What are the themes of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Gold Bug"?There's not much that I notice about themes throughout this short story. Poe...

I like to challenge my students with the following:

"The Gold Bug" (or whatever story/poem) is a story/poem about ______________ (fill in the blank).

There are usually several things you can plug into the blank. All stories and poems have more than one theme, although most are fairly obvious.

The Gold Bug is a story about adventure, mystery, superstition, hidden treasure, friendship, greed.  Try it yourself and see what else you come up with as far as themes you see.