While a title might serve a decorative function or might explicitly repeat an obvious part of the story such as a character's name, it also can give insight into the main idea of a narrative. For example, the title of Arundhati Roy's novel "The God of Small Things" informs the reader that the main idea of the text is linked to the power of small and quiet things. Students should pay attention to all of the author's decisions, including the title, when interpreting the main idea of a narrative.
Stories often employ symbolism as a literary device to communicate theme. For example, in Guy de Maupassant's story "The Necklace," Madame Loisel's necklace represents her greed and inability to be grateful for the good life she had. Students can identify symbols by looking for repeated objects, colors and words and trying to decipher what those things represent in the story. Common literary symbols include the colors black and red, water, fire, masks, shadows, light, birds and snakes.
A surefire way to find the main idea of a story is by examining the characters. Character conflict and development often reveal larger issues involving the human experience. Students should examine times in the story when a character is faced with a problem to examine the character's values, motivations, strengths, weaknesses and relationship to herself, other characters and forces. For example, the protagonist of Jack London's story "To Build A Fire" faces a conflict with nature; the way he reacts to the cold and to the advice of others reveals a great deal about the power of nature and the dangers of arrogance.
Setting provides background and describes the time period, weather conditions, geography and social and political circumstances surrounding the narrative. These factors can have an enormous impact on how the main idea is communicated and how the characters react to their environment. For example, if the social setting relates to some form of oppression or persecution, it is likely that the main idea relates to those issues. Look to the setting for clues about the context and motivations in the narrative.