Theme

The Seventh Man: Theme

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Objective: Students will analyze ”The Seventh Man” to make inferences and connections to central ideas and themes in the story.

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Last day to submit late work from Oct​ober is OCTOBER 31ST, 11:59 PM.

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"The Seventh Man" is told in what point of view?​ Review.

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Do they use "I?"

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First sentence: "A huge wave nearly swept me away,” said the seventh man, almost whispering. “It happened one September afternoon when I was ten years old.”

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First sentence: "A huge wave nearly swept me away,” said the seventh man, almost whispering. “It happened one September afternoon when I was ten years old.”

Third Person POV: ​The story is told by a narrator that refers to characters by names (he/she).

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First sentence using "I": "I grew up in a seaside town in the Province of S. It was such a small town, I doubt that any of you would recognize the name if I were to mention it.”

First-person POV: ​The story is told by the narrator 's perspective and uses "I."

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​Notes time!

​Frame story: a story that is told within a story.

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​“In my case, it was a wave,” he said. “There’s no way for me to tell, of course, what it will be for each of you. But in my case it just happened to take the form of a gigantic wave. It presented itself to me all of a sudden one day, without warning. And it was devastating.”

​Response time!

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Why would the aut​hor (Murakami) choose to tell the story in this way? What benefits can there be?

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​Notes time!

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Foreshadowing: ​a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.

This can contribute to THEME.​

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Open Ended

What is theme?

​Notes time!

​Theme is the underlying message about life that the story conveys. (It's what the story teaches you)

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• ​Can be stated or implied

• A full statement, NOT a word

Multiple Choice

Are these themes? 

​Friendship

Love

Hope 

Death

• Yes

• No

These are NOT themes!

• ​Friendship

• Love

• War

• Greed 

• Truth

• Hope 

• Death

​We can have themes about  love and friendship but themes are complete messages/statements!

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​What is the story saying ABOUT love? Friendship? Themes should be more specific!

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You don't have to agree with the message for it to be a theme.​

​Examples of common themes:

• • Money can’t buy happiness

  • Be happy with what you have

  • ​Good always triumphs over evil!

  • Things are not always as they appear

​Themes are universal! They are bigger than the story and can be applied to our lives.

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​Ex: "TSM learned to overcome his trauma" is NOT a theme.

Understanding theme | Reading (video) | Khan Academy

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Multiple Choice

What is a theme in The Boy who Cried Wolf?

• Lying

• Love

• If you lie too much, no one will end up believing you.

• It's okay to lie sometimes.

Open Ended

What is a theme in this story?

Open Ended

What is a theme in this story?

Open Ended

Write a theme about LOVE.

Open Ended

Write a theme about GOOD AND/OR EVIL.

Open Ended

What is a possible theme for "The Seventh Man?" Hints: Loss, grief, fear, etc.