Make sure you write things down as you go through this page. You need to turn in notes!
To understand theme, we need to first understand main idea. So, what is main idea?
the most important or central thought of a paragraph or larger section of text, which tells the reader what the text is about
For example:
What is the main idea of this paragraph from Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
“The Widow Douglas, she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer, I lit out.”
Aspects of Main Idea
Main idea tells what the story is about
Main Idea is very specific—Tells exactly what is happening in the piece at that time or in the piece as a whole.
Main idea doesn’t apply to anything but that specific work.
In contrast, what is THEME?
A theme is the underlying topic of a discussion or a recurring idea in an artistic work.
Aspects of Theme
Theme is a topic or message covered throughout the story that is often a moral or a “truth”
Theme is usually not stated outright, but is determined by the reader
Theme is not specific to one story at one time, but can apply to real life and other works.
Theme and Huckleberry Finn
Consider Mark Twain’s warning at the beginning of the book:
“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.”
Do you think Mark Twain is serious in this warning? Are there actually themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
What are some recurring topics in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Try to come up with at least two.
My ideas of themes in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Morality—Whose morality is “right?”
Coming of Age
Slavery and Racism
Religion and Superstition
Freedom
Society and Hypocrisy
How do we see each theme in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Take notes on the PowerPoint or information above and turn them in. Make sure that you've written down definitions, the aspects of theme and main idea, the differences between theme and main idea, and answered the questions.
Homework
Read the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn chapters 25-27.