Theme Presentation

1. Week 7, 23 September Tuesday: Theme

WEEK 7, 23
SEPTEMBER
TUESDAY:
THEME

2. What is a theme?

WHAT IS A
THEME?
When we as readers ask what a text
means, we are essentially
wondering about its theme
A theme is the general idea or
insight conveyed by a work in its
entirety
Theme is fictional work’s ‘essential
meaning’
Themes are expressed through
characters, plots, setting, symbols,
and narration

3. Theme or Themes?

THEME OR
THEMES?
Some use the term ‘theme’ to refer only to the main
or central idea of the work OTHERS use the term
‘theme’ to refer to any idea the work conveys
A literary work often expresses multiple ideas, and
one of these ideas is likely to be more central and
overarching than others
The minor themes can be referred to as ‘subthemes’

4. Theme vs. topic vs. subject

THEME VS.
TOPIC VS.
SUBJECT
• Subject: The broad category of area the story deals with. It is very
general
Examples from Of Mice and Men: Friendship, Poverty, Racism, and Farm
Life
• Topic: A more specific idea or focus within the subject, it is what the
story is about at the surface level, often can be stated in one or two
words:
Examples from Of Mice and Men: Lennie’s and George’s dream of owning
land, Life of wandering workers during the Great Depression, and
Loneliness of marginalized individuals
• Theme: A deeper message or lesson the author wants to convey about
life, human nature, or society. Themes are usually expressed as full
statements
Examples from Of Mice and Men: The American Dream is often
unreachable for vulnerable individuals, True friendship offers rare comfort in
lonely world, Loneliness is more painful than poverty

5.

THEME AS GENERAL
IDEA: Theme is in general
an insight illustrated through
the characters, plot, or setting
of story
THEME VERSUS MORAL:
Whilst sometimes a theme
may take form of a moral,
our main question as readers
is not ‘What does this story
teach us?’ but rather ‘What
does this story reveal?’

6. Tips for identifying themes

TIPS FOR IDENTIFYING
THEMES
• Pay attention to title
• List any recurring phrases, word, or objects
• Identify any statements that the character(s) or
narrator make about a general concept, issue, or topic
(e.g. about human nature, the natural world etc.)
• If character changes in the course of the story,
articulate the truth or insight he or she seems to
discover
• Identify a conflict in the story and then think about
what can be implied by the way the conflict is solved

7.

Gabriel García Márquez,
‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings’ (1955)

8.

What is this story essentially about?
How and why does it surprise you?
How would you explain the subtitle
of the story: ‘A Tale for Children’?

9. Themes

THEMES
Human Cruelty and
Indifference:
“They kept him in the rear of
the courtyard in a wire chicken
coop and gave him nothing to
eat but eggplant mush, which,
according to the wisdom of the
wise neighbor woman, was the
food prescribed for angels.”

10. Themes

THEMES
Faith and Skepticism
“He reminded them that the devil
had the bad habit of making use of
carnival tricks in order to confuse the
unwary. He argued that if wings
were not the essential element in
determining the difference between a
hawk and an airplane, they were
even less so in the recognition of
angels.”

11. themes

THEMES
The Nature of the
Miraculous
“He was lying in the mud,
flapping his wings in the
attempt to rise to his feet,
and nothing about him
measured up to the proud
dignity of angels.”

12. Themes

THEMES
Exploitation and
Greed
“Then they found out
that the curious came
from far away.
Elisenda’s husband did
not have to go to the
sea anymore, and
Elisenda bought some
satin pumps and a
dress of iridescent silk,
and built a two-story
mansion with
balconies and gardens
and high netting so
crabs wouldn’t get in”

13. Themes

THEMES
Isolation and Otherness
“The only thing that concerned him
at the moment was that the night
was falling and he hadn’t had time
to put a wire screen over the
window of the chicken coop, and it
occurred to him that during the first
nights the owls might carry the old
man off piece by piece.”

14. Themes

THEMES
Appearance vs. Reality
“Against the judgment
of the wise neighbor
woman—who had
predicted that the angel
would die that very day
from the chill of the
night—Pelayo and
Elisenda kept watching
him all afternoon from
the kitchen, and they
observed with terror
that he had a strong
sailor’s voice and was
flying off on his own
power.”

15.

What does this story
reveal to us?
What insights into
human behavior does
the story give overall?