Matching Messages: Themes, Proverbs and The Graveyard Book
Overview
I have found that middle school students love working with proverbs. The “bite-sized” literary
units are a great way to introduce students to the idea that major, cross-cultural ideas about life can
be embedded in key phrases, events or motifs within a larger work of literature.
With this lesson, students will make connections between a list of themes (or messages and
personal philosophies of individual characters) found in The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman,
and statements with similar or identical meaning taken from world proverbs and famous quotes.
(Proverbs and quotes for each exercise are provided in a separate list.) After finding the match for
each theme, students restate the main idea in their own words, developing their skill at finding and
summarizing a main idea.
Example:
TGB - Then find your name. (p. 251)
Match - The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. - Chinese Proverb
Answers will vary, but one possible restatement of the shared main idea:
Knowing yourself leads to independence, wisdom and maturity.
Each student exercise in this lesson covers two chapters, and can be assigned after students have
finished reading each chapter pair: 1 and 2, 3 and 4, etc. Although the four exercises in this packet
are set up so that they can be given as in-class or homework assignments, the materials could
instead be used for a class discussion, an essay topic or for a section of a quiz or test. Students do
not need a copy of The Graveyard Book in hand in order to complete the assignment.
Teachers could reformat the material for differentiated instruction, or work with students in a
group to make the matches and restate the main idea.
Standards
Common Core State Standards for the English Language Arts
Reading: Literature – Key Ideas and Details
Grade 6 - Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular
details.
Grade 7 - Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course
of the text.
Grade 8 - Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course
of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot.
Grades 9 – 10 - Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development
over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details.
Resources
•
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008)
•
Copies of:
o “Matching Themes” written exercise based on most recent completed chapters.
o “Matching Messages” list to go with each written exercise. (These are designed
to be reused, but your photocopy budget may allow you to print fresh copies.)
o Answer key for teacher or discussion leader.
Definitions:
 A proverb is a phrase expressing a basic truth which may be applied to common situations
(wiktionary.org); a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of
experience that is taken as true by many people (worldnetweb.princeton.edu). It is also the
name of a book in the Old Testament consisting of proverbs from various Israeli sages
(including Solomon).
 Similarly, an aphorism is a short, pithy instructive saying (worldnetweb.princeton.edu);
speech or writing that is short, direct, and memorable, often relating to abstract truth rather
than to practical matters. Aphorism derives from the Greek word 'aphorismos' meaning to
define (examples-help.org.uk).
 Related to proverb and aphorism: maxim, axiom.
 In literature, a theme is a message or lesson conveyed by a work. This message is usually a
timeless and universal idea about life, society or human nature. Most themes are implied
rather than explicitly stated. (Wikipedia)
Preparation
 Review the written exercises and matching quotes. You may find that some of the
“matches” are not as clear and strong as others, or that your restatement of the main idea
differs from mine. Part of the class discussion will allow students to express opinions
about whether not all matches were exact or whether there is room for other interpretations.
 Review definitions, instructional plan and discussion prompts.
 The day before the lesson, you might ask students to prepare by asking family members to
recall any proverbs or phrases they use that state a philosophy toward life or toward
situations that arise in daily life. (See the first bullet under “Class Session,” below.) Does
their household have a fridge magnet, bumper sticker or embroidered pillow with a wise or
clever or religious saying on it?
Instructional Plan
Student objectives
Students will identify, analyze and apply knowledge of theme in a literary work.
Class Session
§ Ask students if anyone in their family regularly uses certain phrases in certain situations: “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or “There but for the grace of God go I,” or
“Speak of the devil and he appears,” or “A penny saved is a penny earned” or “Waste not, want
not.” Even, “Get a life,” or “Get out of town.” These are little statements about life that they may
have heard from earlier generations of family members, or picked up from reading or the media.
They may have seen or heard other phrases in the media: “It Takes A Village” was the title of a
book a few years ago, taken from the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” A
national tv commercial makes fun of the proverb “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
§
Share and discuss the definitions of proverb and aphorism.
§
If you have not yet discussed the idea of literary themes, introduce students to this concept.
§
Explain that today’s lesson will sharpen their skill at spotting and understanding literary
themes, using quotes from the novel The Graveyard Book and comparing them to similar proverbs
and quotes from the world at large.
§ Hand out the blank “Matching Themes” page and go over the instructions with students,
providing the sample solution on the white board.
§ Hand out the correct “Matching Messages” page for today’s written exercise and instruct
students to complete the remaining seven matches. Some TGB quotes may have more than one
correct match.
§
For discussion after the written exercises: (These bullets are duplicated on the Answer Key.)
o Ask students if each quote or proverb intended as a match for each excerpt from The
Graveyard Book is really an exact fit. Which ones are close or exact, and which ones are
harder to connect or don’t seem to convey the full meaning of the quote? If the matching
quote or proverb is not an exact fit, what is missing? Are there any quotes or proverbs that
they feel miss the point entirely? Is it alright that different people might interpret literature
in different ways, or should there always be one right answer?
o Which quotes and proverbs share similar metaphors with their match from TGB, and
which convey the same or similar meanings using different metaphors? Which ones use
personification?
o Is it always clear that the author agrees with the statements being made by his
characters? For instance, the phrase, “Time is no longer our friend,” is voiced by Jack
Dandy (p. 170). Does the author want the reader to agree with this statement? If not, is it
still a theme of this book? (Possible answer: Not every quote in a book is an important
theme on its own. It may be a small part of a larger presentation of a theme, or it may be
used ironically – stating the opposite of the author’s point of view, or it may have a
different purpose – to tell us about a character or to advance the plot, for instance, but not
to give us a lesson about life.)
o Are there any themes from TGB that appear to contradict each other? For instance, in
Chapter 6, the Lady in Grey says, “Names aren’t really important” (p. 161) but in Chapter
7, the Sleer tells Bod, “Then find your name” (p. 251). Why would one book present both
of these pieces of advice? (Possible answer: The Lady in Grey may be focusing on the
situation of dead people; the Sleer is giving advice to Bod about going forth into the world
of the living.)
o Another example: In Chapter 8, Mother Slaughter says, “You’re always you, and that
don’t change, and you’re always changing, and there’s nothing you can do about it” (p.
298). In the same chapter, Silas says, “People can change” (p. 303). Are they saying the
same thing? What is the reader supposed to think when two statements in the same book
don’t exactly match?
§ Follow-up exercise: Choose a quote or proverb and write a brief parable illustrating the
message or lesson of the quote or proverb. Use Aesop’s fables as a model, if needed.
Date ____________________
Name ______________________________________________
Matching themes from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Eight quotes on this page are taken from Chapters 1 and 2 of The Graveyard Book. Match each
one with a proverb or quote from another source that has the same or similar meaning, writing the
letter of that quote in the blank next to its match. In the box, restate the meaning of the quote
and its match in your own words. An example is provided.
__G__ 1. Rattle his bones, over the stones. He’s only a pauper who nobody owns. (epigraph)
No one cares when a poor person dies.
______ 2. Death is the great democracy. (p. 29)
______ 3. The dead should have charity. (p. 30)
______ 4. Some skills can be attained by education, and some by practice, and some by time. (p. 37)
______ 5. You’re my friend. So you can’t be a stranger. (p. 41)
______ 6. …there were things that might be more fun done in the sunlight with a friend. (p. 41)
______ 7. She had already been told firmly by her parents that Bod was imaginary and that
there was nothing wrong with that…. (p. 43)
______ 8. A scarecrow is “… just a made-up thing…just to scare the crows away…It doesn’t
scare us. We know it isn’t real. (p. 55)
Date ____________________
Name ______________________________________________
Matching themes from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Eight quotes on this page are taken from Chapters 3 and 4 of The Graveyard Book. Match each
one with a proverb or quote from another source that has the same or similar meaning, writing the
letter of that quote in the blank next to its match. In the box, restate the meaning of the quote
and its match in your own words. An example is provided.
_____ 1. It is neither fair nor unfair…. It simply is. (p. 65)
______ 2. You are ignorant, boy…This is bad. And you are content to be ignorant, which is
worse. (p. 71)
______ 3. …he thought of his home in the graveyard, and now he could no longer remember
why he had ever left….he had to get back home once more. (p. 92)
______ 4. There are so many things to know. (p. 98)
______ 5. There are those…who believe that all land is sacred. That it is sacred before we
come to it, and sacred after…. (p. 100)
______ 6. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. (p. 104)
__D__ 7. We don’t forget. (p. 143)
People remember important things.
______ 8. What she spent is lost, what she gave remains with her always. Reader be
Charitable. (p. 140)
Date ____________________
Name ______________________________________________
Matching themes from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Eight quotes on this page are taken from Chapters 5, Interlude and 6 of The Graveyard Book.
Match each one with a proverb or quote from another source that has the same or similar meaning,
writing the letter of that quote in the blank next to its match. In the box, restate the meaning of
the quote and its match in your own words. An example is provided.
______ 1. Things blossom in their time. They bud and bloom, blossom and fade. Everything
in its time. (p. 146)
______ 2. “… soon enough, tomorrow night comes. And how often can a man say that?”
“Every night,” said Bod. “Tomorrow night always comes.” (p. 147)
______ 3. Names aren’t really important. (p. 161)
__F__ 4. He is gentle enough to bear the mightiest of you away on his broad back, and strong
enough for the smallest of you as well. (p. 161)
In the afterlife, everyone is cared for with gentleness and strength.
______ 5. Time is no longer our friend. (p. 170)
______ 6. He read stories as enthusiastically as some children ate. (p. 182)
______ 7. Stop behaving like other people don’t matter. Stop hurting people. (p. 187)
______ 8. Fear is contagious. You can catch it. (p. 188)
Date ____________________
Name ______________________________________________
Matching themes from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Eight quotes on this page are taken from Chapters 7 and 8 of The Graveyard Book. Match each one with
a proverb or quote from another source that has the same or similar meaning, writing the letter of that quote
in the blank next to its match. In the box, restate the meaning of the quote and its match in your own
words. An example is provided.
_____ 1. “There’s nothing you can do, Bod.”
“There is. I can learn. I can learn everything I need to know, all I can.” (p. 217)
______ 2. …we utter words both sweet and sour with the same tongue. (p. 232)
______ 3. If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained. (p. 233)
______ 4. If you were our master, we could keep you safe and protect you until the end of time
and never let you endure the dangers of the world. (p. 250-251)
__F__ 5. Then find your name. (p. 251)
Knowing yourself leads to independence, wisdom and maturity.
______ 6. Let us…discuss…what it might be wise for you to remember, and what it might be
better for you to forget. (p. 287)
______ 7. You’re always you, and that don’t change, and you’re always changing, and there’s
nothing you can do about it. (p. 298)
______ 8. Face your life / Its pain, its pleasure, / Leave no path untaken. (p. 306)
Matching “Messages” from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Match the following quotes and proverbs to the selections taken from The Graveyard Book,
writing the letter of the appropriate quote from this page on the line next to its match on the
written exercise. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE.
Chapters 1 and 2
A. There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
- Willa Cather, American Author 1873-1947
B. One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your
imagination. - Sam Levenson, American Humorist 1911-1980
C. Strangers are just friends waiting to happen. Rod McKuen, American poet, born 1933
D. As men, we are all equal in the presence of death. Publilius Syrus, Roman writer, c. 100 BC
E. You do not always have to believe what you see. - French Proverb
F. Without friends to share it, no good we possess is truly enjoyable.
- Seneca the Younger, c. 4 BC – AD 65
G. If a rich man dies, all the world is moved; if a poor man dies, nobody knows it.
- Armenian Proverb
H. Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world
to his fellows. - Mohammed, Founder of Islam c. 570-632
I. If you want equality, then go to the graveyard. - German Proverb
J. …idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because
they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you.
- The Holy Bible, Jeremiah 10:5
Chapters 3 and 4
A. The Earth is our mother, we must take care of her. Her sacred ground we walk upon, with
every step we take. - Hopi chant
B. What we frankly give, forever is our own. – George Granville, English Poet 1666-1735
C. Wherever man goes to dwell his character goes with him. - African Proverb
D. Old horses don't forget the way. - Japanese Proverb
E. Reality is neither good nor bad; it just is. - Arbie M. Dale, Motivational Author
F. Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., American Leader, 1929-1968
G. Look what a lot of things there are to learn. - T.H.White, English Author 1906-1964
H. It may be that the satisfaction I need depends on my going away, so that when I've gone and
come back, I'll find it at home. - Rumi, Persian poet, 1207-1273
Matching “Messages” from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Match the following quotes and proverbs to the selections taken from The Graveyard Book,
writing the letter of the appropriate quote from this page on the line next to its match on the
written exercise. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE.
Chapters 5, Interlude and 6
A. What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet….
William Shakespeare, English Playwright
B. While we speak, time is envious and is running away from us. Seize the day, trusting little in
the future. - Horace, Roman Poet, 65 BC
C. Fear breeds fear. - Byron Janis, American concert pianist. b. 1928
D. Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.
- Seneca the Younger, c. 4 BC – AD 65
E. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, / To
the last syllable of recorded time…. - William Shakespeare, English Playwright
F. Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close
to his heart; he leads the ewes along. - Isaiah 40:11
G. Every blade in the field, every leaf in the forest, lays down its life in its season, as beautifully
as it was taken up. —Henry David Thoreau, American Writer
H. Unplowed fields make hollow bellies; unread books make hollow minds. - Chinese Proverb
I. The best practical advice I can give to the present generation is to practice the virtue which the
Christians call love. - Bertrand Russell
Chapters 7 and 8
A. Pearls lie not on the seashore. If thou desirest one thou must dive for it. - Chinese Proverb
B. A snake can change its skin but not its disposition. - Iranian Proverb
C. We walk in our moccasins upon the Earth
And beneath the sky
As we travel on life's path of beauty
We will live a good life and reach old age. - Navajo Blessing
D. Some of the sweetest berries grow among the sharpest thorns. - Gaelic Proverb
E. Forgetting trouble is the way to cure it. - Latin Proverb
F. The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. - Chinese Proverb
G. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more
places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) American Writer, 1904-1991
H. The tyrant is only the slave turned inside out. - Egyptian Proverb
I. Know thyself. - Ancient Greek Aphorism, often attributed to the philosopher Socrates
Answer Key
Matching themes from The Graveyard Book and other sources
Answers for the four written exercises
Chapters 1 and 2
1. G
2. D and I
3. H
4. A
5. C
6. F
7. B
8. E and J
Chapters 3 and 4
1. E
2. F
3. H
4. G
5. A
6. C
7. D
8. B
Chaps. 5, Interlude, 6
1. G
2. E
3. A
4. F
5. B
6. H
7. D and I
8. C
Chapters 7 and 8
1. G
2. D
3. A
4. H
5. F and I
6. E
7. B
8. C
For discussion:
1. Ask students if each quote or proverb intended as a match for each excerpt from The Graveyard
Book is really an exact fit. Which ones are close or exact, and which ones are harder to connect or
don’t seem to convey the full meaning of the quote? If the matching quote or proverb is not an
exact fit, what is missing? Are there any quotes or proverbs that they feel miss the point entirely?
Is it alright that different people might interpret literature in different ways, or should there always
be one right answer?
2. Which quotes and proverbs share similar metaphors with their match from TGB, and which
convey the same or similar meanings using different metaphors? Which ones use personification?
3. Is it always clear that the author agrees with the statements being made by his characters? For
instance, the phrase, “Time is no longer our friend,” is voiced by Jack Dandy (p. 170). Does the
author want the reader to agree with this statement? If not, is it still a theme of this book?
(Possible answer: Not every quote in a book is an important theme on its own. It may be a small
part of a larger presentation of a theme, or it may be used ironically – stating the opposite of the
author’s intention, or it may have a different purpose – to tell us about a character or to advance
the plot, for instance, but not to give us a lesson about life.)
4. Are there any themes from TGB that appear to contradict each other? For instance, in Chapter
6, the Lady in Grey says, “Names aren’t really important” (p. 161) but in Chapter 7, the Sleer tells
Bod, “Then find your name” (p. 251). Why would one book present both of these pieces of
advice? (Possible answer: The Lady in Grey may be focusing on the situation of dead people; the
Sleer is giving advice to Bod about going forth into the world of the living.)
5. Another example: In Chapter 8, Mother Slaughter says, “You’re always you, and that don’t
change, and you’re always changing, and there’s nothing you can do about it” (p. 298). In the
same chapter, Silas says, “People can change” (p. 303). Are they saying the same thing? What is
the reader supposed to think when two statements in the same book don’t exactly match?
6. Follow-up exercise: Choose a quote or proverb and write a brief parable illustrating the message
or lesson of the quote or proverb. Use Aesop’s fables as a model, if needed.