Life is a great big canvas, throw all the paint on it you can. - Danny Kaye

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. - Helen Keller

Do something. Do anything. But don’t just stand there and let people beat on you and then thank them for

doing it. - Where the lilies bloom

Aim: How do we understand themes in literature?Do Now: What do these quotes mean?

Theme

• A theme is the central idea in a literary work.

• Examples of Themes: love, hate, family, growing up, dreams…etc

Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance

• A movement in 1920s that brought many African American artists to fame

• Explosion of thoughts within the black community

• Brought attention to racial problems and set the stage for the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

Dreams, A Dream Deferred, The Dream Keeper

• What metaphor is used to describe life when dreams go? In what way are the two things alike?

• What simile does the author use to describe something dried up? In what way are the two things alike?

Comprehension Questions

• In “Dreams,” what is life if dreams die? • What does the speaker urge readers to do

with their dreams?• In “A Dream Deferred,” what happens to a

raison in the sun?• In “The Dream Keeper,” in what does the

speak wrap dreams?• In “The Dream Keeper,” from what does the

speaker want to protect dreams?