Theme Development Tracker
Overview of Theme
A theme of a literary text is the underlying idea or universal value (e.g., love, honesty, loyalty,
sacrifice, fairness, forgiveness) that applies to everyone. A theme may be a moral or lesson,
but this is not always the case. Themes do not mention characters, plot, or others textual
details in a text. Instead, themes are general messages to the reader that could apply to
many different situations outside of the text itself. Importantly, a literary text can have
multiple themes. For example, one theme in a story may be that we all have the opportunity
to be heroic. An event in which a character must choose whether or not to risk her own
safety by helping someone she thought was her enemy is a textual detail that develops the
theme.
These are some additional examples of possible themes of literary texts:
Honesty and courage
Perseverance (or “never give up!”)
Prejudice and self-worth
In contrast, the following are not themes because they mention textual details, such as
characters, settings, and plot:
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch had to stand up for what was right.
Harry Potter’s bravery at Hogwarts
The prejudice faced by the Logan family in Mississippi
Learning to identify themes can improve your understanding of literary texts. However,
identifying themes can be tricky. Fortunately, there are several strategies you can use to
identify themes while reading.
Using the Theme Development Tracker
You can use this Theme Development Tracker to practice these strategies. Follow the
instructions below to use the Theme Development Tracker.
1. There are several clues you can use to identify textual details that may be introducing or
developing a theme. As you read, watch for these clues:
Advice: A character receives advice about an important event or decision.
Epiphany: A character has an epiphany, or an important realization, that helps the
character better understand an event or make a decision.
Memory: A character remembers an event that occurred previously and describes it
in detail. The memory helps the reader understand character traits, motivations, and
actions.
Reflection: A character reflects on the impact of an event or lesson learned.
Repetition: A particular idea or value is repeated throughout the text.
If you encounter one of these types of situations in the text, stop and ask yourself the
following questions to identify the theme:
What is the underlying idea in the story that could apply to anyone?
Is there a universal value (e.g., love, honesty, loyalty, sacrifice, fairness, forgiveness)
that connects multiple characters or events?
Is there a lesson the reader is supposed to learn?
2. In the “Theme” row, record the particular theme being communicated by the author.
3. In the “Introduction of the theme” row, record the textual detail in which the author began
to communicate this theme to the reader. You may write a direct quotation or paraphrase a
longer portion of the text. It is important that you record the page number(s) on which you
found this textual detail.
4. After recording the theme and its introduction, keep tracking its development in the text.
Be on the lookout for additional details that may be specific examples of the theme in action.
Record the additional details and their page numbers in the “Detail that develops the theme”
rows underneath the theme.
5. Keep watching for the introduction of new themes, and be sure to record each new theme,
its related textual details, and the page numbers on which each occurred.
Theme Development Tracker
Theme
Introduction
of the
theme
(p. ___)
Detail that
develops
the theme
(p. ___)
Detail that
develops
the theme
(p. ___)
Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
(p. ___)
Detail that
develops
the theme
(p. ___)
Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
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Detail that
develops
the theme
(p. ___)