Theme. A theme is a central idea in a literary work. Theme is different from subject or topic. The themes of a literary work are the statements the work makes about life, society, human behavior, or the world. Sometimes the theme of a work is directly stated, but most often the reader must explore the elements of the literary work—characters, setting, and plot—to discover the theme or themes. Literary works commonly address universal topics that people around the world share—things like friendship, compassion, honesty, family, and determination. Think about the story of the three little pigs. The two pigs who build unstable houses because they don’t want to do the work it takes to build a strong house end up losing their homes to the big bad wolf. The theme of that story could be stated as, “It pays off in the end to work hard and do the job right.” As you read “The Boy Who Talked with Animals,” consider the topics of the story and the possible themes that relate to those topics.
Conflict. A conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a literary work. A struggle that takes place between a character and some outside force is called an external conflict. An internal conflict takes place within a character. As you read, think about what conflicts take place in this story. Who do they involve?
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• Geography Connection. Jamaica is an island nation of the West Indies. Located south of Cuba in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. Kingston, the capital, is a major seaport. Jamaica’s developing economy is largely based on mineral exports and tourism.
• Biology Connection. The turtle is a toothless, slow-moving reptile that has a shell to protect itself. Many turtles have sturdy, short feet. Marine turtles, however, like the one in this story, have paddle-like flippers. These flippers suit them to life in the ocean. There are 200 to 250 species of turtles, most of which live in or near the tropics. Today, many of the world’s turtle species are threatened with extinction. The causes of turtle extinction are many but include loss of habitat, disturbance of nesting sites such as beaches, ocean pollution, and hunting of turtles for their meat, eggs, and shells.
In what ways do some people show respect for nature and animals, and in what ways do some people show disrespect for nature and animals?
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