Name Theme and Summary

Ian’s Summer Job

More than anything in the world, Ian wanted to be a writer. He was constantly writing
stories, even when he was supposed to be cutting the grass or doing his math homework. Ian
entered what he thought was his very best story in a writing contest. The first prize was a
scholarship to a summer-long writing workshop in a distant town. But Ian did not win the
contest.
“That’s okay,” his father said. “You can work with me at the hardware store this summer.
You can earn some money.”
“But I don’t want to work in the hardware store,” Ian said. “I want to spend the summer
writing stories.”
“The hardware store will be good for you,” his father insisted. “It will get you some
experience with the world. Otherwise, what are you going to write about?”
Ian had no choice, and once school was out he began to go to the hardware store with his
father to work every day. He resented the time he had to spend helping customers and stocking
shelves, and he kept a small notebook in his apron so that he could take every
opportunity―even while he was working at the hardware store―to write.
One day, a man came in from out of town. He stood at the counter, talking to Ian’s father.
The man had a strange accent, and sometimes when he spoke his sentences seemed strange.
Ian stood nearby, writing down what the man said in his notebook.
“He’s Dutch,” Ian’s father said when Ian asked him about it. “He comes in every six months
or so.”
A few days later, Mrs. McKinney came in, with her six children in tow.
“I need a rubber grommet,” she told Ian’s father. Ian’s father went to get the grommet.
“What are you fixing, Mrs. McKinney?” Ian asked.
Mrs. McKinney embarked on a long story involving her garden hose, her sink, her two-year-
old, and the exorbitant price of calling a plumber. When she was gone, Ian wrote down her
story.
Over the course of the summer, Ian collected new words, turns of phrase, accents and
stories in his notebook. All of these pieces were constantly rearranging themselves in his mind,
and he soon began producing stories that were entirely different from the kind of story he had
submitted to the contest. He drew from real life, writing about the things he heard every day
that concerned real people. By the time he started back to school in the fall, his stories were
more interesting and more powerful than they had
ever been before.
The following spring Ian submitted a new story
to the writing contest, and this time he won!
“I’ll miss you at the hardware store this
summer,” his father said. “But I’m proud of you.”
“I’ll miss the hardware store too,” Ian said. “I
never expected that the hardware store even had
the nuts and bolts of writing!”

CCSS. RL.4.2 |© http://www.englishworksheetsland.com

Name Theme and Summary

1. What does Ian want in this story? How does he expect to get it?

2. Does Ian get what he wants? How does he get what he wants?

3. What is the theme of this story?

a) It is best not to get what you want right away.

b) Sometimes getting what you want doesn’t look like you thought it would.
c) Sometimes it’s better if you don’t get what you want.

4. Explain how what happens to Ian develops the theme of this story.

5. Write a brief summary of the story. Include key details that help you recognize the theme.

CCSS. RL.4.2 |© http://www.englishworksheetsland.com

 ANSWERS

1. He wants to be a writer. He expects to win a writing

contest and go to a writing workshop.

2. Ian does become a better writer, by listening to people

at the hardware store.

3. B

4. Ian doesn’t get what he

5. Ian hopes to win a contest, first prize of which is a

summer-long writing workshop. But his story doesn’t win,
and his father puts him to work in his hardware store for
the summer. At first the boy resents the job. But he
spends all day listening to the customers, one has an
interesting accent and way of expressing himself that the
boy tries to capture on paper. Another is always telling
stories from her life, and the boy starts to understand the
kinds of things that motivate and matter to people. The
following year, his essay wins the contest.

CCSS. RL.4.2 |© http://www.englishworksheetsland.com