Literary Themes in Real Life - Short Story Project
English 9
This project will end our short story unit. The titles of the 9 short stories we have read
as a class are listed below. Using your memory and your Short Story packet, fill in the author
and a theme for each story.
Title
The Scarlet Ibis
Author
James Hurst
Button, Button
Richard Matheson
The Necklace
Guy de Maupassant
The Most
Dangerous Game
Richard Connell
The Gift of
O. Henry
The Magi
Theme
“Pride is a wonder, terrible thing – a seed that bears two vines, life
and death.”
Love can cause both kindness and cruelty.
The choices people make have consequences.
It’s not possible to “know” another person 100%.
The choices people make have consequences – not only for
themselves, but for others as well.
Honesty is usually a lot better than lying.
Plans can backfire and destroy our lives.
The choices people make have consequences – not only for
themselves, but for others as well.
Huge challenges can bring out the best in a person.
The choices people make have consequences – not only for
themselves, but for others as well.
Mean people suck!
Giving a gift of love is more valuable than any material gift.
People often make sacrifices for those they love and appreciate.
Real giving means giving up.
Love IS sacrifice!
The Lady or
The Tiger?
Frank R. Stockton
The choices people make have consequences – not only for
themselves, but for others as well.
Sacrifice is never easy.
The Secret Life of
Walter Mitty
James Thurber
People trapped in boring lives often daydream as an escape.
Be careful whom you marry – it might be worse than being alone.
The Interlopers
Saki
It is not wise to fight over insignificant things.
Hatred can destroy more than just friendship.
Don’t wait until it’s too late or it might be!
The Road to
Mictlantecutli
Adobe James
The choices people make have consequences.
Good is a choice; so is evil.
“Last chances” aren’t necessarily obvious.
THIS PROJECT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7!!!!!
Literary Themes In Real Life - Short Story Project
English 9
Part I – Presentation
For this project, you will need to pick a theme from one of these stories. Themes do not just apply to the
story they come from, but are general statements that can apply to our everyday lives. Accordingly, after
you pick a theme from one of the ten stories, you will need to come up with a real life situation that
shows that theme. Then you will need to decide on a way to present that situation to the class.
Some possibilities for you to consider are:
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A poster demonstrating a real life situation that applies to the theme you chose, that you then
present to the class.
A skit demonstrating the theme (you could get with one or two other class members doing
the same theme, then create and act out a skit for the class).
A drawing that represents that theme in a life situation other than the one directly from the
story, then presented to the class.
A story of your own based on the same theme that you can then read to the class.
A video that clearly shows the theme of the story in some other context.
An activity that the whole class can do that demonstrates the theme you selected, and that
you can present to us and oversee as we complete it.
These are just suggestions. If you have another idea, ask me. I’m flexible. What I want is for you to
create your own idea about how a theme you pick can be applied to real life. Use your imagination!
Then figure out how to present your idea to the class…
Part II – Written Explanation
The second part of this project is just the written explanation of the real life situation you come up with to
demonstrate the theme you picked. This is just a write-up of what you will say about your theme when
you are up in front of the class.
This only needs to be a couple of paragraphs in length. It must be long enough for the class to
understand what your life situation is about, and how it demonstrates the theme from the story you
selected.
It MUST include the following:
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The name and author of the story you selected
An explanation of what happened in that story that demonstrates the theme
A description of the real life situation you came up with that demonstrates the theme
An explanation of how that real life situation shows the same theme as the story
You will be graded on three things:
 How well the life situation you come up with demonstrates the theme you chose.
 How clearly and creatively you present that idea to the class.
 How well your written explanation describes a life situation that shows the same theme as the
story you picked.
THIS PROJECT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED BY MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7!!!!!