4.2_​Animal Farm Analytical Paragraph

​Animal Farm Analytical Paragraph

By Celi Oliveto

Theme

What is a theme?

The theme of a literary work is the author’s central message about a topic or subject; it should be expressed in a sentence, and be a general statement about life, human nature, or the human experience.

Theme vs. Subject

What is a theme?

Theme cannot be expressed in a single word: that would be a subject or topic. In Animal Farm, ambition, leadership, fate, guilt etc., are all topics. The theme would be the answer to the question: "what is Orwell saying about these topics?"

Multiple Choice

Is this a theme statement or a subject?

Dictatorships

• Theme

• Subject

Subject

This is a subject

A dictatorship can't be a theme because it doesn't answer the question: "what does Orwell say about dictatorships?"

If your theme is only 1-2 words long, see if you can answer that question!

Open Ended

What do you think the author, George Orwell, is saying about dictatorships or dictators through the story that we read? Generate at least one sentence.

Open Ended

What are some single word subjects that animal farm deals with? List as many as you can think of.

Example Subjects

THE DANGERS OF BEING UNEDUCATED

LEADERSHIP AND CORRUPTION:

RULES AND ORDER:

LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR POWER:

Open Ended

Now, pick one of the sample subjects or one that you've come up with and generate a theme statement. What do you think the author is saying about that subject?

THE DANGERS OF BEING UNEDUCATED, LEADERSHIP AND CORRUPTION, RULES AND ORDER, LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR POWER:

Finished?

When you've completed your theme sentence, go to the back of your composition notebook and copy it into the back page for reference.