Understanding "theme"
through literary devices
frankenstein : chapters 11-21
identifying the topic/subject (there could be just one,
writing can often be in understanding the theme
c (there could be just one, or there could be several) of a particular piece of
1 understanding the theme. the topic/subject is the general idea that the
characters, events, locations, or situations in a story are centered around (reler
what is meant by theme'' handout for more information),
is in a story are centered around (refer to the "understanding
e handout for more information). for example, a christmas carol by charles
dickens focuses on the subject of reed. once a subiect(s) of a literary works
eed. once a subject(s) of a literary work is understood, the next step
is to ask yourself what a reasonable statement about this subject is what is a locus
about staying with the previous example from dickens' a chr
statement about this subject is (what is a focus, idea, or message
"what is an idea or message in the text that can be reasonably
e previous example from dickens' a christmas carol, you should ask yourself,
ed or message in the text that can be reasonably claimed about the subject of greed
looking at literary devices in the story such as the characterization of son
ces in the story such as the characterization of scrooge, various symbols, and the
epiphany that occurs toward the end of the novella, the reader ca
vucurs toward the end of the novella, the reader can reasonably claim that one possible
theme is that wealth does not lead to genuine, lasting happiness
earth does not lead to genuine, lasting happiness but being a compassionate and forgiving
person does.
your task is now to apply this understanding of how to approach a theme in a literary
work to frankenstein by mary shelley.
1. thinking back over chapter 17-chapter 21 , create a list of as many different subjects that
are evident in this section as you can.
2. once this is done, select one of them that you consider to be the most relevant/best subjects
(one that you feel covers the most area and gives you the most to work with).
3. now, for the subject, identify a main focus, message, or idea about it. in other words, what is
the message, idea, or issue about the subject that you reasonably think is emphasized within
the text?
4. once the subject(s) and theme(s) have been completed, identify a few literary devices that
you noticed throughout this section of the novel. specifically, try to limit your devices to the
following ones: symbolism , simile., metaphor, personification , imagery, internal conflict,
diction (that aids in understanding related to a character, event, symbol, or idea), external conflict,
epiphany, direct characterization , indirect characterization , foil character.
5. as the final step, for the selected subject that you used to reveal a theme/focus (and
supported with literary devices), write a paragraph of 5-10 sentences explaining how one of
the literary devices to make the
theme/focus more clear/obvious in this portion of the novel. the first sentence should identify
the text (and possibly the section of the novel), the literary device, and the central idea/focus