Theme

The theme of a passage is more than just the main idea of the passage, or the moral of the story. Similarly to a moral, it is the message or moral that the author is trying to convey to his or her audience, however it is typically more complex. Usually a theme is not extremely specific, but can be applied to life in general. Themes are most basically described in "abstract" terms. This means that words used to identify a theme aren't things you can see, hear, or touch. Examples of abstract ideas include Love, Honesty, Beauty, Freedom. Can you think of any more? (Hint: Abstract concepts often end in "-ism")

Aesop's Fables are known for having morals at the end. Similar to the theme of a novel, a story with a moral tries to teach the reader something about life and good ways to live and are listed in red underneath each fable. See if you can guess what the moral is before you read the red text. Click below to check out this site and get an idea of the kinds of morals Aesop's Fables teach.

Aesop's Fables

Mood, tone, and point of view can all impact the theme of a passage. For example, you might interpret something your parents say to you differently based on the tone of their voice, or you and your friends might think differently about something that happened at school based on your different points of view, which include different details.

When you read the passage below, consider what general life message the author wants you to understand from the passage. Think about how the passage would be described if it was one of Aesop's Fables. Then, try to develop a theme for the passage by following the activity questions below it.

A passage can have more than one theme, so when you consider the questions below, it is okay if everyone has slightly different answers.

Click here to read the passage:
Howe, J. (2001). The Misfits. New York, NY: Atheneum Books.