Theme, Conflict and POV

Theme, Conflict and Point of View

By Natalie Wodynski

Finding the Theme

What is the theme?

• Theme is the central idea, message or the "hidden meaning" which the author is trying to convey.

  • Life

  • Society

  • Human nature
    

Multiple Choice

What is a theme of Unwind?

• Inequality and injustice in government

• letting go

• marriage and family problems

Multiple Select

Which of the following two are themes in The Giver?

• love

• the relationship between the individual and society

• human freedom and choice

• war is destruction

Multiple Select

Which of the following are 3 themes found in Flowers for Algernon?

• treatment of the disabled

• ethics in science

• faith and religion

• Intelligence and happiness

Multiple Choice

What is the theme of Twilight Zone episode titled "The Hitchhiker?"

• The power of love and friendship.
• The inevitability of death and fate.
• The struggle for survival in a dystopian world.

Conflict in literature

What is conflict?

When a character wants something but something else gets in the way.
External versus Internal

Internal Conflict

• The challenges that a character presents themselves.
  Examples: Man Vs. Self.

External Conflict

• External conflict refers to any conflict that a character has with another person, place, or thing.

• These are the conflicts Man Vs. Man, Man Vs. Society, or Man Vs. Nature

Multiple Choice

What is one example of conflict found in Unwind?

• The struggle between the main character and their parents.
• The conflict between the unwound teens and the society that condones unwinding.
• The rivalry between two schools in the story.

Multiple Choice

What is one example of conflict found in The Giver?

• Jonas's struggle to choose a career path in the community.
• The community's conflict with neighboring communities over resources.
• Jonas's internal conflict with the community's rules and emotional suppression.

Multiple Choice

What is one example of conflict in Flowers for Algernon?

• Algernon wins a race against Charlie.
• Charlie struggles with his increasing intelligence and the resulting alienation from others.
• Charlie becomes a famous scientist after his surgery.

Open Ended

What is the conflict in Twilight Zone episode "The Hitchhiker?"

P.O.V. refers to who is telling a story, or who is narrating it.

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Point of View in Literature

Multiple Choice

In what POV is Unwind written?

• First-person point of view
• Second-person

• Third-person point of view

Multiple Choice

What is the POV in The Giver?

• Third-person limited
• First-person
• Second-person

Multiple Choice

In what POV is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes?

• Third-person point of view
• Second-person point of view
• First-person point of view

Multiple Choice

What is the point of view in Twilight Zone episode "The Hitchhiker?"

• The point of view is from the protagonist, Nan Adams.
• The point of view is from a narrator who is not involved in the story.