Exploratory Reading Theme Part 2

Theme

The Search for Meaning

What is a Theme?

Theme: Life lesson, meaning, moral, or

message about life or human nature that is
communicated by a literary work.

In other words…
Theme is what the story teaches readers.

Themes

A theme is not a word, it is a sentence.
You don’t have to agree with the theme to

identify it.

Examples

Praise the day at sunset.
First deserve, then desire.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

What is the theme?

Carrie loved her phone and her tablet. She was always
looking at one or the other. Her parents would try to talk
to her about her life, but she would just ignore them or
give them monosyllabic answers until they left her
alone. When she was at school, she'd sneak peeks at
her phone under her desk whenever she could get away
with it. When she was at parties, she spent more time
interacting with the devices in front of her than with the
people around her. Even at concerts and sporting events,
Carrie seldom removed her eyes from these tiny screens. One
day Carrie was walking home from a friend's house and
watching a funny video of people slipping on ice. She
began crossing the street just after the light changed.
She was so into the video that she did not notice the
oncoming traffic. She walked directly into the traffic while
laughing at the falling people on her tiny screen and was
hit by a bus. Carrie sustained mild injuries, but both of
her devices were destroyed. As far as she was
concerned, her life was over.

ExampleAnswers

Practice moderation with all things desirable.
You can get too much of a good thing.
Safety first.

Explanation:
Carrie loves to use her phone, but she
needs to balance that desire with the more
practical concerns of safety and wellbeing.

Big World of the Theme.

Applies to the “Real” World.

IdentifyingThemes

Themesare not explicit (clearly stated).
Themesare implied.

Themes are bigger than the story.

Small
World
of the
Story

Themes are about the big picture.

Not“Carrie should get off her phone.”
Not “Phones can be dangerous.”
Think BIGGER. Find “real” world advice

that applies to many situations.

Big World of the Theme.

Applies to the “real” world.

Small
World
of the
Story

Review

1.

Theme is what we can learn from a
story.

2.

Themes must be inferred.

3.

Themes are not limited to story
specific details: they are about the BIG
world.

Practice

1.

We’ll read each story.

2.

Write what you think the theme is.

3.

Write another sentence explaining what
happens in the story that leads you to
believe this.

How does the small world of the story
connect to the big world theme?

Kelly had a job at the movie theater, but it didn't
pay very much and she was sick of working there.
Nonetheless, the work was steady and she needed
all of the money that she could get. To her delight,
Kelly got an interview at a big office downtown for a
job that paid much more. The interview went very
well and the bosses all but offered her a
position. They said that she would fit the role well
and they promised that they would call her back
within two weeks. Kelly couldn't wait to quit her job
at the movie theater. As soon as she got back she
put in her two week notice. She spent the next two
weeks bragging to her coworkers about her new
high-paying job in the big city. Yet, two weeks
passed and she received no phone call. When
Kelly decided to follow up on her interview, she
learned that the bosses had chosen a different
candidate. Kelly was crushed.

ExampleAnswers

• Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
• Nothing is a sure thing before it happens.
• If you are going to burn the bridge, wait until you

first cross the river.

Answer Explanation: Kelly conducts herself at

her old job as though she had been hired at the
new job. She should have waited until she
received the job offer before she quit her old job;
furthermore, when she quit her old job, she
should have done so in a respectful way, without
bragging to her coworkers.

While most of his peers enjoyed high school, David did not. "I
can't wait to get to college and really start my life," he'd often
tell himself. When David got to college, he found out that it
wasn’t much different from high school. "I can't wait to
graduate and get a job so that I can really get started on my
life," David would tell himself. When he graduated from
college and found a job, David realized that he did not really
like working that much. "I hate slaving away at work. I can't
wait until my retirement. That's when my life is really going to
begin," David told himself. He worked away his days and
nights, enjoying them very little and always thinking about
how things would be better when he retired. When he finally
retired, he found that he was in too much pain to do the things
that he had planned on doing earlier in life. Having nothing
else to look forward to in life, David spent his final days on a
bench in the sun, thinking about how much happier he would
be in heaven.

ExampleAnswers

• Plan for the future but live in the present.
• Life is what happens while you are waiting

for things to happen.

• You have to stop and smell the roses.

Answer Explanation: David spends his whole
life waiting for the next stage of
life. Consequently, he does not take the time to
enjoy and appreciate his life while it is
happening. Sadly, he never realizes how much
he has missed.

When she wasn't going to school or doing homework,
Sharon spent most of her time drawing. She drew
elaborate manga inspired scenes of heroic warriors
and beautiful princesses. She drew detailed
landscapes dotted with colorful monsters and
menacing villains, but she never shared her work with
anyone. Time passed and Sharon continued to
develop as an artist. She had mastered the skills of
shadowing and texturing her artwork and she
graduated from high school. Too afraid to share her
work with others, Sharon pursued a college degree in
business rather than art, but she continued to
passionately work on her artistry when she was
alone. More time passed and now Sharon was
managing a department at a large corporation. She
didn't really like her job, but she was comfortable doing
it. By now, Sharon had pretty much given up on
creating her own art, but she still appreciated the art of
others.

ExampleAnswers

• You will never make a shot that you don't take.
• Beauty unseen is beauty unappreciated.
• You have to take a risk to receive a reward.

Answer Explanation: Sharon seems to be a natural

born artist who might have a promising and fulfilling
career in art, but she chose a different route
because she was afraid to expose her work to
criticism. She may be comfortable working in
business, but she isn't happy.