Theme

Theme is the underlying comment or idea about life.

• generalization about life stated or implied by the author • not what happens in the story but what we learn from what happens • don’t confuse with moral – theme does not pass judgment • not all stories have a theme

The main purpose of some literature is to present an important theme for the reader to ponder. You will be reading The Large Ant by Howard Fast (page 150, Imprints 12). In your own words, sum up the theme of this story in a single sentence (theme statement).

Theme statement is a single sentence that attempts to explain the story's truth (what the story worries about). Such a sentence follows these criteria:

• Is a generalization about life or human nature using universal terms

• Accounts for all the details of the story (doesn't look at only one part)

• Avoids clichés or plot summaries

• May recognize the significance of the story's title or special symbols

Reread the story to locate three sentences or passages that, in your view, are most important in expressing the theme. Explain your choices. Conclude by telling whether the theme is important to you personally. Do you see it reflected in your own life or in the world around you? Please share your theme statement, support, and reflections in a blog post: The Large Ant.

You will be writing a literary paragraph discussing the theme of the short story The Large Ant. The video that follows will be helpful. Once again, make sure to share your paragraph with me using Google Docs. You will be marked using a six point scale based on the criteria below.

Literary Paragraph Analysis Criteria

IDEAS

• original/insightful

• relevant quotes to support argument

• detailed explanation/in-depth analysis

ORGANIZATION

• topic sentence (including title)

• body - point

- quote (a little)

- explanation (a lot)

• strong concluding sentence

• focused on topic

EXPRESSION

• transitions

• smooth inclusion of quotes

• word choice

• variety of sentence types

• voice

MECHANICS

• present tense

• correct spelling/homonym use

• proper punctuation - no comma splices

- no run-ons

How to Integrate Quotes