s
Theme
3. Ask how the protagonist has changed during the
story & what the character has learned about
life.
4. There is no one correct way to state the theme
of a story. You may have several ideas about
what the theme is.

6. Discovering a Story’s
Theme
3. Ask how the protagonist has changed during the
story & what the character has learned about
life.
4. There is no one correct way to state the theme
of a story. You may have several ideas about
what the theme is.