Point of View, Myth, and
Discovering the Theme
“Tell Tale Heart” and Fun Home
Discovering Theme
• The theme of a work of literature is an idea
that dominates the work.
– Not a summary, a plot, a subject, or a “moral.”
Themes do more than just tell what the story
was about or what happened in the story.
– Themes do make a statement about the
world/humanity outside of the story, and they
might be applicable life lessons, but they are not
necessarily lessons or morals.
– See p. 343 of your textbook for more
information on theme.
Examples of Theme from Previous
Stories
• Both “The Secret Lion” and “Snow” are about
children who are forced to over the course of the
story, but it would be too simplistic to say that
“growing up” is the theme of both stories. What
is each story saying ABOUT growing up?
• In “The Secret Lion,” we might say that the theme
is “the loss of innocence that comes with growing
up.”
• The theme of “Snow” might be, “the contrast
between childlike wonder and the horrors of
nuclear conflict.”
Discovering Theme
• First of all, ask yourself, “What ideas or
observations about the world did I notice as I
read?”
• Watch for the narrator or a character in the
work to reveal the theme. (Remember how we
talked about lines that encapsulate meaning?)
• Consider the nature of the conflict in the story.
• Look at the title of the story.
• Consider the symbolism and mythological
allusions in the story. What themes do those
symbols and myths suggest?
• For more suggestions, see p. 345 - 347
Preparing to Write About Theme
• What is a theme of either “Tell-Tale Heart” or
“Fun Home”? How does the author of the
work you chose communicate that theme?
Making a Claim About Literature
• In a little while, you are going to make a claim
about one of the works you have read for
today.
• This means that you are going to be putting
forward a defensible interpretation of the
story that answers the question.
• As in other types of essays, writing about
literature requires you to support your claim
with evidence.
Making a Claim About Literature
• For this exercise, your claim should mention the
name of the work (which story are you making a
claim about?) and make an explicit declaration of
what you think about the question.
• When literary critics make claims about literature,
they often use the vocabulary and tools of
literary analysis to support their point of view.
We are going to learn some vocabulary that
might be useful to you today.
• There is no need to say “I believe the theme is…”
or “In my opinion the theme is…”
Point of View
• The point of view in a work of literature
answers the question “Who’s telling this
story?” (See p. 188 in your textbook.)
• The author chooses a point of view
– To create closeness to or detachment from the
characters and events in the story.
– To reveal or conceal important pieces of
information about character motivations and
events.
First Person
• First person point of view:
– Uses first person pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “we”
when describing events in the story.
– Not necessarily the author him/herself. In fact, unless it
is specifically stated, first person narrators are not the
author.
– A participant in the story, either a major character or a
minor character who witnessed the events, is relating
the events to the audience.
– Even if unnamed, a first person narrator is usually an
important character to pay attention to.
– We learn about the character of the narrator by how he
or she tells events and what he or she chooses to tell
us.
– Sometimes first person narrators are unreliable, which
means we can’t take what they say at face value.
Point of View, Continued
• Second person (not in your textbook)
– Uses second person pronouns (you, your, etc.)
– Puts the reader in the position of the main
character. (Remember the “choose your own
adventure” books? Those were often second
person.)
• Third person
– Uses only third person pronouns (he, she, they,
etc) to describe the action.
– Can be omniscient, limited, or objective.
Point of View, Continued
• (Third person) Omniscient narrators:
– Follow the action of more than one character
– Give the audience access to the thoughts of
multiple characters.
• (Third person) Limited Omniscient narrators:
– Follow the action and give access to the thoughts
of only one character.
• (Third person) Objective Narrators
– Relate events without giving access to the
characters’ thoughts
– Relate events without interpreting them or
commenting on them.
Point of View in “Tell Tale Heart”
• The story is on p. 450 of your textbook.
• Can we trust this narrator? Why or why not?
Where are some places in the story where you
question his version of events?
• If you've read this before, was re-reading still
worthwhile? Why? What specifically did you notice
because you knew what was going to happen?
• Why is the eye the thing that horrifies the narrator?
(Think about symbolism here.)
• Are there similarities between this story and “55
Miles to the Gas Pump” on p. 97? (Think about
point of view and tone here.)
Myth and Allegory
• We have already talked about symbols, which
are objects that have a more complex range of
meaning than their literal meaning.
• Authors also use myth and allegory in order to
give their works figurative meaning.
– An allegory is a story where most important
characters and events represent abstract concepts.
Animal Farm, for example, is an allegory about
Communism.
– Myths are stories that contain the ideas by which a
culture constructs meaning.
– Myths are not the same as fairy tales, and calling
something a myth doesn't automatically mean that
it is "fake".
Mythological Allusions in Literature
• An “allusion” is a reference in literature to
another story.
• Mythological allusions might take the form of:
– A character with a similar name to a mythological
character.
– Events in a story that closely parallel events from a
myth.
• References from the Bible and Greek/Roman
myth are quite common, and being familiar
with the basics of these mythological systems
will make reading literature easier for you.
Questions for “Fun Home” p. 298
• What do the pictures add? How is reading this
bit of the story in graphic novel form different
than it would have been as a "normal" short
story?
• What is the point of view in this selection?
Why is point of view important here?
• What mythological allusions do you see at
work here? (Read the “Cultural context”
section on p. 298 is you are unfamiliar with
Daedalus and Icarus.) What meaning do these
allusions add to the story?
• What mythic symbolism is suggested by the
last panel?
In Class Writing #3
• What is a theme of either “Tell-Tale Heart” or “Fun Home”?
How does the author of the work you chose communicate that
theme? Support your claim by quoting lines from the story you
chose and carefully explaining how the lines back up your ideas.
Also, you might think about how the author used point of view,
symbols, myth, or allegory to communicate the theme.
• Template for you claim (use if you are stuck):
• The theme of (story name) is (briefly summarize the big idea
you are going to write about,) which can be seen in the way that
the author, (author name here), (briefly summarize the
techniques/plot points the author uses to communicate the
theme). One example of this theme’s presence is when
(character name/the narrator) says (quote and talk about your
first example from the story). Etc.