Looking back over the novel you’ve just read, what do you believe is its main theme? In 125 to 150 words, identify the theme and explain your answer. Be sure to use details from the novel to support your answer.

Here are the major themes in the four novels:

A major theme in The Giver is the importance of memories.

A Separate Peace has a theme that relates to the struggle for identity.

A central theme in Little Women is a woman’s status in society.

A key theme in Jane Eyre is the pursuit of happiness.

Here’s a sample answer for Jane Eyre:

Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Jane, struggles to find happiness and comfort among the people she meets. Initially, she attempts to find happiness with her aunt and cousins. But they continually bully, oppress, or abuse her. Later, she misses out on happiness with Mr. Rochester when she discovers that he is already married. Jane finds her first bit of happiness when she learns that the Rivers siblings are her cousins. However, she still is not completely happy because she is separated from her true love, Mr. Rochester:

While I looked, I thought myself happy, and was surprised to find myself ere long weeping—and why?  For the doom which had reft me from adhesion to my master: for him I was no more to see; for the desperate grief and fatal fury—consequences of my departure—which might now, perhaps, be dragging him from the path of right, too far to leave hope of ultimate restoration thither.

By the end of the story, Jane marries Mr. Rochester and completes her pursuit of happiness:

My Edward and I, then, are happy: and the more so, because those we most love are happy likewise.

Explanation:

in the short story the slip-over sweater by jesse stuart, the main character and narrator shan is friends with grace, an intelligent girl he has known since childhood and with whom he used to be in love.

at the beginning of the story, shan believes he’s no longer in love with grace, but loves jo-anne instead. in order to buy a slip-over sweater and have jo-anne wear it so that the other students would know she loved him too, shan takes a loan at the bank.

while jo-anne is wearing shan’s sweater, his friend grace starts to wear another popular boy’s one, roy’s sweater. because of that, the other students begin to pay attention to grace and compliment her perseverance and effort. they admire her for walking 5 miles to school every day, despite the weather, and still getting the best grades. shan, who knows all of that for a fact, says, as the narrator, ‘and i knew she had the durability and the toughness of a storm-battered mountain oak.’ he compares his friend’s strength – not only physical, but also of character – to an oak tree, whose wood is known for being sturdy.

as the story goes on, shan changes his behavior out of concern for the debt he has to pay at the bank. his new girlfriend jo-anne never asks him what is wrong nor offers any sort of . instead, she breaks up with shan for not being as fun as she thought he was supposed to be. grace, however, not only asks about shan’s problem, but him make the money he needs. shan can’t but notice how different the girls are and what a wonderful person grace is.   even though he used to find jo-anne prettier at the beginning of the story, he now says, ‘grace was as beautiful as our mountain was in april, prettier than a blossom of wild phlox or a mountain daisy.’ his comparing grace to a mountain or something that exists on a mountain (such as a mountain oak or daisy) certainly has important meaning since shan loves the mountain and everything about it and he knows the mountain thoroughly. shan also loves and knows grace as completely as he does the mountain.

we don't know what poem you are referring to

explanation: