We read literature—at least partially—to gain access to experiences and perspectives that we are not living through firsthand. Literature suggests truths about human experience and the world; these are themes.
Thinking about an author’s purpose is a good way to start thinking about themes. What is the author noticing about the world that they include in their story? Do they seem to believe that people are either good or evil or that everyone is complicated? Do they depict relationships as easy or hard? Do they warn us about something — the danger of jealousy, the harms of racism, the temptations of power? What helps their characters get through difficult times: friends? family? self-reflection?
The first step in identifying a theme is often to identify a thematic topic or general concept that appears in the story. Then you can identify how that concept appears in the story. Then you can derive a universal message (theme) from that. Remember that a theme is something the author implies is true; you don’t need to agree with a theme to recognize that it exists in a story.
A thematic topic is a concept that is important to the story.
A theme is a full sentence that states the message or lesson the author conveys about the thematic topic.
Note: Both thematic topics and themes are universal; they are about the world in general, not about specific characters or situations.
The following examples are all from "The Stolen Party." References to the thematic topic are in bold and references to the other idea in the theme are italicized.
Thematic Topic: Growing Up
Relevance to Text: At the beginning of the story, Rosaura innocently believes social class doesn’t matter. She has to grow up suddenly at the end of the story, and this is painful for her.
Theme: Growing up involves learning hard truths about the world.
Thematic Topic: Social Class
Relevance to Text: Señora Ines treats Rosaura differently because of her social class.
Theme: Social class can affect how people are treated.
Thematic Topic: Friendship
Relevance to Text: Rosaura thinks she is friends with Luciana, but her mother, Señora Ines, and the girl with the bow disagree. We never find out if Luciana thinks they are friends.
Theme: Friendship is complicated.
Thematic Topic: Family
Relevance to Text: Rosaura and her mother argue harshly about whether Rosaura should go to the party, but Rosaura’s mother still puts a lot of effort into getting her ready. At the end, Rosaura’s mother’s support helps Rosaura in her moment of disappointment.
Theme: Family members can argue but still be there when they need each other.
Basically any concept (abstract noun) can be a thematic topic. Here are a few common examples.
love
family
friendship
happiness
coming of age
courage
heroism
survival
death
loss
resilience
good and evil
inequality
prejudice
power
powerlessness
war
violence
Here are a few sentence frames for identifying a theme — the author's message about the thematic topic.
This frame works well for a thematic topic that is shown to help characters in a text. It can also be worded as "the importance of [thematic topic]," although that's not a complete sentence.
Examples: the importance of friendship; family is important; it is important to stay true to oneself
This frame works well for a thematic topic that is shown to harm characters in a text. It can also be worded as "the danger of [thematic topic]."
Examples: Judging people too quickly is dangerous; the danger of power without oversight
Many themes can be worded as a cause and effect relationship. Consider what the thematic topic can cause, lead to, or allow for.
Examples: Power without oversight can lead to abuses of power; coming of age causes people to reassess their values.
This is just the reverse of the above; what brings about the thematic topic?
Examples: Fully understanding oneself leads to happiness; facing repeated injustices can cause people to feel powerless.