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Unit 1:  At Home and Away  Book view

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Week 1 1/8

Reading Skill: Analyze Theme 

A theme is a subject or message that is conveyed in a literary work. Authors express
themes through a variety of details that relate to characters, plot, images, and symbols.
One way to determine the themes of a story is to focus closely on details about the
characters. Ask yourself:

Do any of the characters change by the end of the story? If so, how and why?
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How do the characters interact with each other and with their environment?
What do the characters say to or about each other?

Read the following excerpt from "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World."

Example 1

“But they also knew that everything would be different from then on, that their
houses would have wider doors, higher ceilings, and stronger floors . . . .”

In this example, the characters are starting to change as a result of the drowned man’s
presence. Inspired by the drowned man’s extraordinary traits, the people of the village show
an interest in making their living spaces more special. They want to create “wider doors,
higher ceilings, and stronger floors.” This points to a theme of transformation, as illustrated
in the graphic organizer below. 

everything would
wider doors
be different

Transformation

higher ceilings stronger floors

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