Reading – Theme – 2

Reading – Theme – 2

Read the following story and identify the theme on the basis of your understanding.

Once, a jackal and a wolf decided to go on a hunt together. While they were crossing the forest, they came across a lion. Both of them got scared. But the jackal hoped to save himself. So he approached the lion and offered to help him get the wolf if the lion would let him escape unharmed. The lion agreed.

So, the jackal and the wolf walked on, and the lion continued to follow them quietly. Finally, the jackal led the wolf to a hidden bush where a trap was set for wild animals. The wolf got trapped. As soon as the wolf was in the pit, the lion came out of hiding and ate the jackal. Then he ate the wolf.

The theme of this story is:_____________________________

Student’s response:

The theme of the story is____________________________________________________________________________________

Here is the answer: (Various answers possible)

The theme of the story is, “If you cheat others, you will also be punished.”

A theme is the main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel, short story, or other literary work. To appreciate a writer’s story, it is necessary to understand the message that the writer is trying to convey.

The theme can be conveyed using any of the following elements or a combination of all these elements.

In most complex stories, the central theme is typically a more open-ended exploration of some fundamental aspect of society or humanity.

The theme can be based on any or all of the following:

1. Characters
2. Setting
3. Plot

How to identify the theme.

Theme can be identified by asking the following three simple questions about a story’s theme.

1. What is the message behind this story?
2. What lesson can be learned from the story?
3. What does this story mean?

The theme of a story is significant because of the following reasons:

• First, the theme is part of the reason why authors write their pieces. The authors have a message that they wish to share with readers.
• They use their stories to spread that message to a vast majority of people in society.

Ways to identify the theme.

1. What is the problem?
2. How does the character justify the situation of the story?
3. How is the problem resolved in the end?

The most common themes in literature are:

1. Good vs. evil
2. Love
3. Family and relationships
4. Courage and perseverance
5. Coming of age
6. Friendship
7. Environment and climate change

1. Good vs. evil

One of the most common themes in literature is the battle between good and evil. This theme has been seen throughout history, from children’s books to classic historical literature. Most works of literature have characters on either side of the battle.

2. Love and war

Love is a theme in literature, as is life. Love conquers fear; faith conquers doubt, etc. But on the other hand, love can inspire people to sacrifice themselves for others or a toxic force that drives people to madness or violence.

The types of love depicted in the theme are:

1. Forbidden love
2. Family love
3. Unrequited love

WAR: The writers who wrote about the toll of World War I to modern novels exploring its emotional and social consequences.

3. Family and relationship:

The theme of family and relationships makes for the most exciting and complex sources of conflict in literature, from epics to contemporary novels.

The theme of family and relationships makes for the most interesting and complex sources of conflict in literature, from epics to contemporary novels.

4. Coming of Age:

The coming-of-age stories are the most famous in literature,

also common in memoirs.

5. Friendship:

Friends are considered as the family that is chosen by us, and the bonds with friends are just as complex, potentially tense, or heart-warming. Yet, in most stories, friendship is also thematized for its absence, tensions, shortfalls, and failings.

6. Environment and climate change:

The fact that the planet’s temperature is increasing has become one of our major concerns for the existence of future species.

No wonder climate change appears as a core theme in literature.

7. Friends are considered as the family that is chosen by us, and the bonds with friends are just as complex, potentially tense, or heart-warming. In most stories, friendship is also thematized for its absence, its tensions, shortfalls, and failings.