Theme Worksheet Example

Title: "The 24 Carat Moon"
Author: Carl Barks

I. Theme: Being Greedy is wrong.

II. Implicit or Explicit: A theme is either EXPLICIT, stated verbatim in the text; or IMPLICIT, implied or suggested by events in the story.
A. Implicit: The theme is implicit because the story is about a bunch of greedy people, all of whom learn the error of their ways during the story.

III. Where do we find the theme in the setting, characters, and plot?

A. The setting of this story is Duckburg and outer space, where a golden moon has been found. It supports the theme because the huge amount of gold allows many characters to show their greed in the race to get to the golden moon first.

B. All of the major characters are greedy: Uncle Scrooge, the Rajah of Eyesore, the Texas Billionaire, and the Beagle Boys are all determined to get money and will do anything to achieve that goal.

C. As the plot progresses, each character's greed works against him. The rajah cuts a fuel line in a careless space race inspired by greed. The Beagle Boys and the Texas Billionaire are fooled by painted asteroids. Scrooge wins the moon, but is extremely disappointed when Muchkale teaches him that earth can be far more valuable than gold. This idea is enhanced symbolically when the crown, which has fallen from Scrooge's golden statue, is molded by him into a dunce cap.

IV. Evaluation
A. Universality: Show by three specific references if the theme is true for all people at all times.
The theme is universal, as it has been proved over and over that greed is wrong. In Greek Mythology, there is the story of King Midas who had the golden touch and could turn everything into gold. That greed caused the death of his daughter when he touched her. Uncle Scrooge's namesake, old Ebeneezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, showed how greed caused his partner, Jacob Marley, to be doomed to carry a chain of cash boxes forever as punishment. In modern times, there are many examples of greed causing problems. One film, Ferngully, shows how the greed of certain builders are destroying our rainforests. These are just three of the many examples which prove the universality of this theme.

B. Significance: To be significant, the theme must show us how to deal with a problem.

The one person in the story to deal with it is Muchkale, who finds all of his needs in a pile of dirt that becomes the seed for a new planet. I interpret this as a lesson to all of us, suggesting we can find wealth through appreciation of the simple, natural beauty of life. The theme is significant.

Credited to: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9502/theme.html