RESPONSE
to LITERATURE
Analyzing
a Theme
TAKE NOTES
To analyze means to
break down a topic into
smaller parts and
determine how the parts
relate to one another.
Sportswriters are often
asked to analyze sporting
events.
For example, a baseball writer
may break down a particular game
according to three main parts –
fielding, pitching, and hitting –
and then determine how each
part contributed to a team’s
overall performances.
Objective
Analyze the theme or
main point of a short
story.
You will base your essay on a
close examination of two key
elements – the plot (key
events) and characterization
(the thoughts and actions of
the main character).
Writing Guidelines
Subject:
A short story
Form:
Essay
Purpose: To analyze a theme
Audience: Classmates
Writing Warm-Up:
Finding Themes
In literature, the theme
is usually a lesson
learned or a statement
about life.
Sometimes the theme is
openly stated in the
story but more often it is
not.
In some long pieces of
literature, there may be
more than one
significant theme.
One way to think about
literary themes is to
consider lessons that are
often learned from
experience.
For example, in To Kill a
Mockingbird, Scout Finch
learns not to prejudge
people.
Study the following
cluster of life lessons.
Some of these lessons
are familiar proverbs.
It is better to
give than
receive.
Treat others
the way you
want to be
treated.
Silence is
golden.
Never give
up on a
dream.
Life
Lessons
Look before
you leap.
People are
responsible
for their own
actions.
Hard work
pays off.
Writing an Analysis
Paragraph
You can analyze the
theme of a short story in
one paragraph.
In the topic sentence,
name the title, author,
and theme of the story.
In the body sentences,
focus on the actions of
the main characters.
In the closing sentence,
explain how these
actions reveal the
theme.
SAMPLE
PARAGRAPH
ANALYSIS
Gift Giving
The topic
sentence
introduces the
author, the
story, and the
theme.
The theme of “The Gift of
the Magi” by O. Henry is
love means making
sacrifices. The main
character’s actions and
decisions support this
theme. A husband and wife
named Jim and Della want
to give each
The
sentences in
the body
focus on the
main
characters’
actions.
other a special holiday gift,
even though they are poor.
Della wants to give Jim a
gold chain for his gold
watch, and Jim wants to
give Della a set of
expensive combs for her
beautiful, long hair. Jim and
Della both sacri-
The
sentences in
the body
focus on the
main
characters’
actions.
fice something they
treasure. Della’s prized
possession is her hair, but
she has it cut and sells it to
a wig maker so she can
afford to buy a gold chain
for Jim’s watch. Jim’s prized
possession is his gold
The closing
sentence
analyzes the
theme.
watch, but he sells it to buy
Della special combs for her
hair. When they open their
gifts, each of them realizes
the sacrifice that the other
has made. In the end, their
best gift is knowing that
they love each other
so much that they would
sacrifice their prized
possessions for one
another.
Your goal is to write an
essay that analyzes a short
story in order to reveal its
main theme. The following
chart lists the key traits of
such an essay.
TRAITS OF A
RESPONSE TO
LITERATURE
Write a thesis statement that
explains your interpretation of
theme of the story. Then select
specific details to support the
statement.
IDEAS
Write clear beginning, middle, and
ending paragraphs. Use transitions
to effectively connect sentences
and paragraphs.
ORGANIZATION
Sound interested in, and
knowledgeable about, the story
you are analyzing.
VOICE
Quote words and phrases from the
story that support the theme. Use
literary terms that reveal your
understanding of the story.
WORD CHOICE
Write sentences that read well and
flow smoothly.
SENTENCE FLUENCY
Correct all punctuation,
capitalization, spelling, and
grammar errors.
CONVENTIONS
6 ideas
The ideas show a
complete
understanding of the
reading.
Organization
All the parts work
together to create an
insightful essay.
Voice
The voice expresses
interest and complete
understanding. It
engages the reader.
Word Choice
The word choice
reflects careful thinking
about the reading.
Sentence Fluency
The sentences in the
essay make the ideas
really stand out.
Conventions
Grammar and
punctuation are
correct, and the copy is
free of all errors.
5 The essay has a clear
focus statement and
necessary supporting
details.
PREWRITING
1. Select an interesting
story, one that you
have recently read and
enjoyed.
2. Identify a main
theme in the story.
3. Looking at the beginning,
middle, and ending of the
story, find the key plot
events and the characters’
actions that reveal the main
theme.
4. Write a clear thesis
statement about the
theme.
5. Decide how to
organize the
information in your
middle paragraphs.
6. Write a topic
sentence for each
middle paragraph.
Prewriting: Find topic ideas.
A graphic organizer like the
following ideas chart can help you
think of possible stories to write
about. This chart lists favorite
stories, a statement about the
basic plot in each story, and a
comment about the main
character.
IDEAS CHART
STORY AND
AUTHOR
WHAT THE STORY IS WHAT THE MAIN
ABOUT
CHARACTER IS LIKE
“The Birds” by Daphne du
Maurier
Swarms of birds attack a
family living on the coast
of England.
Nat is a brave father who
tries to protect his family.
“Helen on Eighty-sixth
Street” by Wendi Kaufman
A girl tries to understand
why her dad went away.
Vita is very smart.
“Thank You, Ma’m” by
Langston Hughes
A teenage boy tries to rob
an old lady, and she drags
him home with her.
Roger is a tough hid who is
not so tough when he gets
caught.
IDEAS CHART
STORY AND
AUTHOR
WHAT THE STORY IS WHAT THE MAIN
ABOUT
CHARACTER IS LIKE
Consider possible topics.
Make an ideas chart. List short
stories that you have read and
liked. For each title, write one
sentence that tells what the story
is about and one sentence that
tells about the main character.
Choose a topic.
It will be easier to write your essay if you
choose a story that you know and enjoy.
Be sure that you have a clear
understanding of the story’s plot and the
actions of the main character. In your
analysis, you will be expected to trace
the development of the theme through
the main character’s thoughts, feelings,
and actions.
SHORT STORIES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Man to Send Rain Clouds 48
The Devil and Tom Walker 349
Gary Keillor 424
The Masque of the Red Death 454
The Fall of the House of Usher 473
Dr Heidegger’s Experiment 500
A Rose for Emily 516
The Life You Save May Be Your Own
528
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 580
A Mystery of Heroism 593
The Notorious Jumping Frog of
Calaveras County 679
A Wagner Matinee 688
The Yellow Wallpaper 765
The Story of an Hour 783
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Seventeen Syllables 788
I Stand Here Ironing 806
Winter Dreams 840
America and I 863
In the American Society 877
The End of Something 1018
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall 1035
The Man Who Was Almost a Man 1045
Armistice 1076
Ambush 1105
The Writer in the Family 1157
Teenage Wasteland 1168
Separating 1180
Hostage 1200
Choose your topic.
Review the stories in your chart.
Put an asterisk (*) next to the title
you choose. Then write a few
sentences that explain the reason
for your choice. (Perhaps you
identify with the main character,
enjoy the author’s writing style, or
so on.)
Find a
theme.
Sometimes a theme is
clearly stated, but often it is
found deep within a story.
The following are three
ways to uncover a theme.
1
Look for clues in
the title.
“Irraweka, Mischief-Maker”
2
Look for the author’s
statements about life.
“The very best thing in all this world
that can befall a man is to be born
luck.”
Identify a life lesson
that the main 3
character learns.
In the short story “To Build a Fire,”
the main character learns that he
must accept his unfortunate fate.
Try it.
Find a theme. Answer
the following questions
to find the theme of your
story.
1. Does the title say anything about the
main character? If so, what?
2. Does the title say anything about a life
lesson? If so, what?
3. Does the author make any statements
about life? List them.
4. How does the main character change in
the story?
5. What does the main character learn?
Finish this sentence. After
answering the “Try it!” questions,
complete the following sentence to
identify a main theme in your
story.
A main theme in my story is
_________________.
Focus on the traits. Ideas.
Authors sometimes use figure of
speech to convey ideas to the reader.
Figures of speech include idioms,
similes, metaphors, the oxymoron,
and hyperbole. Look for these as you
analyze your short story. They often
hold clues to theme and character
development.
• Idiom: a phrase or an expression that
means something different from what
the words actually say.
–That answer was really out in left
field. (This means the answer was not
even close to being correct.)
–Next year you’ll sing a different tune.
(This means you’ll think differently.)
• Simile: A figure of speech that compares two
things using like or as.
• Metaphor: A figure of speech that compares
two things without using the words like or as.
– The sheep were dense, dancing clouds scuttling
across the road.
• Oxymoron: Connecting two words with
opposite meaning. small fortune, cruel
kindness, original copy.
• Hyperbole: Exaggeration used to emphasize a
point.
– The music was loud enough to make your ears
bleed.