A novella

The Death of Ivan Ilych

Use textual support to defend the theme of the novel.

Analyze quotes, author’s tone, and other evidence to determine theme.

Learning Target

What is theme?

“If you were to boil your book down to a few words, what would be its message?”

Theme The truth about life that is revealed in a story or

poem.

The theme is meaningful for anyone whether they are 4 or 94. Everyone, no matter what stage of life they are in, should be able to learn from it.

Theme is usually not directly stated.

Theme is usually figured out by making inferences.

Theme is a universal lesson about life.

Finding theme

Remember theme is a lesson that everyone can learn from and experience. We could all find ways to relate our lives to the theme.

Pay close attention for passages that could be trying to teach you a lesson.

Keep track of the main character. How are they changing in the story? What are they learning about life?

What conflicts do they face? How are they changing? Are they learning something from those conflicts/experiences?

Last, consider the title of the work. The author might offer hints and clues in the title.

Themes in a story

Most stories have several themes.

You can learn many things about life just by reading a book.

When you are reading, you have to pay attention and determine the MAIN theme.

As you read, you will want to keep track of passages that point to a theme. The main theme will keep recurring throughout the novel.

Your job will be to figure out what the main one is and defend it.

Possible Themes

Live a meaningful life and not a superficial one.

Follow your heart.

Death is inevitable.

Self-interest is not self-fulfilling.

Live for what truly makes you happy.

We need empathy for humanity to survive.

As you read…

Start looking for passages that pertain to the themes on the previous page.

Think about the conflict and how it is changing the character.

Think about the author’s tone. How does the author feel about their topic, the character(s), or events?

Collect passages that support the themes.