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How to Write a Theme Essay

Last Updated: January 4, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 206,138 times.

Starting the Essay

• For example, an essay prompt may ask you to reflect on the theme of good versus evil in John Steinbeck's East of Eden .

• Make a list of everything you know about the topic. This can be information you learned in class, as well as information you found on your own.
• Write down keywords or key scenes in the text that respond to the essay prompt. Think about what words or scenes from the text come to mind when you think of a specific theme.
• For example, when you brainstorm ideas on East of Eden , you may write down any moments in the text that seem to speak to the theme of good and evil.

• Your thesis statement will need to address the theme, your primary example or examples, and the stance you will take on the topic.
• For example, your thesis might be: "In East of Eden , John Steinbeck rejects the Biblical idea of good and evil and instead focuses on the contradictions and complications found in good and evil."

• Introduction: Discuss landscape as metaphor, include thesis statement.
• Body: Describe mountains in opening scene, elaborate on how they symbolize good vs. evil, state how characters live between the mountains, showing how people are caught between good and evil.
• Conclusion: Restate thesis statement, return to landscape as metaphor.

Writing Your Essay

• Questions can make fun hooks for the reader. Ask a rhetorical question that relates to the theme of the essay, such as "How does one decide what is good and what is evil?"
• You can also use a quote from the text as the hook. Find a quote in the text that explores the themes and ideas you'll be discussing in your essay.

• For example, you may introduce the role of nature plays in the text to discuss the theme of good and evil. The first sentence of your body paragraph should discuss the role of nature. This will set up the paragraph and let the reader know what the focus of the paragraph will be.

• For example, you may discuss the use of nature in the text in one paragraph. The body of the paragraph should then use quotes and scenes in the text to support this idea.
• You might write,"The descriptions of the Gabilan Mountains in the text symbolize good and evil. The characters in the story live in the Salinas Valley, trapped in a gray area between these two extremes."

• Ask yourself, "What do I want my readers to have learned through this essay?"
• Remind readers about the essay's theme. Reference some of the arguments you made in the body of your essay, reinforcing how they support your original point.

Revising Your Essay

• Check that there are transitions between paragraphs. Look at the beginning of each paragraph to make sure they all flow well together.

• Print out your paper and proofread it. Oftentimes, errors are easier to catch on paper. If you can't print out your paper, try changing the size or type of the font. Anything that alters how the work looked when you wrote it can help alert you to errors. [13] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• Be open to constructive feedback from friends and peers. This will only improve the essay and ensure it is at its best when you turn it in.

Expert Q&A

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• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://penandthepad.com/write-essay-theme-book-2200.html
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-hook/
• ↑ https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/how-to-write-an-essay/conclusion
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

When writing a theme essay, you’ll need to explore a given theme in the text you’re studying. Before you start your essay, brainstorm some notes about your theme, which you can then build your essay from. For example, if you have the theme of good and evil, think about which characters are mostly good or evil, any good or evil actions they take, description that uses light and darkness, and any religious context. In your intro, state your thesis, which should summarize your essay’s main argument. Then, choose 4 or 5 examples of your theme and write a paragraph exploring each one. Make sure you support your points with quotes from the text. In your conclusion, link your ideas back to your thesis statement. For more tips from our English co-author, including how to revise your essay to polish it up, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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A thematic essay is a type of writing assignment that focuses on a specific theme or topic. It requires you to identify a central theme, discuss it in detail, and make connections between various facts. Your main goal is to demonstrate understanding and interpretation of the given subject matter. This type of essay is commonly used in literature classes or history exams.

If you’ve got an assignment to write a theme essay, you might wonder where you should even start from. No worries, we’ve got you covered here! The first thing you must know about this specific type of paper is that it aims to analyze a certain well-known theme and make an interesting statement about it. Here, you must explain meaning and relevance or complexity of your topic. You should summarize details that support your conclusion. In this article, we will conduct a detailed review of theme essay concept. We will also provide you a step by step guide on how to write a proper one. Let's dive right into it!  

Thematic Essay Definition

Let’s start with defining what is a thematic essay and its purpose. In this type, one should select a thesis and form unique statement related to its aspects. You should write about it, explaining or elaborating to your audience the following:

• How is your statement related to your topic?
• Which important or interesting aspects does it highlight?
• What approaches and literary devices are you using for analysis ? How do you explain your general theme? This can be comparison, metaphor, personification etc.

When composing such an essay, you must formulate and defend your statement. Here, you will demonstrate abilities of analysis and literary devices usage. At least several paragraphs would be needed to display such skills properly.

Thematic Essay Outline: What's Inside

The best way to begin is creating a theme essay outline for your topic. An outline should contain all key parts, concepts and ideas of your paper. You should put it in a sketchy but logical manner. This way you'll quickly prepare a shortened version of your assignment. It will also help you in reviewing it. Adding missing points and correcting significant mistakes would be easier at this early stage. Outline should include all main essay parts:  

• Introduction
• Thesis statement
• Body section
• Conclusion.

Keeping it brief, you should not provide complete sentences to describe your statements, ideas and arguments. A few words would suffice for each important point. Purpose is to make it readable for yourself! You should review it quickly and spot any inconsistencies.

How to Write a Thematic Essay Step-By-Step

Now it is time to focus on how to write a theme analysis essay – the complete text from scratch. Is your goal to impress readers and achieve a good grade? Then it is important that you create a proper essay structure template and don't lose any of your key questions! Stay methodical and keep it logical! Make sure your audience is engaged and don’t disappoint them in the end. Below we’ll provide a general idea for each step of this process.

Step 1. Define the Topic for Your Thematic Essay

When it comes to choosing among thematic essay topics, it is important that you pick an interesting and maybe even a controversial one. At the same time, make sure you can actually provide some meaningful input about it. Your assignment should impress readers with detailed analysis and its author’s writing skills. That's why your chosen topic must provide enough material for that.  There is a diverse choice of topics. Choose the one you are really interested in whether it is  Bullying essay  or  Happiness essay . If you need some ideas for great essay topics, feel free to check out our other articles.  

Step 2. Create a Thematic Essay Outline

We've already covered the main points of theme essay outline concept. When writing it, include all the main parts of your future work. Keep it as short as possible, one paragraph per each key point will be enough. It isn’t even necessary to describe everything with complete sentences! A few words would suffice. Once done, review it first and make necessary corrections. It is advised to review an outline several times. That's how any noticeable gaps or mistakes would be spotted early.

Step 3. Start a Thematic Essay with a Hook

A good thematic essay introduction ought to captivate readers right from the start. That’s why it is always advised to add some ‘hook’ into it. You can begin with an unexpected statement, use wordplay or a plot twist. Then you can explain this in the main body part. This way your audience would be interested to hear those explanations. As a result, your paper will have better chances of success. Apart from that, introduction should contain the main statement and some information about its content.  

Step 4. Write Body Paragraphs for Your Theme Essay

Goal of thematic essay body is to answer all the questions stated in an introduction. You must elaborate the meaning of each key idea. Finally, display your usage of literary devices, as we’ve specified earlier. Common practice is to use at least one paragraph per a literary device disclosure. Besides, the main body is the right place to use all relevant sources that can support your analysis or provide you with helpful analogies. Keep the main body logical, so that every paragraph is somehow connected to the previous and the next ones.  

Step 5. Create a Thematic Essay Conclusion

A strong thematic essay conclusion should highlight all important points from tyourhe essay while avoiding adding new facts or evidence. Just restate your thesis, answer all questions and summarize your arguments. It might be also useful to leave some final note for readers with some deeper analysis of your topic. You can also highlight the need for further exploration of the chosen theme and thus to prepare readers for your future works on this topic.  

Step 6. Proofread Your Thematic Analysis Essay

After completing theme essay, it is highly recommended to review it thoroughly, even several times if possible. The goal is to find mistakes and to spot logical gaps or missing details. Even best essays typically have inconsistencies left at the early stage. Taking a fresh look at your text often reveals some issues. If possible, ask your friends or colleagues to review your text. They might notice something you could not.  

How to Format a Thematic Essay

When it comes to thematic essay format, you need to find out what are the requirements in your assignment or which format is common in the institution you will be presenting your essay for. In case no special requirements were made for you, just choose one of the most popular formats for scholarly papers:  

• APA paper format : typically used in natural sciences, education and psychology fields
• MLA: typically used for works in humanities
• Chicago: typically used in business, history, and fine arts fields.

Thematic Essay Example

Let’s illustrate the explanations above with a few theme essay examples. We’ll provide some real ones here so that your every question would be answered. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration in these examples for your own winning paper! The examples can be found below. Please scroll down to find them.  

Thematic Essay: Final Thoughts

In this article we have explored the theme essay concept in detail. Its central purpose and main definition were examined and a step by step guide for writing a strong one was suggested. We’ve also provided a few working examples for your convenience. Hopefully, all this information will be useful for your scholarly endeavors!

Feel free to check out our  paper writing services ! We’ve got a team of skilled writers with expertise in different literary areas, ready to help you. They deliver high quality content, always on time.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Theme Essay

1. what is the thematic statement.

A thematic statement typically takes the place of a thesis in a thematic essay. It consists of 1-2 complete sentences that express a theme which you have chosen for your work. This statement must convey the main message and also show what analysis will be done. It should be brief however as most of the details are to be provided in the main body.

2. What is the goal of thematic essay?

The thematic essay goal is to express an idea or some insights about the surrounding world and to change readers' minds about certain issues. As an author, you are expected to illustrate the team, provide all necessary explanations and conduct an analysis if needed. Besides, you typically should demonstrate familiarity with some literary interpretations and methods which are used to examine your theme.

3. How long should a theme essay be?

The minimum length of a theme essay is five paragraphs. One is for introduction, one for conclusion and remaining three for the main body. Of course, it can be more than that, depending on the depth of the theme that was chosen. The main rule is to keep your essay logical and concise, avoiding adding too many details. Otherwise your audience might get tired and the effect produced by your writing would be damaged.

4. What is a thematic essay history?

Thematic essay (history class) should be written to analyze some historical facts or significance of specific literary pieces. A typical case is examining different aspects of a controversial leader from the past or a political event that has produced a number of various important consequences. Or you might argue about a specific role of a certain book during a certain period or its influence on different nations or cultural groups.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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How to Write a Thematic Essay With Explanations and Examples

26 December 2023

last updated

Thematic essays are common essay assignments in college across all disciplines. Basically, this guide begins with a definition of a thematic essay and provides sample topics for illustration. Next, the manual deconstructs the process of writing a thematic essay. Moreover, the guide covers three core stages of thematic essay writing: preliminary actions, establishing the essay’s foundation, and writing. Finally, the manual presents a sample outline and an example of a thematic essay to demonstrate a real writing situation where a student implements these guidelines of thematic essay writing correctly. Hence, students need to learn how to write a thematic essay.

Definition of a Thematic Essay

A thematic essay is a form of academic writing that requires an author to react to a particular question or theme. In this case, instructors expect students to develop a written reaction to a question or theme by connecting various pieces of information to reach a reasonable conclusion. Moreover, a thematic essay has a high demand for research and a critical examination of subtle relationships that exist between sources. Then, the research process yields a significant amount of information, which learners may use to generate numerous unique logical relationships that lead to rational inferences. Consequently, students may select any set of evidence with a clear, logical association provided that their central claim centers on a theme of interest.

Sample Topics for Thematic Essays

• A pure democracy.
• Privacy rights in the big data age.
• Life in prison and the ex-convict experience.

2. Sociology

• Major parenting issues of the 21 st century.
• Family bonds in immigrant families.
• Escaping the cycle of poverty.

3. Literature

• The significance of a muse.
• Corruption in 18 th century short stories.
• Female authors that left a mark on classical literature.
• Memories of the holocaust.
• Landmines on the modern political landscape.
• The cause of the collapse of Middle East alliances in the 20 th century.

5. Psychology

• Teenage confidence after the emergence of social media.
• The impact of abuse on the formation of relationships.
• The efficacy of proactive counseling.

How Do You Know if Your Paper Is Thematic?

A student can readily identify a thematic essay topic because it boldly pronounces a theme but does not hint at any specific point of view. In particular, the primary goal of a topic of a thematic essay is to inform readers of a theme rather than the particular approach of an author, which becomes more apparent in the introductory paragraph. Specifically, a thematic essay topic does not allow students to develop a particular supposition concerning a theme because authors realize that there may be multiple points of view concerning the idea of a thematic essay.

3 Steps For Writing an Effective Thematic Essay

Step 1: preliminary actions, a. define a topic.

The ability of students to define a topic is dependent on the extent to which they understand essay rubric and instructions. Basically, once learners receive thematic essay instructions, they should critically read their prompts to ensure that they comprehend all demands of writing requirements. Then, writers should use keywords from their instructions to develop one or more questions, which represent the expectations of instructors. Based on developed questions, students can create a topic that adequately captures the content of possible responses holistically. Also, authors must consider the information in the instructions, which establishes the leeway that they have in the selection of a topic, for example, choose a topic not covered in-class readings.

B. Identify a Purpose for Writing a Thematic Essay

The procedure of identifying a purpose occurs in two distinct stages: the selection of a general goal and defining a specific purpose. Basically, authors may use a thematic essay to achieve two general purposes: explanation and persuasion. In this case, expectations of instructors influence the choice of the general purpose of a thematic essay to a large extent. After learners pick the general purpose for writing an essay, they should create a specific purpose that shows the particular effect that their papers must have on readers. Mostly, writers generate a specific purpose from questions that represent thematic essay instructions. In turn, the early determination of the purpose is crucial because it affects the students’ approach to research and word choice during drafting.

C. Analyze an Audience

Before writing a thematic essay, students need to determine the characteristics and expectations of readers. Basically, knowledge concerning the characteristics and expectations of the audience is valuable because it allows authors to understand the interaction between the characteristics and attitudes toward a topic, the readers’ level of expertise, and the significance of misconceptions, which aid in selecting the appropriate presentation approach. Specifically, learners can determine the most effective organization patterns, identify the best evidence, and employ an accepted documentation style. Moreover, students ensure that a suitable level of explanation accompanies specialized terms that appear in a thematic essay.

D. Generate Ideas

After learners define the purpose and comprehend the needs and traits of the audience, they begin to develop ideas for the content of a thematic essay. Mostly, thematic essay assignments for a particular subject focus on topics that lecturers discuss in classrooms and other course readings. Consequently, students may generate ideas through brainstorming based on the relevant information from the unit and other related units that they encounter during their schooling. During brainstorming, writers engage in idea mapping and clustering, which enables them to keep track of relationships between ideas.

Step 2: Establishing a Foundation of a Thematic Essay

A. search for sources.

The author’s initial ideas regarding a topic act as the starting point for acquiring credible sources that support and refine those ideas. Basically, contemporary learners engage in electronic searchers to find useful and reliable sources for thematic essays. In this case, students should begin their search on the library’s website, which provides them with material that is reliable for academic writing . Also, library search engines have complex filter functionalities, which make the process of searching for academic sources quite simple. Then, authors turn to open-web searches using Google Scholar or other public search engines that generate a significantly larger number of sources. However, some articles may not be accessible to students. Moreover, the burden of determining the reliability of sources falls on authors when they use open-web search engines. In turn, students rely entirely on keywords or keyword combinations to generate working bibliographies.

B. Evaluate Sources

Working bibliographies undergo an intensive evaluation process to establish whether they meet the necessary quality standards for inclusion in a college-level thematic essay. In this case, the evaluation process involves two primary stages: relevance determination and reliability test. During relevance determination, authors should examine each source by using three criteria:

• The level of attention that the source gives to the topic.
• The suitability of the sources’ sophistication to the purpose and audience’s needs.
• Impact of publication date on the relevance of its information.

Next, the reliability test investigates five critical aspects:

• The origin of the source.
• The level of expertise of authors.
• Biases of a source in the context of existing literature.
• Availability and quality of the evidence supporting the source’s claims.
• Objectivity in the presentation of the author’s claims and handling of evidence.

C. Write an Annotated Bibliography

At this point, the revised working bibliography now contains fewer sources that relevant and reliable. In particular, students should engage in critical reading of all sources on the working bibliography to identify useful pieces of information that they may incorporate into a thematic essay. After reading each source, learners create an annotation that contains a summary of a source, ideas for using this source, and an assessment of this source. Besides the three main elements of an annotated bibliography entry, writers may choose to mention specific pieces of evidence, which are the most significant contributions of a source to a thematic essay. Typically, writers develop an annotated bibliography from notes that they make as they read through a text.

D. Develop an Outline

Based on an annotated bibliography, students create an essay outline . Basically, the content of an annotated bibliography entries allows learners to develop relationships between sources, which is essential because it begins to shape an essay structure . In this case, writers identify and group sources that support a general point, which splits a body of a thematic essay into discernible sections. Then, authors break down each general point into specific points that can exist as a body paragraph and assign appropriate sources to individual body paragraphs. Furthermore, scholars logically organize particular points and establish some form of flow within each section of a body paragraph. In turn, writers document the organization of general and specific ideas and the distribution of evidence in a list, like a format that allows for easy identification of hierarchy.

Step 3: Writing a Thematic Essay

A. design a working thesis.

A student develops a working thesis statement , which presents his or her central claim. Basically, questions that writers derive from assignment instructions and specific minor arguments listed in a thematic essay outline are the main pieces of information that they use to generate a thesis statement. Initially, a working thesis statement may appear as a simple combination of individual responses to assignment questions in the context of the information that forms an outline. However, authors must unite individual answers under a specific inference that demonstrates the significance of a thematic essay. Also, a working thesis statement undergoes multiple revisions, which occur randomly during the writing process.

B. Review an Outline

Once an author forms a working thesis statement, a person subjects an informal outline to a revision that results in the creation of a formal outline for a thematic essay. Basically, body paragraphs of a thematic essay are building blocks for a central claim. Consequently, learners must review an informal outline to ensure that there is an apparent logical build-up to the inference, which they announce in a thesis statement. During this review, students focus on the organization of minor arguments to ensure that body paragraphs contain a single minor idea while maintaining a rational relationship with other body paragraphs. Moreover, a formal outline contains a systematic arrangement where information with the same level of significance or roles has identical indentation or numbering.

C. Select Sources

Based on a formal outline, students make a final assessment of sources for each body paragraph. In particular, a formal outline contains some changes in its organization and the framing of minor arguments of a thematic essay. Also, these changes may affect the relevance of sources to each body paragraph’s argument. Then, the subdivision or merging of minor arguments may cause some sources to become inadequate because they do not extensively cover new minor ideas. Therefore, writers should check the suitability of each source to arguments it supports to ensure that each source provides strong, relevant, and accurate evidence before commencing the drafting process.

D. Draft a Paper

During the drafting stage, authors expand a thematic outline into a complete essay by changing statements and brief notes into coherent paragraphs. Basically, there is no fixed approach to the drafting of a thematic essay because students may start drafting at any point in a thematic essay with the aid of a formal outline. Nonetheless, it is an excellent practice for learners to begin drafting from a paragraph that they understand the best because it ensures that writers waste very little time in trying to overcome the fear of creating the first draft. In turn, scholars should allocate adequate time for drafting.

How to Perfect a Thematic Essay

1. revision, a. self-critic.

After completing the first draft, students undertake a self-conducted revision process, which involves rethinking and rewriting. Basically, the process of revision focuses on the evaluation of the evidence and organization of body paragraphs to ensure that they support a working thesis statement entirely. Further, learners revisit a working thesis statement to refine its wording and the claim its presents. Before starting the revision process, writers should take a break, which allows a brain to reset and attain a higher level of objectivity while revising. Moreover, scholars should use a checklist to reduce the risk of overlooking various crucial thematic essay dynamics during individual revision.

B. Peer Review

The individual revision process identifies the apparent flaws in content presentation, but numerous flaws may go unnoticed due to the authors’ subconscious biases concerning their writing styles . As a result, students should subject their thematic essays to a peer review by a classmate, tutor, parent, or writing center staff. In this case, learners should select a peer reviewer that best represents a member of the target audience. Moreover, authors may provide peer reviewers with a checklist to guide them through the revision process, especially if a person is not an expert editor. Then, students should assign the peer review process adequate time to allow reviewers to carry out the revision task comfortably. In turn, once writers receive feedback from peer reviewers, they consider comments in making the final revision of a paper.

A. Clarity and Effectiveness

The first consideration in the editing process is the clarity and effectiveness of sentences in a thematic essay. Basically, authors should edit each sentence to ensure that statements convey the intended meaning to readers. In this case, it is advisable to focus on six clarity issues, which are the most common in thematic essays: lack of parallelism, dangling modifiers, vague references to pronouns, incomplete sentences, and incorrect separation of sentences. Besides clarity, learners should evaluate the efficacy of each statement separately and as part of a paragraph. In turn, the effectiveness of statements revolves around the smoothness of transitions, conciseness, variability in sentence structure and length, the distinctiveness of the author’s voice, and emphasis on core ideas.

B. Surface Errors

The subsequent stage of the editing process involves editing for surface errors and documentation errors. In particular, students should strive to eliminate all surface errors because they divert the readers’ attention to meaning, although some writing errors do not necessarily change the meaning of sentences. For example, learners can edit surface errors by using six-item criteria: spelling errors, comma splices, sentence fragments, verb errors, punctuation errors, and pronoun errors. Moreover, students should not attempt to conduct clarity and effectiveness editing simultaneously with surface error editing, which may result in poor editing because of the extensive nature of rules governing the English language. In turn, the final step in editing is the correction of any documentation errors while referring to the appropriate style manual.

Sample Outline for a Thematic Essay

I. introduction.

A. Hook sentence. B. Background information. C. Thesis statement.

A. First paragraph

1. The idea for the first paragraph. 2. Evidence supporting this paragraph’s claim. 3. Interpretation and analysis of the evidence.

• First specific deduction from the evidence.
• Second specific deduction from the evidence.

4. A concluding statement that demonstrates the link between the first paragraph’s claim and thesis statement.

B. Second body paragraph

1. The idea for the second paragraph. 2. Evidence supporting this paragraph’s claim. 3. Interpretation and analysis of the evidence.

4. A concluding statement that demonstrates the link between the second paragraph’s claim and thesis statement.

C. Third body paragraph

1. The idea for the third paragraph. 2. Evidence supporting this paragraph’s claim. 3. Interpretation and analysis of the evidence.

4. A concluding statement that demonstrates the link between the third paragraph’s claim and thesis statement.

III. Conclusion

A. Restatement of the thesis statement. B. Summary of the three minor arguments in the body paragraphs. C. Closing remarks emphasizing the significance of the central claim in the context of the three minor arguments.

Commentary on a Thematic Essay Outline

1. identify a central theme.

The audience can determine the central theme of a thematic essay from a thesis statement or an overview of topic statements. Basically, a well-composed thesis statement must explicitly mention the central theme or implicitly hint at the central theme. Alternatively, the audience can read through topic sentences and correctly speculate the central theme of a thematic essay because minor arguments in individual body paragraphs are building blocks of a thesis statement. However, the readers’ ability to identify the central theme from a formal outline is dependent on their pre-existing knowledge concerning a topic because an outline uses statements and annotations with little explanation.

2. Uniqueness

A thematic essay stands out from other types of essays because of the high level of freedom that writers enjoy during authorship. During the writing of a thematic essay, authors can choose any purpose or a combination of purposes to use in different sections of 5 parts of an essay , which is a luxury that argumentative essays and expository essays do not extend to writers. Also, essay instructions for a thematic essay tend to define a broad scope for research, which implies that authors may develop a wide variety of arguments. In turn, the expansive nature of the subject of a paper is not present for argumentative essays, which forces students to choose one of the two sides of a controversial issue.

Outlining a Thematic Essay

The introduction section is the first part of a thematic essay, which consists of three main elements: hook, background information, and thesis statement. Firstly, a hook is the first statement of an essay that plays the role of capturing the audience’s attention through creative wording, which gives them a reason to read the entire essay. Since students know how to write a hook , they provide the essential background information that readers require to understand a thesis statement. Moreover, the background information element does not have a fixed length. Instead, it is dependent on the complexity of a thesis statement and the overall length of a thematic essay. Also, a thesis statement is the final item of the introductory paragraph. In turn, the length of introductions is approximately 10% of the essay’s word count.

II. Body Paragraphs

A. topic sentence.

A topic sentence contains a minor claim that an author discusses within a paragraph. For example, its primary role is to establish content boundaries, which ensures that students focus on a particular idea in each paragraph. Moreover, a topic statement should present a minor argument and mention a relation that it has to the central idea or make a tacit suggestion of its link to a thesis statement. Therefore, writers should avoid the use of in-text citations in a topic statement because it implies that an idea is not original.

B. Evidence

After a topic sentence, students unveil the evidence that supports their claims. In college writing, an in-text citation should accompany any evidence that learners introduce into a thematic essay to direct readers to its origin. Also, learners should rely heavily on summary and paraphrasing as opposed to a direct quotation from sources. Nevertheless, some thematic essay instructions may specify a particular technique that writers must use when integrating evidence into a paper.

C. Evaluation

This element of a paragraph structure allows authors to explain the significance of the evidence to the paragraph’s argument. Firstly, students provide an interpretation of the evidence, which informs the audience of the meaning of the evidence in the context of a source text. Then, writers explain the value of the evidence in developing a reasonable justification for the idea proposed in topic sentences. In turn, learners should avoid the inclusion of lengthy pieces of evidence because it creates a situation where the voice of sources is more dominant than the author’s voice.

D. Concluding Statement

A concluding statement emphasizes the logical relationship that exists between the topic sentence, evidence, evaluation, and thesis statement. In some cases, it may establish the relationship of a paragraph with the preceding paragraph. Also, students should ensure that a concluding sentence of a paragraph does not contain a meaningless summary of the key pieces of evidence. Then, a concluding statement must not contain any new evidence because there is no opportunity to explain the contribution of the evidence in supporting the paragraph’s argument.

A concluding paragraph has three critical features: a restatement of the main claim, a summary of minor arguments, and closing remarks. Basically, the opening statement of a thematic essay reminds students of the central argument by using new words and syntax. After the opening statement, learners summarize minor claims that appear in individual body paragraphs while maintaining a logical organization, which is identical to the arrangement of ideas in the body. Finally, authors write a strong closing statement that knits together the introduction, thesis statement, and minor claims to create a lasting impression on the audience. Moreover, students should ensure that they do not introduce new evidence or arguments in a concluding paragraph. In turn, authors must not apologize for a lack of expertise on a topic or make absolute claims because it diminishes the efficacy of the conclusion.

Example of a Thematic Essay

Topic: Recruitment of Terrorists

I. Sample Introduction of a Thematic Essay

Terrorism is a global problem, which appears to be spreading despite an increment in the efforts to suppress its growth. Basically, the prevention of recruitment is a crucial counterterrorism strategy. Moreover, its efficacy is dependent on the understanding of the terrorists’ recruitment techniques. In turn, the terrorist groups’ recruitment methods focus on the target’s identity crisis, which puts a potential member at risk of falling for the ‘appeal’ of terrorism.

II. Examples of Body Paragraphs in a Thematic Essay

A. motivation.

An individual’s desire to be part of a movement that is effecting a radical change in society is a significant motivator for participation in terrorism. For example, recent studies show that terrorist groups begin conversations with most young recruits on social media platforms, which discuss topics concerning social, political, and economic oppression (Jacks, 2020). Basically, this finding suggests that young people in contemporary society have a desire to correct the ‘wrongs’ in society as a means of identity. Consequently, terrorists use the increased sensitivity to social injustices as a common ground to initiate and build a relationship with a prospective recruit. In turn, the youth’s strong desire to do something to stop social injustices that their respective governments ignore leaves them vulnerable to radicalization by terrorist groups.

B. Religious Beliefs

Fanatical religious belief may drive an individual to support or participate in terrorism for the sake of being part of a group. According to Mohammed (2020), the constant pressure from religious parents causes the blind indoctrination of adolescents and young adults, which enables recruiters from terrorist groups to present religious concepts as justifications for terrorism, for example, the holy war. In this case, Mohammed concedes that the mosque is an ideal site for the recruitment of terrorism because of the presence of youth with highly impressionable minds. Moreover, youths depend on teachings at places of worship for knowledge that defines their perspective of the world. As a result, terrorist recruiters disguising as spiritual leaders can easily nurture fanatical beliefs, which endorse terrorist activities. Eventually, a feeling of separation from the conservative believers pushes them to pursue groups that share their fanatical religious beliefs.

C. Recruiting

The loss of a family member to counterterrorism activities may act as a motivation factor for grievers that are trying to re-establish their identities because they no longer fit in the traditional social structures. For instance, Tobias (2020) argues that recruiters prey on the pain of grieving family members by offering them retribution as a solution to the overwhelming feeling of incompleteness. After the death of a family member, the emotional turmoil increases the susceptibility of individuals to the idea that terrorist acts are an appropriate response to the ‘killers’ of their loved ones. Often, recruitment occurs during this unstable state and encourages the individual to relive the pain each day, which results in permanent erosion of their former identity. Accordingly, grievers may find themselves as sympathizers of terrorism, which leads to active or passive participation.

III. Sample Conclusion of a Thematic Essay

Most members of terrorist organizations experience an identity crisis at the time of recruitment. Basically, the need to gain membership to a group, which fights against social injustices, tolerates fanatical religious beliefs, or seeks revenge for the death of loved ones, is a sign that identity crisis is common characteristics in recruits. In turn, current counterterrorism initiatives should seek to break the cycle of recruitment, which will weaken terrorist groups.

Takeaway on How to Write a Good Thematic Essay

• Students should define a narrow topic to guide them in generating ideas in response to a thematic essay prompt.
• The characteristics and expectations of the audience are vital in determining an appropriate presentation approach.
• Before drafting a thematic essay, authors must create a formal outline and annotated bibliography, which are critical for organization and evidence selection.
• The maintenance of a high level of fluidity during drafting is critical during drafting because it allows writers to experiment with different styles of expression.
• Revision and editing are aspects of the writing process that a student should not take lightly.
• All body paragraphs must adhere to the four-element paragraph structure.
• The conclusion of a thematic essay should not contain any new evidence or arguments.
• Learners must compose a thesis statement that captures a theme that instructors highlight in essay prompts.

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How to Write a Thematic Essay

Every piece of writing ever written has its agenda. Whether it’s to teach a lesson or show the impact of a particular emotion or action, a central theme can be developed. The goal for us as readers is to uncover what the author was trying to tell us between the lines in their literature. When we do finally discover it, we’ve accomplished the first step of thematic essay writing! Let’s see below how to write a thematic essay with our papers writing service .

What Is a Thematic Essay?

Let’s look at the thematic essay definition; a thematic essay is a piece of writing in which an author develops the central theme in some literature using literary devices like foreshadowing, imagery, personification, etc.

A professional essay writer will uncover the primary subject, elaborate upon the literary devices employed, and express the overall significance of the theme. The primary challenge comes from the fact that although there are various subjects, finding the most meaningful and impactful one can be challenging.

Naturally, each person has their own varied interpretation, making it hard to agree on a central theme wholesomely. In short, a well written thematic essay comes from a healthy central idea that is conclusively proven via literary devices and logical arguments.

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How to Pick a Thematic Topic?

A crucial aspect of writing a good thematic essay is choosing a theme. Follow the hints listed below to help you create a thematic topic:

Brainstorm from your own experiences. Recall what you were talking about in class, with your mates or parents. Do some of these conversations remind you of some book, novel or another piece of literature?

Write down every idea that comes to mind. Sometimes, your most absurd ideas are the best way to go.

List your favourite literature pieces. Which literature piece was the most touching for you? Try to analyze its subject and problems the author built upon within the story; it might help you come up with your own ideas.

Look at the details of other literature pieces: You might find some interesting details within other literature that can help you come up with your theme.

Still have no idea what to write about? No worries, we have your back.

Thematic Essay Topics

• What is George Orwell’s deliberation in portraying a “Perfect Utopia” in his book 1984?
• What main idea is George Orwell painting about Communism in the book Animal Farm?
• What is Harper Lee saying about innocence in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird?
• What is John Steinbeck saying about loneliness and isolation in Of Mice and Men?
• What is F. Scott Fitzgerald saying about the American Dream in The Great Gatsby?

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How to Find and Explore the Central Theme

As stated before, uncovering the main subject and central theme respectively is the first significant step in a thematic paper. However, with so many things going on within the literature, it may be difficult to interpret the central theme accurately. To make sure you choose it correctly, follow these steps:

1. Summarize the literature: What main idea is the author trying to purvey? Usually, there will be many hints along the way, so choosing the right direction may not be so challenging.

2. Pick the most prevalent subject: One thing to note is the significant difference between a subject and a theme. A subject is the general topic of conversation—whether it be love, bravery, deception, etc. A theme is a specific point the author is making about said subject. So, find the talking point that is most commonly being brought up. This will be the focal point of the essay.

3. Read between the lines: After finding the most suitable subject, decipher what main point the author is trying to make. This will become clearer as you get deeper into the literature since clues and examples will appear frequently. After fully deciphering the central theme, there is one more significant step.

4. Overall significance: What is the overall significance that comes from the author’s point? What can be taken from this and applied to our personal lives? In other words, what is the lesson from all of this? What have we learned?

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Thematic Essay Outline

The thematic essay has several key components. First of all, it should be five paragraphs or more, depending on the depth of the theme. Next, it should have a concrete thesis statement, which, in other words, is the thematic statement that comes from the main subject. The introduction presents the reader with the subject and the thesis statement. The body paragraphs each discuss one literary element or more to defend the validity of your thesis, all the while providing many supporting details from the text itself. Lastly, the thematic essay conclusion summarizes the main points presented and finishes off with a statement of significance.

Follow the link to learn more about HOW TO CREATE A WINNING OUTLINE

The thematic essay introduction presents the main subject of discussion in a captivating way. The first sentence of the intro should be a hook statement that makes some intriguing claim about the subject of discussion. If done correctly, this will grab your reader's attention. Afterwards, provide any necessary background information from the literature that will help the audience understand your claims later on. Lastly, put together a well thought out thesis statement that reflects the central theme of the novel.

The body paragraphs follow a thematic essay format. Since each body paragraph’s purpose should be to present a literary device as evidence, the topic sentence should introduce the claim and gateway into the evidence. Every topic sentence must mention a literary device and its relationship to the literature.

Afterwards, to validate your claim, use examples from the book that strengthen the reasoning of your statement. These can be actions from the plot or quotations that are parallel with the central theme. It’s imperative to explain how the action/quote links back to your thesis statement, as it shows that you can support your logic.

Remember: each claim must use a literary device. It can not just be a random moment or inference. Thematic essays are all about proving thesis statements through the use of critical literary devices.

The thematic essay conclusion has three main objectives to complete before wrapping up the entire paper. It should not present any new information or facts, but should summarize the information already given. First of all, restate your thesis statement in a new way. Then, summarize the central claims you made within the body of your paper and their influence on the thesis statement. To finish off the entire work, present an overall concluding statement with a global analysis of the subject. Leave your reader with another hook, making him/her interested in digging deeper into the topic.

Try also read an article on poetry analysis essay , it could be useful and can give you new insights.

Thematic Essay Example

The best way to familiarise yourself with this type of writing is to learn from an example. ‍

Even though the ancient Greek cities of Athens and Sparta were geographically close to each other, they had very distinct cultures, lifestyles, values, and political systems that defined them. The following paper compares and contrasts the cultural impacts of the two cities by examining some of the duties and responsibilities of the citizenry as well as the different values that were deemed important. The paper further evaluates the impact of accomplishments that would have been left by both city-states on the history of western civilization.

Wrap Things Up

Before submitting your thematic essay, make sure to check a couple of things to correct any possible errors.

• Double-check and confirm that the central theme you have decided is the one that the author likely meant to focus on. Unless you can provide a secondary issue and present it strongly enough as a primary, validate the primary subject.
• Go through and proofread your entire paper. Nothing makes reading more irritating than grammatical mistakes, clean that stuff up as much as possible.
• Get a second pair of eyes to read through your paper. It’s best to ask a classmate for help, as they most likely have or had a similar assignment. Another great way to polish things up is to ask one of our writers to give you some helpful advice.

We also recommend reading about Jem Finch character traits , our readers find it very interesting.

Having a Trouble with Your Thematic Essay?

Having a hard time thinking up a proper topic to write about? Or, do you have one but are having a hard time deciphering the theme? Let our custom essay writing service do all the work for you. Check out our price calculator to estimate the cost of your assignment.

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How to write a top-grade Thematic Essay

When assigned to write a thematic essay, you ought to understand what it is, how to approach it, and how to put every aspect of it on paper finally. You will most likely be assigned to write a thematic essay in high school, college, and university. Instead of getting confused, as most students do, you can use this quick guide and learn how to write a thematic essay quickly and seamlessly.

Remember, a thematic essay entails developing the central theme in literature, using specific literary devices. This guide will teach you the steps to take, identify a central theme, and some helpful tips when writing thematic essays. You will also have some topic suggestions and advice.

Without wasting time, let us delve deeper into it.

What is a thematic essay?

A thematic essay is a category of essay that involves the creation of a major literature theme using literary devices such as imagery, personification, and metaphor, among others. The writer expresses the importance of the themes in the essay .

However, the common challenge in a thematic essay is that every writer interprets the main theme from their perspective. Therefore, an ideal thematic essay should consist of logical arguments that are justified through literary devices.

The fundamental role of a thematic essay is to unwarp the major subject discussed. As a student, you are required to use facts, evidence, and examples obtained from a secondary and primary source.

You should connect the various facts to the main subject of your essay to demonstrate logical arguments in your essay.

How to write a good thematic essay in simple steps

One major challenge for students writing a thematic essay is that they have to identify a central theme. Apart from that, your thematic essay should also have logical arguments backed by evidence, examples, and illustrations that are based on literary devices.

Step 1: Read the essay prompt

The essay prompt provides information about the issue or the topic to be discussed in the essay.

Reading the prompt is significant in inspiring your response in essay form, which is critical in your reasoning and analytical skills.

Moreover, reading essay prompts is important in informing the writer about what is expected in the thematic essay.

Step 2: Choose the text you are going to use

  It is important to gather the sources you will use in your essay writing before embarking on writing.

The texts include literature abstracts, discussions, or other texts that support your theme. Therefore, it is vital to gather the texts properly.

You should ensure that your chosen text contains facts or examples supporting your essay theme.

Step 3: Take notes as you read

As an essay student, taking notes will influence your attention to decide the key literary devices to apply in your essay. 

Choosing relevant sources that entail comprehensive literary devices that support your theme is vital as you make notes.

Step 4: Determining the central theme

Determining the central theme is one of the vital steps of thematic essay writing. The central theme is the basic component of your essay. It defines the essence and scope of the essay . It also defines your angle of analysis .

Therefore, it is significant to determine the central theme of your essay. We will provide hints later in this article on identifying central themes. It is vital to have the hints at your fingertips as a student.

Step 5: Craft your essay thesis

After determining your main theme, it is vital to develop your essay thesis. Your essay thesis is fundamental in summarizing the points that will be discussed in your entire thematic essay.

This thesis will be posted at the end of the introduction paragraph; your essay thesis should clearly define the central idea to be discussed in your essay.

Consequently, every component of your essay can relate to your essay thesis. The following tips can help you to craft your essay thesis:

• Construct a question. To craft your essay thesis, you can begin by considering the questions provided. However, if not provided, you can develop your individual question. What can you decide or like to explore on the topic?
• Write your first answer. After researching, you can construct a temporary answer to your question. This is a simple task because it controls the writing and researching process.
• Construct your answer. After writing your answers, you need to consider that you will use your answer to co-compel your readers of your essay. Reading extensively concerning the topic will give your more details about your answer and assist you in developing further.

Step 6: Write body paragraphs

Writing the body paragraphs follows the introduction in thematic essay format. The body paragraph should convey the purpose of the essay and utilize literary devices that are used as evidence; each literary paragraph should consist of literary devices.

The topic sentences are introduced to provide a gateway and claim of the evidence. Each topic sentence is linked to a literary device and its connection with the literature.

After writing your topic sentence, you are required to justify your claims. You can use secondary sources to strengthen your point of reasoning through facts, figures, and examples. You can use questions or plots related to your essay's main theme.

It is crucial to prove how the quotes or plots link to the thesis statement of your essay. It is also important to note that every claim should apply the literary device. Thematic essays rely on applying literary devices to improve the thesis statement.   

Step 7: Write a captivating introduction

The introduction summarizes your approach and understanding of the answer to your essay question. It is critical in revealing what you intend to discuss in your essay and how you evaluate the theme.

To write a captivating introduction in your thematic essay, your initial stamen in the introduction paragraph should hook the reader through an intriguing claim concerning the topic.

This will attract the reader's attention and provide required background information that assists your audience to comprehend the essay claims later. Moreover, writing a captivating introduction is vital in conveying a well-framed thesis statement that reveals the novel central theme.

Step 8: Write a powerful conclusion

The conclusion marks the end of the thematic essay. When you write your conclusion, you should ensure it completes the essay before wrapping up the whole paper. It should include new information not discussed in the essay's body.

To write an effective conclusion as a student, you need to start by reinstating the thesis statement differently from how you stated in your introduction. Then, summarize your logical arguments on the central theme in the body paragraph.

To end your essay. Provide a final concluding statement that analyzes the topic. You should ensure that you leave your audience with a hook making them interested in exploring the topic. 

Step 9: Format, edit, revise, and proofread the essay

After writing your thematic essay to a conclusion, it is vital to check the format of your essay and adjust any necessary items as required by your professor's instructions before submission. 

You should confirm and double-check your central themes to match your essay requirements. Finally, peruse through your entire essay and edit any mistakes should note that grammatical mistakes will irritate your readers.

Therefore, it is critical to clean up all mistakes to make the essay attractive to the reader. Revise the paper to ensure that the essay is well-edited and efficient.

Proofread your essay to remove any possible mistakes. Proofreading can also assist you in changing the sentence structure to help polish your essay further. Moreover, it can help in eliminating mistakes from the paper.

Generally, as an essay student, you should ensure that your essay is in the correct format, well-edited, revised, proofread, and free from grammatical mistakes before submission.

How do you pick an excellent thematic topic?

Selecting an excellent thematic topic is one of the crucial aspects of thematic essay writing. The following guidelines help pick an excellent thematic topic:

• Brainstorm. Remember anything you discussed with your parents, friends, or teachers. Do the conversations link to some novel, book, or literature writing?
• Write the ideas that you can recall . Usually, the ideas that come first in your mind are the best ones to build on.
• List the best literature . Ask yourself about the most touching piece of writing to you. Then, evaluate the subject and the author's challenges in the literature developed in the story. This can help you to develop your ideas.
• Select a convincing theme . You should understand your expected audience and provide strong ideas to engage them as ordinary readers. Considering things that can engage your audience can assist you in coming up with a central theme in your essay writing.
• Refer to other pieces of literature. Using your professors' materials can assist you in coming up with the main theme of your essay. In addition, reading the material provided or suggested by your professor can give hints of an appropriate theme that you can discuss in your thematic essay.
• Get the Perspective. Sometimes to come up with the major theme, you will be required to consider the advantages and disadvantages of issues ad consider one perspective that can lead to a major theme to use in your essay.
• Consider social issues. A thematic essay is often linked to social problems that affect human life. Therefore, to develop a compelling theme as an essay writer, you need to analyze the social issues and select one that is appropriate to develop the main theme in your essay.

Related: How to make a good essay outline

How to identify the central theme in a text

 As discussed before. Unwrapping the major subject and the main point are the fundamental steps in writing a thematic essay. However, sometimes it is cumbersome to interpret the central theme effectively due to numerous aspects that run within the literature Coming up with a central theme is one of the significant approaches in thematic essay writing. The steps provided below can assist you in coming up with an appropriate theme.

• Condense the literature: consider the major idea that the author is conveying. There are many hints about the literature summary. As a writer, you should choose the hints that are effective and less challenging
• Pick a common subject: As an essay writer, it is vital to identify the difference between subjects. A subject is regarded as a general topic; it can be deception, love, or bravery. However, there is a specific point that is derived from the subject. Therefore, identify a common talking point and make it the focal theme of your essay.
• Read the central point: interpret the major idea that the author was delivering upon getting the subject. You will become more apparent as you explore the frequent examples and clues in the literature.
• Overall significance : you should consider the importance of the author�s point. Identify what can be retrieved and applied in personal lives. Generally, this will drive you to ask the lesson that can be derived from the literature. 

Comprehensive Outline for a Thematic Analysis Essay

As an essay writer, your main objective is to be creative when writing your essay to include all crucial details. Consequently, beginning your essay with the outline is vital for thematic essay writing.

Your outline should note that all things contained in the draft do not necessarily form your final piece of writing. Nevertheless, an outline is significant in guiding you throughout your work.

As a writer, you should make sure that you check the flow of your essay. You can achieve this by checking how you use transitions.

In many instances, students tend to treat every paragraph as a mini-essay without linking one paragraph to the other. This aspect leads to an essay that is incohesive and is not flowing.

Also, students should refrain from emotional expression and wordiness to prevent irritation of the reader. When drafting your essay, you should ensure that you are neutral in the sense that you should refrain from being informal or formal. It would assist you to sound sincere and respectful.

A thematic essay outline is meant to guide the writer without mistakes throughout the writing process. Additionally, an outline is crucial in preventing the writer from getting stuck during the writing process. In most cases, the outline of a thematic essay follows a 5-paragraph structure that consists of an introduction, 3-body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Some students think that writing an outline is a waste of time. However, this is not the case; an outline is the basic component of your essay paper.

Possessing a detailed essay outline allows you to create a fantastic thematic piece of writing that is logical, flowing, and coherent.

Overall, a good outline consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, the number of your body paragraphs can vary depending on the depth of the theme of your essay.

Introduction

You should begin your essay with an introduction. You should make an impressive introduction that attracts the attention of your reader. The introduction section consists of background information and the vital points discussed in the essay.

You should be strategic when developing this section. Utilizing practical tools such as humor or posting a connective question is critical. In your introduction, deploying exciting and surprising facts encourages the readers to explore your work.

However, you should not make this paragraph lengthy. Instead, it should be brief and contain the central idea concerning the essay. The last sentence in your introduction should comprise the thesis statement.

As discussed earlier, the thesis statement provides information about what is discussed in the body of the essay. Therefore, make sure your thesis statement is clear and provides a logical argument about the topic of the essay.

Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs are the essay's main body that comprises of detailed discussion of the central theme. This is where you will be providing analysis, supporting justifications, and developing arguments.

It is critical to avoid giving baseless statements in this section because this part demands well-constructed logical arguments supported with evidence, facts, and examples that increase the quality of your essay.

As an essay writer, you should ensure that all your main points are discussed in the body of your essay . Each point should be discussed in each paragraph. The point is stated in the form of the topic statement and supported with the literary device.

Also, you can use subheadings in your thematic essay to avoid clustering of your content. All the paragraphs in your essay should be of equal length.

This is important in producing a quality essay. You can get numerous thematic essays on websites. You can read the samples to guide you in writing an excellent thematic essay.

The conclusion is, marks the end of the essay. A reasonable conclusion should be precise, practical, and logical.

Generally, the conclusion should resonate with the information in the thesis statement . To write a reasonable conclusion, begin by rephrasing the thesis statement.

Rewrite the thesis statement in your own words while keeping the meaning of the idea. After that, summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs of your thematic essay. Ensure all the points are summarized.

Finally, provide an overall statement that can hook the reader and attract the reader's interest to explore the topic further.

Essential tips when writing a thematic essay

• Read relevant literature that includes book chapters and other relevant sources that support your theme. Then, read the essay question carefully and brainstorm the best approach to writing your thematic essay.
• Developed a detailed outline that will guide you in writing the paper
• Ensure you master the requirements of the essay and academic rules that govern essay writing. Ensure you adhere to the required format and refrain from plagiarism by paraphrasing important p points from secondary sources.
• Your introduction should be brief and to the point, and you should not forget to include a logical thesis statement
• It is necessary to develop one straightforward central question in every paragraph
• You should present your paragraphs in a logical format. Ensure the paragraphs are linked with one other to ascertain the flow of the essay.
• Use compelling examples and claims that support the points in each paragraph. The claims and examples should be verifiable and well elaborated to bring the logical arguments in the essay.
• You should reference your source properly. Poor citations and references may result in plagiarism. Therefore, ensure you include a well-structured intext citation and reference list in your essay.
• Ensure all your description is followed by extensive analysis as a way of justifying your claims in the essay. Any description that lacks analysis should not be included.
• Make sure that your conclusion is relevant and concise.
• Make sure that all the materials are referenced, and a bibliography or reference list indicating all the used sources is provided
• Ensure you submit your essay at the required time.

Mistakes to avoid when writing a thematic essay

• Avoid using the complex word;
• Avoid using text that is not significant to your essay;
• Do not exaggerate your essay;
• Avoid long sentences;
• Avoid submitting your essay without proper citing;
• Do not submit the paper unreviewed;
• Make sure the paper contains stronger arguments;
• Refrain from submitting your work without running it through a plagiarism checker and Grammarly software
• Avoid using the wrong essay format;
• Avoid using too many questions from secondary sources.

Thematic essay topic ideas

Numerous thematic essay topics can be utilized to produce impressive work. Most of the common thematic topics are related to historical events. As an essay writer, you should consider an exciting topic to write about. Getting an interesting topic is fundamental in deriving ideas and writing quality work based on your knowledge. The following are some of the topics that are related to distinct subjects.

Global regents

• The transformed meaning of philosophy
• Can a person manage unconscious thinking?
• The responsibilities of Men and Women in the modern society
• Human rights in the contemporary world.
• The role of social media in the modern old
• The significance of the political system in the contemporary society
• The role of globalization in the contemporary world.
• The role of religion in society

Belief systems

• Should the death penalty be allowed?
• Should people be allowed to carry handguns?
• Are video games effective in mental health mitigation?
• Women should take care of children and not engage in any form of work.
• The childhood period is the most significant part of human life.

Literary thematic essay topics

• Explain the themes explained in the book �The Great Gatsby."
• Explain the major theme highlighted by Bernard Shaw in the novel �Arms and the man."
• What is the central theme in the poem �The Road not taken" by Robert Frost?
• Happer Lee discusses "innocence" in his novel To Kill a Mockingbird. What does he try to elaborate on?
• The civil war era.
• The slavery issue in America
• US-Russia relations
• The Cold War Period
• Industrial revolution in the USA
• International organizations

Read our article on the list of social issues and see if you can consider some controversial and current social issues for your topic ideation. 

Final Remarks!

As you wind up your thematic essay, ensure that everything is okay. Remove any spelling, stylistic, typographic, and grammatical errors.

Also, confirm is your central theme comes out clearly in the paper. You can hire an expert proofreader to help you spot and correct mistakes.

Thus far, we are sure you have the correct information that has set you up to write a great thematic essay by yourself. You can use this guide to research, plan, and write a quality paper.

Alternatively, you can hire an essay writer to write your thematic essay from Gradecrest. Our model essays are plagiarism-free, 100% unique, and top-quality.

You can also check sample essays online to get further inspiration. We believe that you will write an excellent paper from now on.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

How to Write a Thematic Essay?

06 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Kate Smith

The road to graduation from any educational institution is lined with essays and written assignments – and the majority of these happen to be thematic essays, as they are supposed to demonstrate that the students understand the topic or material well. A thematic essay is almost as old as writing is, for it focuses on investigating a topic to provide detailed analysis and evidence of why a certain claim can be made.

What is a Thematic Essay?

Although this type of essay is commonly used to analyze some historical facts or a specific literary piece and its significance, a thematic essay can be assigned on a variety of subjects. It is also a traditional classroom essay that may be a part of different exams, so students may be required to craft a thematic essay within limited time, sticking to the topic provided. This is the main reason why they consider thematic essays difficult, but whenever there’s a longer deadline and a choice of topics, the writing process is easier.

However, there’s an important thing that everyone who’s wondering ‘what is a thematic essay?’ needs to know. This type of essay mainly lets the teacher determine your knowledge of the material, and it should demonstrate your comprehension of the topic that you can back up with solid arguments and relevant examples. But proper structure is just as essential to your writing as the scope of the topic. All of the points you want to make, as well as the supporting evidence must be organized in a clear, consecutive way. If your essay lacks focus or is illogical in its organization, your readers will not be able to recognize neither the thoroughness of your research, nor the significance of your critical thinking. They might even have trouble following what evidence you found to help you arrive at a certain conclusion.

How to Find and Explore the Central Theme?

To tackle this type of essay, you often have to narrow down a topic that’s too broad before getting started on your writing. A theme is what an author portrays in a literary work, or the specific point the author is making. Often, it is the most frequently discussed one, or it is a lesson of the greatest overall significance that can be derived from the work and applied to our lives. Thus, to effectively plan out how you are going to write a thematic essay, identify the theme first. Focus on the main point the author is trying to make about a particular subject, the message he is trying to convey, why it is relevant or important at the moment, and the way the reader can benefit from it.

That’s why having a place to start and an outline to follow lays the groundwork for your thematic essay. It is the most important step in the entire essay writing process.

Thematic Essay Outline

By using an outline to shape your essay, you have a format to follow that ensures knowledge of the topic, addressing all the questions of the assignment, and keeping all of the points you want to make well-organized. A thematic essay outline lets you effectively draw parallels between different facts, formulate a coherent and detailed evaluation of the topic, and see whether something in the essay is lacking or needs to be rearranged and revised.

Some essay types may have less rigid layouts and writing requirements, allowing for more creativity and freedom when it comes to formatting. However, this is not the case with instructions on how to write a thematic essay. Just as with other traditional essays, there should be at least five paragraphs in a thematic essay, including an introduction with a thesis statement, three body paragraphs that will support your thesis with relevant arguments and examples, and a logical conclusion to wrap everything up at the end.

Introduction 

Generally, to write a thematic essay you need to have an idea of what your thesis will be, how your body paragraphs will prove it, and how you are going to summarize all of the arguments detailed in the body of the essay in your conclusion. The introduction has to present the main subject of your essay as well as any necessary background information and your thesis statement. At the same time, it should be interesting enough to make the reader want to learn more about the topic. The opening sentence of the introduction is often referred to as a ‘hook’ because it is supposed to grab the reader’s attention. For this purpose, it can evoke anticipation, controversy, irony, or ask a question. The thesis statement is very important because it gives your topic a direction and a specific purpose.

The thesis statement lays the ground for further analysis, for answering a specific question, asserting an opinion or explaining how and why something works (or has worked/failed to produce an expected result). Think of your thesis statement as a compelling and concise headline that gives the reader a good idea of what the rest of the paper is about and what to expect next. It should be engaging, but not confusing to your audience. Have you ever been extremely disappointed by reading an article or watching a movie because it wasn’t what the headline, magazine cover or a movie trailer promised it to be? To make sure your reader doesn’t feel like that, you want your thesis to be integral to the essay and to all of the evidence that you provide in the following body paragraphs. Quite often, a thesis statement needs a few revisions to acquire more focus and clarity as you add the body paragraphs to your thematic essay.

Body paragraphs 

While the 5-paragraph structure gives you a basic layout to work with, it should have three body paragraphs because the thesis must be supported by at least three significant arguments. However, unless the essay has a required length, you can include more supporting facts or examples. There may be more body paragraphs than just three, depending on the details of the assignment or the points you are required to address, but keep in mind that your essay should be concise and devoid of wordiness. Usually, the essay writer should focus on one point or sub-topic per paragraph, but depending on the complexity of the topic, the quantity of paragraphs for validating each claim or explaining your reasoning may vary. 

You can think of body paragraphs as building blocks that include expert quotes or specific examples to add weight to them, as well as to your arguments. This is the ‘meat of your essay’ as long as you make sure that you explain the logic behind each quotation or evidence supporting your claim, and that it is in sync with your thesis statement. Such connections are essential as they tie not only the evidence and arguments, but an entire essay together. 

The conclusion is not simply a reiterated thesis, but a reinforced one. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it should not introduce any new facts not discussed in the body of a thematic essay. The conclusion has to summarize the information presented in the essay, briefly going over the main ideas or claims and explaining how they influence your thesis. Finally, it should wrap up your essay in the most meaningful way, emphasizing the significance and relevance of your topic.

Thematic Essay Examples

Check the examples of thematic essays to use as writing models:

https://www.template.net/business/essay/five-paragraph-essay-template/

Thematic essay topics

To sum up, reading some properly structured thematic essay examples may be the most helpful tip for understanding what your essay should look like, and how to organize your thoughts into a logical sequence. Besides, a list of the most commonly used thematic essay topics is a frequent search query along with ‘thematic essay examples’, as it helps students to get an idea of what to expect at exams.

US History Thematic Essay

In this essay, there will be fewer words that address the reader. The purpose of this writing is to present a balanced analysis of a topic based on facts, explaining a topic in a logical and straightforward manner.

US History thematic essay example topics:

• Major movements in U.S. history
• Major advances in U.S. history
• Significant government reforms
• U.S. Presidents and their major decisions 
• U.S. wars and conflicts

Global Regents Thematic Essay 

These topics are likely to feature broad concepts, but they usually include tasks and suggestions that are more specific. In your essay, you are supposed to address this detailed task and the issues, concepts or questions it prompts you to explain or interpret. Using examples from your course of global history or geography is also required in your thematic essay. 

Global Regents thematic essay example topics:

• Impact of colonizations on world history
• Migrations of people and their effects
• Major characteristics of world civilizations
• Cultures and their contributions
• Economic Systems
• Political Systems
• The turning points in history (revolutions, conflicts, wars)
• Revolutions and clashing of ideas
• Revolutions and new discoveries
• Scientific development
• Technological progress
• Human rights: impactful leaders and their ideas
• Human rights violations

Belief Systems Thematic Essay

A belief system is a way a group or an individual regards religious or philosophical principles. The beliefs that have formed major religions or a mainstay of a civilization may be similar or different, but each belief system has influenced the lives of its followers as well as the history, culture, politics, or economy of a specific nation or country.

Belief Systems thematic essay example topics:

• How belief systems influenced ancient civilizations?
• How did a belief form a religion?
• Cultures as systems of interconnections between humans
• The role of religion in Ancient Roman society
• The three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
• Judaism: the first monotheistic religion
• The personal belief system and life values
• Compare Christianity to another religion. Are there more similarities or differences?
• Compare two struggles for religious freedom in different countries and time periods
• What makes all struggles for religious freedom similar?

The bottom line

While students often have difficulties writing thematic essays, these are not the most complicated tasks to complete within a certain course or subject. They just require making a detailed examination of the topic using relevant facts, examples or other evidence that you should be able to find in order to make your arguments more solid, and to show that you have gained a thorough understanding of the topic. However, you mustn’t just summarize the well-known facts or what you have learned from a course or book. In a thematic essay, you are supposed to identify and explain or compare issues, causes, patterns, outcomes, and connections between facts or events as well as their consequences or influences.

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How to write a theme statement

When you get done with a reading assignment for school, usually an essay, novel, or short story, you'll sometimes be asked to write a theme statement.

The definition of a theme statement can vary, but essentially it's asking you to state what the piece of writing was about — not the plot, but what sort of insight or perspective does it give on life/the world/human nature?

Theme is also sometimes known as the "main idea" of a story.

But how do you find the theme of a story? And how do you write a theme statement?

To write a theme statement, follow these 3 steps:

• Pick the main topic addressed in the story
• Pinpoint the author's view on the topic
• Format that perspective using a theme statement template

Let's dive a little deeper:

Finding the theme of a story using topics

After you're finished reading the book, story, or essay (you did read it, right?!), think back on the main character or characters.

Did they undergo some kind of change throughout the journey? Did their outlook on life evolve in some way?

That's usually a pretty good place to start looking for the theme.

For example, maybe the story deals with the broad topic of "love." Well "love" by itself isn't a theme, but a specific perspective on love could be.

Try this exercise once you've found your topic. Fill in the blank:

"This author believes _____ about (topic)."

In our example about love, maybe the story's about how love conquers all. Or maybe it's about how love is fleeting and fickle.

Your theme at this point might look something like this:

"The author believes that true love doesn't really exist."

(A little dark, but hey, it's just an example!)

Using a theme statement template

Every teacher or instructor is going to have their own way of wanting you to present your theme statement, so be sure to get clarity on that directly from them.

That said, there are some agreed upon "rules" of writing theme statements.

• Don't include specific characters or plot points. This perspective on life should apply to people and situations outside the story.
• Don't be obvious. "War is bad," is not a theme. Dig a little deeper using details from the story. (What specifically is bad about war? How does it negatively impact the characters or the world of the story?)
• Don't make it advicey. "You should always be there for your family," isn't a theme, it's a suggestion. Keep your theme statement objective and based solely on evidence from the story ("The bond between family can overcome any obstacle.")
• Don't use cliches. "Once a cheater, always a cheater," or "Actions speak louder than words," aren't themes. They're just expressions people use all the time and have very little power or real insight.

Here is a general template you can use based on what we learned above:

"The central theme of (piece of writing) is (author's position on topic) ."

Alternatively, you could try: "In (piece of writing), (author) presents the idea that (position on topic)."

You may also be asked to use supporting details from the story to back up your theme statement. In that case, your full theme statement might look something like this:

"The central theme of (piece of writing) is (author's position on topic). When (event from the story) happens, it results in (blank), which demonstrates (some element of the theme)."

You're going to have to tweak and adjust this based on how much detail the assignment calls for and which examples from the text you choose to use, but it should be a good starting point!

Theme statement examples

OK, so what does it look like in action?

Here are some example theme statements from stories you're probably already familiar with (I'm doing these mostly to demonstrate how to use the template. I hope you'll put a lot of thought into your own theme statements and play around with different ideas before committing to one) :

In 'The Dark Knight Rises', Christopher Nolan presents the idea that true heroism requires complete and utter selflessness.

The central theme of 'Finding Nemo' is that fear is sometimes more dangerous than danger itself.

In 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare presents the idea that love is more powerful than hate.

Hope this helps! And good luck!

Questions? Let me know in the comments.

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• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

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Table of contents

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic  and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

• Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
• Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
• Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

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Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

• Thesis statement
• First piece of evidence
• Second piece of evidence
• Summary/synthesis
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

• Importance of the internet
• Concerns about internet use
• Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
• Data exploring this effect
• Analysis indicating it is overstated
• Students’ reading levels over time
• Why this data is questionable
• Video media
• Interactive media
• Speed and simplicity of online research
• Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
• Evidence indicating its ubiquity
• Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
• Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
• Argument that it introduces students to citation
• Summary of key points
• Value of digital education for students
• Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
• Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
• Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
• Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
• Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
• Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
• Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
• Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
• Link to the Reformation.
• Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
• Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
• Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
• Summarize the history described.
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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Definition of Theme

As a literary device, theme refers to the central, deeper meaning of a written work. Writers typically will convey the theme of their work, and allow the reader to perceive and interpret it, rather than overtly or directly state the theme. As readers infer, reflect, and analyze a literary theme, they develop a greater understanding of the work itself and can apply this understanding beyond the literary work as a means of grasping a better sense of the world. Theme is often what creates a memorable and significant experience of a literary work for the reader.

Themes are often subject to the reader’s perception and interpretation. This means that readers may find primary and/or secondary themes in a work of literature that the author didn’t intend to convey. Therefore, theme allows for literature to remain meaningful, “living” works that can be revisited and analyzed in perpetuity by many readers at once or by a single reader across time.

For example, William Shakespeare ’s well-known tragedy ,  Romeo and Juliet , has been performed and read countless times and by countless people since its publication in 1597:

Come, gentle night ; come, loving, black-browed night; Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night

Even those who have not directly heard or read the lines of this play are familiar with its theme of the power of romantic love and its potentially devastating effects.

Common Examples of Literary Themes

Many works of literature share common themes and central ideas. As a literary device, theme allows the author to present and reveal all aspects of human nature and the human condition. This enhances the enjoyment and significance of a literary work for readers by encouraging thought, interpretation, and analysis. Discovery and analysis of theme is also one of the primary reasons that readers return to “classic” literary works that are centuries old. There is no end or expiration to the significance and impact theme can have on readers of literature.

Here are some common examples of literary themes:

• Human versus nature
• Good versus evil
• Coming of age
• Courage and perseverance
• Individual versus society
• Faith versus doubt
• Chaos versus order
• Gender roles

Famous Examples of Disney Movies and Their Themes

Of course, theme is an essential literary device in terms of written works. However, nearly all works of art feature theme as an underlying meaning to be understood and interpreted by the audience . Here are some famous examples of Disney movies and their related themes:

• Peter Pan : out-growing the world of childhood
• Mulan : girls/women can do battle as honorably as boys/men
• The Sword in the Stone : education and courage are stronger than brawn and force
• Cinderella : kindness and inner beauty are rewarded
• Pinocchio : dishonesty leads to trouble
• Aladdin : the best course of action is to be who you are
• The Rescuers : it doesn’t take great size to make a difference
• Snow White : jealousy can lead to cruelty
• The Fox and the Hound : the importance of friendship
• The Little Mermaid : love often requires choices and sacrifices

Difference Between Theme and Subject Matter

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the difference between the theme and subject matter of a literary work. They are both closely related to each other; however, the subject matter is the topic that is overtly addressed and presented by the writer whereas the theme is the meaning or underlying message that is imparted through the writing.

The subject matter of a written work is what the text is about and is, typically, clearly indicated by the writer. The theme of a literary work reflects why it was written and what the author hopes to convey on a deeper level to the reader without direct statements. A reader may infer and a writer may imply a theme within a literary work. However, the subject matter of a literary work is not inferred by the reader or implied by the writer; it is overtly stated and understood.

For example, in Shakespeare’s  Romeo and Juliet , the subject matter is two young people from feuding families who fall deeply in love with each other. One theme of this play, and Romeo and Juliet certainly features several themes, is the power of romantic love and the futility of others to stop it. The subject matter is almost exclusively related to the foundational elements of the story , such as what happens and to which characters. The theme, in contrast , is the lingering meaning and thought left to the reader as a means of reaching a greater understanding of the play itself and the larger concept of love.

Examples of Theme in Literature

As a literary device, the purpose of theme is the main idea or underlying meaning that is explored by a writer in a work of literature. Writers can utilize a combination of elements in order to convey a story’s theme, including setting , plot , characters, dialogue , and more. For certain works of literature, such as fables , the theme is typically a “ moral ” or lesson for the reader. However, more complex works of literature tend to have a central theme that is open to interpretation and reflects a basic aspect of society or trait of humanity. Many longer works of literature, such as novels, convey several themes in order to explore the universality of human nature.

Here are some examples of theme in well-known works of literature:

Example 1:  The Yellow Wall-Paper  (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do? My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing. • So I take phosphates or phosphites whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again. Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good.

In her short story , Charlotte Perkins Gilman holds forth a revolutionary theme for the time period. The protagonist of the story is kept in a room with sickly yellow wall-paper as a means of “curing” her emotional and mental difficulties. Her husband, brother, and others are committed to keeping her idle. She is even separated from her baby. Rather than allow the narrator any agency over her daily life, they disregard her words and requests for the fact that she is a woman and considered incompetent.

Gilman conveys a theme of rebellion and feminism to the reader as the narrator begins to embrace the “trapped” woman she has become. Therefore, this allows the reader to perceive the narrator as an empowered figure in many ways, as opposed to one that is oppressed or incompetent.

Example 2:  Harlem  (Langston Hughes)

What happens to a dream deferred?       Does it dry up       like a raisin in the sun ?       Or fester like a sore—       And then run?       Does it stink like rotten meat?       Or crust and sugar over—       like a syrupy sweet?       Maybe it just sags       like a heavy load.        Or does it explode?

Hughes’s well-known poem explores the universality of hope and dreams among humans and the devastating legacy of oppression in deferring such hope and dreams. Hughes structures the poem in the form of questions and responses addressing what happens to a dream deferred. This calls on the reader to consider their own dreams as well those of others, which underscores the theme that dreams, and the hope associated with them, is universal–regardless of race, faith, etc.

Tied to this theme is the deferment of dreams, reflecting the devastating consequences of racism and oppression on the hopes of those who are persecuted. Therefore, the underlying theme of the poem that Hughes conveys to the reader is that, though dreams and hopes are universal, the dreams and hopes of certain members of society are put off and postponed due to the oppression of their race.

Example 3:  A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man  (James Joyce)

I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it calls itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use — silence , exile , and cunning.

Joyce incorporates several themes in his novel . However, as this passage indicates, the central theme of this literary work is the tension between individual artistic expression the demands of society for conformity. The novel’s main character , Stephen Dedalus, faces conflicting loyalties on one side to his family, church, and country, and on the other side to his life as an artist and dedication to artistic expression.

Through the experiences and conflicts facing the novel’s protagonist, Joyce is able to convey his exploration of the theme of the artist’s role in society. This includes freedom of individual expression versus the constraints of societal conventions. As a result, this theme is imparted to the reader who is able to interpret and analyze aspects of the novel’s central meaning. By the end of Joyce’s novel, the theme culminates in Stephen Dedalus’s decision to isolate himself from family, church, and country, to pursue his art. Therefore, the reader’s inference of the novel’s theme impacts their perception and understanding of the story’s resolution as well as the broader concept of the artist’s role in society.

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• Romeo and Juliet Themes
• Lord of the Flies Themes
• Jane Eyre Themes

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Theme Definition

What is theme? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A theme is a universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature. One key characteristic of literary themes is their universality, which is to say that themes are ideas that not only apply to the specific characters and events of a book or play, but also express broader truths about human experience that readers can apply to their own lives. For instance, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (about a family of tenant farmers who are displaced from their land in Oklahoma) is a book whose themes might be said to include the inhumanity of capitalism, as well as the vitality and necessity of family and friendship.

Some additional key details about theme:

• All works of literature have themes. The same work can have multiple themes, and many different works explore the same or similar themes.
• Themes are sometimes divided into thematic concepts and thematic statements . A work's thematic concept is the broader topic it touches upon (love, forgiveness, pain, etc.) while its thematic statement is what the work says about that topic. For example, the thematic concept of a romance novel might be love, and, depending on what happens in the story, its thematic statement might be that "Love is blind," or that "You can't buy love . "
• Themes are almost never stated explicitly. Oftentimes you can identify a work's themes by looking for a repeating symbol , motif , or phrase that appears again and again throughout a story, since it often signals a recurring concept or idea.

Theme Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce theme: theem

Identifying Themes

Every work of literature—whether it's an essay, a novel, a poem, or something else—has at least one theme. Therefore, when analyzing a given work, it's always possible to discuss what the work is "about" on two separate levels: the more concrete level of the plot (i.e., what literally happens in the work), as well as the more abstract level of the theme (i.e., the concepts that the work deals with). Understanding the themes of a work is vital to understanding the work's significance—which is why, for example, every LitCharts Literature Guide uses a specific set of themes to help analyze the text.

Although some writers set out to explore certain themes in their work before they've even begun writing, many writers begin to write without a preconceived idea of the themes they want to explore—they simply allow the themes to emerge naturally through the writing process. But even when writers do set out to investigate a particular theme, they usually don't identify that theme explicitly in the work itself. Instead, each reader must come to their own conclusions about what themes are at play in a given work, and each reader will likely come away with a unique thematic interpretation or understanding of the work.

Symbol, Motif, and Leitwortstil

Writers often use three literary devices in particular—known as symbol , motif , and leitwortstil —to emphasize or hint at a work's underlying themes. Spotting these elements at work in a text can help you know where to look for its main themes.

• Near the beginning of Romeo and Juliet , Benvolio promises to make Romeo feel better about Rosaline's rejection of him by introducing him to more beautiful women, saying "Compare [Rosaline's] face with some that I shall show….and I will make thee think thy swan a crow." Here, the swan is a symbol for how Rosaline appears to the adoring Romeo, while the crow is a symbol for how she will soon appear to him, after he has seen other, more beautiful women.
• Symbols might occur once or twice in a book or play to represent an emotion, and in that case aren't necessarily related to a theme. However, if you start to see clusters of similar symbols appearing in a story, this may mean that the symbols are part of an overarching motif, in which case they very likely are related to a theme.
• For example, Shakespeare uses the motif of "dark vs. light" in Romeo and Juliet to emphasize one of the play's main themes: the contradictory nature of love. To develop this theme, Shakespeare describes the experience of love by pairing contradictory, opposite symbols next to each other throughout the play: not only crows and swans, but also night and day, moon and sun. These paired symbols all fall into the overall pattern of "dark vs. light," and that overall pattern is called a motif.
• A famous example is Kurt Vonnegut's repetition of the phrase "So it goes" throughout his novel Slaughterhouse Five , a novel which centers around the events of World War II. Vonnegut's narrator repeats the phrase each time he recounts a tragic story from the war, an effective demonstration of how the horrors of war have become normalized for the narrator. The constant repetition of the phrase emphasizes the novel's primary themes: the death and destruction of war, and the futility of trying to prevent or escape such destruction, and both of those things coupled with the author's skepticism that any of the destruction is necessary and that war-time tragedies "can't be helped."

Symbol, motif and leitwortstil are simply techniques that authors use to emphasize themes, and should not be confused with the actual thematic content at which they hint. That said, spotting these tools and patterns can give you valuable clues as to what might be the underlying themes of a work.

Thematic Concepts vs. Thematic Statements

A work's thematic concept is the broader topic it touches upon—for instance:

• Forgiveness

while its thematic statement is the particular argument the writer makes about that topic through his or her work, such as:

• Human judgement is imperfect.
• Love cannot be bought.
• Getting revenge on someone else will not fix your problems.
• Learning to forgive is part of becoming an adult.

Should You Use Thematic Concepts or Thematic Statements?

Some people argue that when describing a theme in a work that simply writing a thematic concept is insufficient, and that instead the theme must be described in a full sentence as a thematic statement. Other people argue that a thematic statement, being a single sentence, usually creates an artificially simplistic description of a theme in a work and is therefore can actually be more misleading than helpful. There isn't really a right answer in this debate.

In our LitCharts literature study guides , we usually identify themes in headings as thematic concepts, and then explain the theme more fully in a few paragraphs. We find thematic statements limiting in fully exploring or explaining a the theme, and so we don't use them. Please note that this doesn't mean we only rely on thematic concepts—we spend paragraphs explaining a theme after we first identify a thematic concept. If you are asked to describe a theme in a text, you probably should usually try to at least develop a thematic statement about the text if you're not given the time or space to describe it more fully. For example, a statement that a book is about "the senselessness of violence" is a lot stronger and more compelling than just saying that the book is about "violence."

Identifying Thematic Statements

One way to try to to identify or describe the thematic statement within a particular work is to think through the following aspects of the text:

• Plot: What are the main plot elements in the work, including the arc of the story, setting, and characters. What are the most important moments in the story? How does it end? How is the central conflict resolved?
• Protagonist: Who is the main character, and what happens to him or her? How does he or she develop as a person over the course of the story?
• Prominent symbols and motifs: Are there any motifs or symbols that are featured prominently in the work—for example, in the title, or recurring at important moments in the story—that might mirror some of the main themes?

After you've thought through these different parts of the text, consider what their answers might tell you about the thematic statement the text might be trying to make about any given thematic concept. The checklist above shouldn't be thought of as a precise formula for theme-finding, but rather as a set of guidelines, which will help you ask the right questions and arrive at an interesting thematic interpretation.

Theme Examples

The following examples not only illustrate how themes develop over the course of a work of literature, but they also demonstrate how paying careful attention to detail as you read will enable you to come to more compelling conclusions about those themes.

Themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald explores many themes in The Great Gatsby , among them the corruption of the American Dream .

• The story's narrator is Minnesota-born Nick Caraway, a New York bonds salesman. Nick befriends Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, who is a wealthy man who throws extravagant parties at his mansion.
• The central conflict of the novel is Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy, whom he met and fell in love with as a young man, but parted from during World War I.
• He makes a fortune illegally by bootlegging alcohol, to become the sort of wealthy man he believes Daisy is attracted to, then buys a house near her home, where she lives with her husband.
• While he does manage to re-enter Daisy's life, she ultimately abandons him and he dies as a result of her reckless, selfish behavior.
• Gatsby's house is on the water, and he stares longingly across the water at a green light that hangs at the edge of a dock at Daisy's house which sits across a the bay. The symbol of the light appears multiple times in the novel—during the early stages of Gatsby's longing for Daisy, during his pursuit of her, and after he dies without winning her love. It symbolizes both his longing for daisy and the distance between them (the distance of space and time) that he believes (incorrectly) that he can bridge. 
• In addition to the green light, the color green appears regularly in the novel. This motif of green broadens and shapes the symbolism of the green light and also influences the novel's themes. While green always remains associated with Gatsby's yearning for Daisy and the past, and also his ambitious striving to regain Daisy, it also through the motif of repeated green becomes associated with money, hypocrisy, and destruction. Gatsby's yearning for Daisy, which is idealistic in some ways, also becomes clearly corrupt in others, which more generally impacts what the novel is saying about dreams more generally and the American Dream in particular. 

Gatsby pursues the American Dream, driven by the idea that hard work can lead anyone from poverty to wealth, and he does so for a single reason: he's in love with Daisy. However, he pursues the dream dishonestly, making a fortune by illegal means, and ultimately fails to achieve his goal of winning Daisy's heart. Furthermore, when he actually gets close to winning Daisy's heart, she brings about his downfall. Through the story of Gatsby and Daisy, Fitzgerald expresses the point of view that the American Dream carries at its core an inherent corruption. You can read more about the theme of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby here .

Themes in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

In Things Fall Apart , Chinua Achebe explores the theme of the dangers of rigidly following tradition .

• Okonkwo is obsessed with embodying the masculine ideals of traditional Igbo warrior culture.
• Okonkwo's dedication to his clan's traditions is so extreme that it even alienates members of his own family, one of whom joins the Christians.
• The central conflict: Okonkwo's community adapts to colonization in order to survive, becoming less warlike and allowing the minor injustices that the colonists inflict upon them to go unchallenged. Okonkwo, however, refuses to adapt.
• At the end of the novel, Okonkwo impulsively kills a Christian out of anger. Recognizing that his community does not support his crime, Okonkwo kills himself in despair.
• Clanswomen who give birth to twins abandon the babies in the forest to die, according to traditional beliefs that twins are evil.
• Okonkwo kills his beloved adopted son, a prisoner of war, according to the clan's traditions.
• Okonkwo sacrifices a goat in repentence, after severely beating his wife during the clan's holy week.

Through the tragic story of Okonkwo, Achebe is clearly dealing with the theme of tradition, but a close examination of the text reveals that he's also making a clear thematic statement that following traditions too rigidly leads people to the greatest sacrifice of all: that of personal agency . You can read more about this theme in Things Fall Apart   here .

Themes in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken

Poem's have themes just as plot-driven narratives do. One theme that Robert Frost explores in this famous poem,  The Road Not Taken ,  is the illusory nature of free will .

• The poem's speaker stands at a fork in the road, in a "yellow wood."
• He (or she) looks down one path as far as possible, then takes the other, which seems less worn.
• The speaker then admits that the paths are about equally worn—there's really no way to tell the difference—and that a layer of leaves covers both of the paths, indicating that neither has been traveled recently.
• After taking the second path, the speaker finds comfort in the idea of taking the first path sometime in the future, but acknowledges that he or she is unlikely to ever return to that particular fork in the woods.
• The speaker imagines how, "with a sigh" she will tell someone in the future, "I took the road less travelled—and that has made all the difference."
• By wryly predicting his or her own need to romanticize, and retroactively justify, the chosen path, the speaker injects the poem with an unmistakeable hint of irony .
• The speaker's journey is a symbol for life, and the two paths symbolize different life paths, with the road "less-travelled" representing the path of an individualist or lone-wolf. The fork where the two roads diverge represents an important life choice. The road "not taken" represents the life path that the speaker would have pursued had he or she had made different choices.

Frost's speaker has reached a fork in the road, which—according to the symbolic language of the poem—means that he or she must make an important life decision. However, the speaker doesn't really know anything about the choice at hand: the paths appear to be the same from the speaker's vantage point, and there's no way he or she can know where the path will lead in the long term. By showing that the only truly informed choice the speaker makes is how he or she explains their decision after they have already made it , Frost suggests that although we pretend to make our own choices, our lives are actually governed by chance.

What's the Function of Theme in Literature?

Themes are a huge part of what readers ultimately take away from a work of literature when they're done reading it. They're the universal lessons and ideas that we draw from our experiences of works of art: in other words, they're part of the whole reason anyone would want to pick up a book in the first place!

It would be difficult to write any sort of narrative that did not include any kind of theme. The narrative itself would have to be almost completely incoherent in order to seem theme-less, and even then readers would discern a theme about incoherence and meaninglessness. So themes are in that sense an intrinsic part of nearly all writing. At the same time, the themes that a writer is interested in exploring will significantly impact nearly all aspects of how a writer chooses to write a text. Some writers might know the themes they want to explore from the beginning of their writing process, and proceed from there. Others might have only a glimmer of an idea, or have new ideas as they write, and so the themes they address might shift and change as they write. In either case, though, the writer's ideas about his or her themes will influence how they write. 

One additional key detail about themes and how they work is that the process of identifying and interpreting them is often very personal and subjective. The subjective experience that readers bring to interpreting a work's themes is part of what makes literature so powerful: reading a book isn't simply a one-directional experience, in which the writer imparts their thoughts on life to the reader, already distilled into clear thematic statements. Rather, the process of reading and interpreting a work to discover its themes is an exchange in which readers parse the text to tease out the themes they find most relevant to their personal experience and interests.

Other Helpful Theme Resources

• The Wikipedia Page on Theme: An in-depth explanation of theme that also breaks down the difference between thematic concepts and thematic statements.
• The Dictionary Definition of Theme: A basic definition and etymology of the term.
• In this instructional video , a teacher explains her process for helping students identify themes.

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
• Downloads of 1902 LitCharts Lit Guides
• Teacher Editions for every Lit Guide
• Explanations and citation info for 40,034 quotes across 1902 books
• Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play
• Bildungsroman
• Foreshadowing
• Stream of Consciousness
• Anadiplosis
• Epanalepsis
• Colloquialism
• Static Character
• Red Herring
• Verbal Irony
• Rising Action
• Dynamic Character

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What is Theme? Definition & Examples of Theme in Literature

by Fija Callaghan

Often scholars will talk about theme in literature like it’s this highbrow, deeply intellectual feat of narrative engineering hiding between the lines of a novel or collection of poetry. “Theme,” they say, delicately sipping hundred-year-old brandy from crystal glasses, “is the intentional and philosophical confluence of story archetypes to convey a groundbreaking, politically or socially relevant ideal.” And you nod eagerly in agreement, because you would also like to try some hundred-year-old brandy.

Writers, on the other hand, will often talk about theme like it’s a clumsy animal that has somehow wandered into your story and, having proven itself to be only a minimal nuisance and actually kind of cute, has been allowed to stay and build itself a nest somewhere between your Midpoint and the first major plot point of Act Three .

Really, theme can be both of these things and more. Let’s look at what theme is in literature, how a strong theme can elevate a story, and how to discover the themes already brewing in your own work.

What is theme in literature?

Theme is the broad central idea supporting any narrative work. The work can be a novel, a short story, a poem, or even something like a song or visual art. In a story, each choice made by your characters and each turn of events will support this core underlying theme which you’re trying to convey to your readers.

Any medium that tells a story will have this underlying message—whether it was put there painstakingly by the artist layer by layer, or whether it grew organically from their unconscious experience as they created their literary work.

Literary themes can be concepts like redemption, sacrifice, true love, or family. Storytelling in particular has an enormous range of tools from which to draw themes, like setting, imagery, metaphor , conflict , and—most importantly of all— character . It’s through character that your readers will experience the underlying meaning of your story and come away with a new understanding.

Which comes first—theme or plot?

A question as old as the written word: Is it better to start with a meaningful theme or an engaging plot ? Do you choose a thematic concept and then build your story around it, or do you draft your story and then see what theme emerges? What if you have a story in mind but you don’t even know what the theme is?

Theme and plot are intertwined; neither one comes first, but rather they’re developed together. The moment you have an idea for a story, the theme of that story is already being born. The more you learn about the characters, motivations, and events of your story, the clearer its theme will become.

Writing a story is equal parts art, craft, and intuition. Theme is something that tends to reside in the latter category. While your cognitive mind is exploring roads of possibility in your plot, setting, and characters, your subconscious will be constantly reaching out and searching for deeper meaning in these things.

Ask yourself: Why is this story important? Why is this story happening here , now ? Who are the people in this story, and why do they matter to me? That’s theme at work.

Why does theme matter in storytelling?

Okay but do I need a theme? Isn’t it enough to have a fun story and a lovable hero and a dastardly villain and a happily ever after at the end of it?

Well, yes, but even the simplest of universal tales will have some sort of theme bubbling under the surface. Every story needs to communicate something with the reader.

This will usually be the same main idea that’s driving your protagonist towards their goal. It might be a simple developmental ideal such as the overt central morals in Aesop’s fables, or it might be a larger, more complex exploration of multi-faceted issues that we’re still facing in the world today (we’ll look at some theme examples of these later on).

Crafting a literary theme that resonates with readers on a deep, visceral level will help them feel connected to your characters and invested in what those characters are fighting for. A vibrant, engaging theme in a work of literature has the power to affect real change and make readers look at the world in a new way.

Classic themes in literature

Because stories are so universal, we’ll often see the same central themes being repeated over and over in different works. This doesn’t mean the stories that share these central ideas are unoriginal; rather, it means that they speak to deep universal truths that we all recognize and resonate with. That’s why we return to those stories again and again.

Most of these common themes will fall under two categories: one central idea, or a contrast or conflict between two opposing principles.

Here are some common themes in literature that you can explore in your own writing.

Love is something that we all recognize regardless of our background, language, age, class, ability, or understanding of the world. Love is the greatest unifier of the human species, and it can be as bright and empowering as it can be terrible.

Many works of literature deal with the theme of love, but Romeo and Juliet is one famous story in which the author explores the intensity and destructive qualities of undying love.

We most often associate love with romantic relationships, but focusing on love as a theme in your own work can also look at the deep, soulful love between two best friends, or even the journey towards discovering love for yourself.

Many of us have been betrayed in our lives by people we thought we could trust, whether that’s a friend, a family member, a partner, or someone we knew professionally. Just as antagonists are rarely single-faceted, betrayal is usually a very complex thing that can come from a wide range of different motivations.

What one person sees as betrayal might feel like a natural progression to another, and so this theme can be useful for exploring the complexity of human needs and desires. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a famous work of literature that deals with strong themes of betrayal.

The theme of rebirth has figured into the mythological cycles of a variety of cultures, most famously the rebirth of Christ in the Christian bible.

On a microcosmic level, we often see rebirth as a dawn of hope and opportunity after a devastating experience such as a divorce, a failure, or the loss of a loved one. On a deep psychological level, we like to believe that there can be hope for us even when we ourselves have become lost.

There are many stories of rebirth, but Charles Dickens’ famous holiday piece A Christmas Carol explores the rebirth of its protagonist after a lifetime of avarice and misery.

Modern popular culture has seen a huge resurgence in redemptive character arcs, most famously in “anti-hero” type characters . There is something so satisfying about watching a rascally ne’er-do-well make mistakes, learn from them, and grow into someone we wouldn’t be embarrassed to introduce to our mothers.

Much like rebirth, redemption comes from a place of hope—the idea that there’s always room to grow, and that anyone can find the will to do better. Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a famous novel that uses this thematic concept to create a dynamic character arc.

For many of us, our relationships with our families are quite complex. And yet, the bond between family members is a very universal idea that can teach us a lot about other cultures, generations, and ways of life.

The relationship we have with our families can also teach us a lot about ourselves, and so this theme is very useful for character-driven stories and novels.

The Book Thief , a novel by Markus Zusak, explores our connection to our blood families as well as the families we build around us.

Prejudice has always been a major societal issue, and those issues are being brought into new light. Prejudice can be found through race, class, and ability both in literature and in the world around us. For this reason, art of all kinds is a powerful tool in fighting against these poisonous ideas and helping people understand them in a new way.

The novel Such a Fun Age , by Kiley Reid, is one of many powerful works that explore themes of racial and class-driven prejudice that is still prevalent today.

Disillusionment

Often we discover that growing and learning about ourselves and the world means letting go of precious ideals or perceptions we once had. Knowledge is never an inherently negative thing, but coming to terms with it can be a less than comfortable experience.

These themes often deal with the sacrifice of innocence and idealism in order to attain a greater understanding of ourselves and the world. The Great Gatsby is a tragic literary work that follows the central character’s disillusionment—and, by proxy, the reader’s—with the glittering party lifestyle that was once so seductive.

Closely related to prejudice, oppression is a very real problem in our world that has inspired a lot of powerful art and literature. Literary work that deals with this theme often seek to accomplish two things: the first, to enlighten people to a toxic situation that they may not have been aware of, and second, to show them that we can do something about it.

Although they deal with very negative and difficult subject matter, themes of oppression are often found in stories full of hope for a better future.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is one such groundbreaking novel that uses a speculative lens to draw attention to some of the problems we have faced historically and are still fighting against today.

The desire for revenge is a universal human impulse, and watching those impulses play out in the safe arena of fiction is both riveting and cathartic. However, revenge left to ferment and fester can be a very damaging thing and many of these stories teach us just how damaging these desires can be.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a revenge-driven tale that shows two different characters undone by their need for revenge above all else. These themes are often useful for examining the contrast of human strength and weakness.

On the topic of human weakness, corruption is one of the most vicious poisons to enter a human heart. Most corruption comes from a place of fear and survival instinct, and feeds easily from one person to another.

George Orwell’s allegorical novel Animal Farm examines the way this theme takes root and spreads, turning the best intentions into destructive actions fueled by pride and greed.

On some small level, we all take little steps to try and make it through each day. But most of us have never been in a situation so extreme that we need to fight for our lives.

Stories that explore the theme of survival are often a beat or two removed from our day-to-day understanding of the world, but they help us learn a lot about what we are capable of in difficult circumstances. The famous novel Robinson Crusoe is an adventure story that follows the central character cast away on a deserted island, pitting his strength and intellect against the whims of nature and fate.

Death and mortality are constant underlying themes in all works of literature as they are in life. The battle against the inevitability of death has been present in stories from all cultures for as long as there have been storytellers.

Very often literature that deals with the theme of mortality doesn’t present death as something wholly antagonistic, but something with its own place in the cycle of the world. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , from the classic Arthurian Legends, deals strongly with multiple themes of life, death, rebirth, and honoring our place within those themes.

Good vs. Evil

Themes that explore morality are some of the first themes that many readers are exposed to as children. The Chronicles of Narnia , among many others, is a story that shows us this polarity. This theme teaches us that we should always try to do good in the world, and that even when there are bad people doing scary things, we can overcome them by being true to our own best natures.

Even as we grow older and learn that the world and the people in it are more complex than we could have imagined, there is still some part of us that wants to believe in those ideals. We gather strength from believing that good can triumph over evil—whether that’s between two forces in the wider world, or deeper, more intimately, within ourselves.

Individual vs. Society

Tying into some of the popular themes we looked at above like prejudice, oppression, and corruption, this theme will often explore those ideas by placing an individual protagonist at odds with the world around them.

The reader will identify with the central character and use their journey as a way to examine the failings of the society in the story—which may, in turn, reflect some of the failings that the reader can see in their own world as well. The Hunger Games is a popular novel that places an individual in opposition with a seemingly insurmountable status quo.

Life vs. Death

While some stories include themes that seek to understand mortality and the place it has in our life’s journey, other stories may look at life and death as two opposing, contradictory forces.

In the Harry Potter series, all of the events of the story unfold because the primary antagonist is at constant war with death. He treats it as an enemy to be overcome, even domesticated.

Since death is unfortunately a very real part of our natural cycle, these sorts of themes rarely end well for those involved. However, fear of the unknown is also a very real part of our natural cycle and so this central topic has arisen again and again in stories throughout history.

Fate vs. Free Will

How much of our path do we truly choose, and how much is preordained? This is a question we have been asking as long as there has been human consciousness—and people are still debating it today. Stories that explore this theme will usually follow a character who has seen a glimpse of what the future holds for them… and doesn’t care for it at all.

Oedipus the King , a famous Greek tragic drama, follows a character who’s trying to dodge a terrible prophecy about his future. He removes himself from the situation completely, only to find that those very actions are what set his fate into motion.

This theme doesn’t have to be tragic, though; it works just as well if you give your characters the strength to choose their own destinies.

Tradition vs. Change

Tension has always existed between one generation and another, regardless of what culture, ethnicity, or era they might be from. Stories with this theme look at finding the right balance between honoring the traditions of those before us and allowing room to grow.

Neil Gaiman’s American Gods takes a fantastical approach to this theme by pitting the old world gods of popular mythology against the new world of worship that people bow down to today, including media, technology, and the stock market.

These themes teach us that there is wisdom to be learned from our predecessors as well as wisdom in new ideas.

Pride vs. Humility

Pride is one of the most seductive of human sins. It’s also one of the most difficult to break away from, even when we can see as well as anyone how quickly it’s tearing us apart.

Themes of pride and humility are usually character-driven examinations of how we are all susceptible to this weakness, and the ways in which we can find the strength to overcome it. The appropriately named Pride and Prejudice is a good example of a story that shows two characters overcoming their pride in order to find the happiness they truly deserve.

Justice vs. Depravity

Any work of literature that follows a judicial system knows what a knife edge the threat of corruption can be. James Ellroy’s novel L.A. Confidential is a famous modern noir story that explores the thin line between righteousness and corruption, heroes and villains.

Using this concept in your work is an excellent way to explore our strengths, weaknesses, and limitations as human beings in a fundamentally unjust world.

Morality vs. Fear

This is another staple theme of the “hero vs. villain” stories. We like heroes because they always try to do the right thing, but we sometimes forget that doing the right thing can be very difficult and scary. Stories with this theme show us that we all constantly battle between doing what is right and what is easy, and that choosing the brave or honorable path does not happen without fear—it happens in spite of it.

Kristin Harmel’s WWII novel The Room on Rue Amélie follows a brave protagonist determined to play her part in the war efforts, even when she has every reason to feel afraid of doing so. From stories like this we learn how to be brave in our own lives.

How to find the theme of your own story

Unlike plot, theme isn’t really something you build from the ground up. Once you begin to see glimmers of a story, your theme is already beginning to take shape under the surface. It’s your job to excavate it and bring it to life.

To find the theme of your story, decide what central message the story is trying to communicate with the reader. Try asking yourself why you’re writing it in the first place. Why does it matter to you? This can take time, and the answer may surprise you.

For example, if you’re writing about a girl who discovers she’s from a secret lineage of super spies, deep down you might be writing it as a way to understand your feelings about your own lineage.

What sort of conflict is your main character facing? Has someone in her family been kidnapped by a rival super spy faction? Has she discovered some shady business in her family history that has her questioning her own values and perception of herself? In these cases your theme might be things like the importance of family, or the contrasting values of independence and tradition.

Develop your thematic statement

Then, see if you can crystallize your idea into a thematic statement—a one-sentence summary of the concept you’re trying to convey. In the above examples, your thematic statement might be, “Family always comes first,” or “One is not bound by the mistakes of their parents.” This thematic statement then becomes the driving force of your plot.

It doesn’t matter how fantastical or far-removed your story is—its heart, its reason for existing, will be something that you’re exploring or working to understand through the filter of art. It may be conscious or unconscious. Then, once you know what your story is really trying to say, you can share it with people who need your story to help them explore or understand these ideas too.

How to strengthen the theme of a story

Once you’ve figured out what your theme is, it’s time to find ways to make it shine even brighter through the course of your plot points and narrative development. You can do this as you go, or you can go back and find ways to give it a nudge later in the editing process.

Every literary element in your story should help communicate your theme with the reader, and your protagonist’s journey should be a direct parallel to their relationship with the theme. If the theme of your story is “family,” you may need to put your protagonist through a series of obstacles to help them realize the importance of this idea and why it’s worth fighting for.

The types of conflicts your characters face might all be different, but they should all circle back to the relationship they have with this central idea and how that relationship evolves through each major plot point.

When your characters grow to understand the theme in a new way, your readers will too. Making your characters do this is an important way of strengthening the themes of your story.

A writer can use literary devices like motifs, symbolism, and repetition to emphasize the themes in your story. Adding in recurring colors, words, objects, places, numbers, or cultural symbols will help intensify the theme for your reader. See if you can find ways to add little details that make your story’s theme even more prominent.

For example, if your central theme is “corruption,” you could use these literary devices to show a metaphorical corruption, or corrosion, of positive things in the story. You might have your character buy a new pair of shoes which becomes steadily more worn down until they fall apart—this would be a repeated symbol for other things that are being “worn down,” such as the character’s hope, morals, or ideals.

Certain motifs can also bring to mind this idea of corruption, such as tarnished coins or dirty water, and you can drop images like these here and there throughout your story to make the theme even more powerful for your reader.

These sorts of symbols can be used to emphasize all kinds of themes. If your theme is “mortality” or “life vs. death” you may have your main character come across a dead animal early in the story, and have them take time to reflect on their feelings and understanding of this idea before their journey begins.

Conversely, if your theme is “family”, they might need to stop their car to let a family of animals cross the road in front of them. How do they feel about that? Enchanted? Annoyed? Frightened? Their reaction won’t necessarily be stated explicitly, but showing it on the page will give further depth to your theme.

Theme is the heart of storytelling

Theme is one of the most important building blocks of powerful storytelling, but it doesn’t need to be approached from a place of anxiety or stress. Theme is simply a statement of why your story exists and why you need to be the one to tell it.

Storytelling has a very real power to change the world for the better, and theme—sharing it, talking about it, helping people understand why it matters—is how we can begin doing that.

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25 Common Themes in Literature, with Examples

What is Setting in a Story? With 5 Evocative Examples of Setting

What is Tone? Definition, with Examples

• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Themes

I. What is Theme?

One of the first questions to ask upon hearing someone has written a story is, “What’s it about?” or “What’s the point?” Short answers may range from love to betrayal or from the coming of age to the haziness of memory. The central idea, topic, or point of a story, essay, or narrative is its theme .

II. Examples of Theme

A man, fueled by an urge for power and control due to his own pride, builds a supercomputer. That supercomputer then takes over the world, causing chaos and struggle galore.

This sci-fi style story contains many common themes. A few of its themes include:

• Danger of excessive pride
• The risky relationship between humankind and developing technology

A boy and a girl fall in love. The boy is forced to join the army and fights to survive in a war-torn country as his beloved waits at home. When he returns from war, the two are united and married.

The love story also has many common themes in literature:

• The power of true love
• Fate, which sometimes tears lovers apart and then joins them together

As can be seen from these examples, themes can range widely from ideas, as large as love and war, to others as specific as the relationship between humankind and technology.

III. Types of Theme

Just as a life is not constantly immersed in love, the pursuit of knowledge, or the struggle of the individual versus society, themes are not always constantly present in a story or composition. Rather, they weave in and out, can disappear entirely, or appear surprisingly mid-read. This is because there are two types of themes: major and minor themes.

a. Major Themes

Major themes are, just as they sound, the more important and enduring themes of the narrative. Major themes are the most significant themes of the story, and often they are a part of the entire story. A book on war would have the major theme of war’s effect on humanity, whereas a romance novel would have the major theme of love.

b. Minor Themes

Minor themes are, on the other hand, less important and less enduring. They may appear for part of the narrative only to be replaced by another minor theme later in the narrative. They provide discussion points for a chapter or two, but do not color the entire story. A book on war may have minor themes such as the home front’s reaction to war or the political aspects of war. A romance novel may have minor themes such as flirtation, marriage, and fidelity.

IV. The Importance of Using Theme

The importance of using theme in narrative is unparalleled. The theme is the underlining idea an author is trying to convey to an audience. A story without major ideas for the character and reader to experience, think through, and learn from is not a story at all. A story, by its very nature, must have a theme, sometimes many major and minor themes, all throughout. Themes are the ideas book clubs, poets, playwrights, literature students, film enthusiasts, movie-makers, and creative writers mull over in-depth. They are the meaning behind the entire story, the deeper reasons that the story has been written and shared.

V. Examples of Theme in Literature

Theme is a prominent element in literature. Here are a few examples of theme in poetry and prose:

“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in)” by E. E. Cummings:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)                                                       i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you   here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart   i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

This poem’s major theme is clear: love. Minor themes include fate, togetherness, and desire.

Atonement by Ian McEwan is an example of a novel whose theme is its title. Here are a few revealing excerpts:

How can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her absolute power of deciding outcomes, she is also God? There is no one, no entity or higher form that she can appeal to, or be reconciled with, or that can forgive There is nothing outside her. In her imagination she has set the limits and the terms. No atonement for God, or novelists, even if they are atheists. It was always an impossible task, and that was precisely the point. The attempt was all.

This section reveals the main theme of atonement along with other minor themes such as the life of the writer and forgiveness.

VI. Examples of Theme in Pop Culture

Just as literary narratives require themes, songs, movies, and television shows do as well. Here are a few examples of theme in pop culture:

The trailer shows that the main theme of Godzilla is nature, as a powerful and destructive force to be reckoned with. Other themes include the human effect on nature, fear of the unknown, and hubris.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The main theme of this movie is positivity in the face of a bad day, as they happen to all of us. Other themes include family, perseverance, and love.

VII. Related Terms

Because themes encompass main ideas in a narrative, they have many similar elements which do similar things for a narrative. Here are a few examples:

“And the moral of the story is…” As many fables and tales go, morals are a necessary element. They are the main message or lesson to be learned from reading a cautionary story. Although themes and morals are both major ideas in a story, they are different in that themes do not necessarily serve to teach a lesson, whereas morals always do. A theme is simply an idea to be examined, whereas a moral is a clear lesson to be learned. Here is an example of theme versus moral:

Love others the way you would like to be loved.

Whereas the theme is simply an idea, the moral is a message and instruction.

Motifs work in a story to emphasize the theme, and for this reason, is sometimes confused with the theme. Motifs are recurring images, objects, or ideas that highlight the theme. Here is one example of how motif works with theme:

A man is struggling with regret throughout a story. Motifs like dark dreams, repetitive thoughts, and dark lighting emphasize the mood and pervasiveness of the regret.

Whereas the theme is a larger idea, the motifs are smaller elements of a story which repeat in order to reflect that idea.

VIII. In Closing

Themes are the ideas that run through narratives, enlivening them with deeper meaning to be found in real life and fiction alike. They create stories that are not dull but compelling and emotional.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

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Book Guides

Need to write about a theme for a Great Gatsby assignment or just curious about what exactly a theme is? Not sure where to start? Learn here what a theme is, what the main themes in The Great Gatsby are, and what the best tips for writing about themes for your English/Language Arts class essays are.

We will also link to our specific articles on each theme so you can learn even more in-depth about themes central to Gatsby .

What Is a Theme? Why Should You Care?

First things first: what exactly is a theme? In literature, a theme is a central topic a book deals with. This central topic is revealed through plot events, the actions and dialogue of the characters, and even the narrator's tone. Themes can be very broad, like love, money, or death, or more specific, like people versus technology, racial discrimination, or the American Dream.

In short, a book's theme can usually answer the question, "what's the point of this book?". They're the "so what?" of literary analysis. Also, note that books can definitely have more than one major theme —in Gatsby we identify seven!

Knowing a book's major theme(s) is crucial to writing essays, since many assignments want you to connect your argument to a book's theme. For example, you might be asked to write an essay about a prompt like this: "How does the life of Jay Gatsby exemplify (or deconstruct) the idea of the American Dream?" This prompt has you connect specific details in Jay Gatsby's life to the larger theme of the American Dream. This is why many teachers love theme essays: because they encourage you to connect small details to big ideas!

Furthermore, the AP English Literature test always has an essay question that has you analyze some aspect of a book and then "compare it to the theme of the work as a whole." (If you want specific examples you can access the last 15 years of AP English Literature free response questions here , using your College Board account.) So this skill won't just help you in your English classes, it will also help you pass the AP English Literature test if you're taking it!

So keep reading to learn about the major themes in Gatsby and how they are revealed in the book, and also to get links to our in-depth articles about each theme.

Overview of Key Themes in The Great Gatsby

Before we introduce our seven main themes, we'll briefly describe how the story and characters suggest the major Great Gatsby themes. Remember that the story is set in the 1920s, a period when America's economy was booming, and takes place in New York: specifically the wealthy Long Island towns of West Egg and East Egg, as well as Manhattan and Queens.

As you should know from the book ( check out our summary if you're still hazy on the details!), The Great Gatsby tells the story of James Gatz , a poor farm boy who manages to reinvent himself as the fabulously rich Jay Gatsby, only to be killed after an attempt to win over his old love Daisy Buchanan . Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan , and they're both from old money, causing them to look down Gatsby's newly rich crowd (and for Tom to look down at Gatsby himself).

Meanwhile, Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson , the wife of mechanic George Wilson . Through the Wilsons, we see the struggles of the working class in dismal Queens , NY. As if they didn't already have it hard enough, Myrtle is killed in a hit-and-run accident (caused by Daisy Buchanan), and George, who's manipulated by Tom to believe that Jay Gatsby was both his wife's lover and her murderer, ends up shooting Gatsby and then himself.

The whole story is told by Nick Carraway , a second cousin of Daisy's and classmate of Tom's who moves in next to Gatsby's mansion and eventually befriends Jay -- and then comes to deeply admire him, despite or perhaps because of Jay's fervent desire to repeat his past with Daisy. The tragic chain of events at the novel's climax, along with the fact that both the Buchanans can easily retreat from the damage they caused, causes Nick to become disillusioned with life in New York and retreat back to his hometown in the Midwest.

Aside from having a very unhappy ending, the novel might just ruin swimming pools for you as well.

The fact that the major characters come from three distinct class backgrounds (working class, newly rich, and old money) suggests that class is a major theme. But the rampant materialism and the sheer amount of money spent by Gatsby himself is a huge issue and its own theme. Related to money and class, the fact that both Gatsby and the Wilsons strive to improve their positions in American society, only to end up dead, also suggests that the American Dream -- and specifically its hollowness -- is a key theme in the book as well.

But there are other themes at play here, too. Every major character is involved in at least one romantic relationship , revealing that they are all driven by love, sex, and desire -- a major theme. Also, the rampant bad behavior (crime, cheating, and finally murder) and lack of real justice makes ethics and morality a key theme. Death also looms large over the novel's plot, alongside the threat of failure.

And finally, a strong undercurrent to all of these themes is identity itself: can James Gatz really become Jay Gatsby, or was he doomed from the start? Can someone who is not from old money ever blend in with that crowd? Could Gatsby really aspire to repeat his past with Daisy, or is that past self gone forever?

In short, just by looking at the novel's plot, characters, and ending, we can already get a strong sense of Gatsby's major themes. Let's now look at each of those themes one by one (and be sure to check out the links to our full theme breakdowns!).

The 7 Major Great Gatsby Themes

Money and Materialism : Everyone in the novel is money-obsessed, whether they were born with money (Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and Nick to a lesser extent), whether they made a fortune (Gatsby), or whether they're eager for more (Myrtle and George). So why are the characters so materialistic? How does their materialism affect their choices? Get a guide to each of the characters' material motivations and how they shape the novel.

Society and Class: Building on the money and materialism theme, the novel draws clear distinctions between the kind of money you have: old money (inherited) or new money (earned). And there is also a clear difference between the lifestyles of the wealthy, who live on Long Island and commute freely to Manhattan, and the working class people stuck in between, mired in Queens. By the end of the novel, our main characters who are not old money (Gatsby, Myrtle, and George) are all dead, while the inherited-money club is still alive. What does this say about class in Gatsby? Why is their society so rigidly classist? Learn more about the various social classes in Gatsby and how they affect the novel's outcome.

The American Dream : The American Dream is the idea anyone can make it in America (e.g. gain fame, fortune, and success) through enough hard work and determination. So is Jay Gatsby an example of the dream? Or does his involvement in crime suggest the Dream isn't actually real? And where does this leave the Wilsons, who are also eager to improve their lot in life but don't make it out of the novel alive? Finally, do the closing pages of the novel endorse the American Dream or write it off as a fantasy? Learn what the American Dream is and how the novel sometimes believes in it, and sometimes sees it as a reckless fantasy.

Love, Desire, and Relationships : All of the major characters are driven by love, desire, or both, but only Tom and Daisy's marriage lasts out of the novel's five major relationships and affairs. So is love an inherently unstable force? Or do the characters just experience it in the wrong way? Get an in-depth guide to each of Gatsby's major relationships.

Death and Failure: Nick narrates Gatsby two years after the events in question, and since he's obviously aware of the tragedy awaiting not only Gatsby but Myrtle and George as well, the novel has a sad, reflective, even mournful tone. Is the novel saying that ambition is inherently dangerous (especially in a classist society like 1920s America), or is it more concerned with the danger of Gatsby's intense desire to reclaim the past? Explore those questions here.

Morality and Ethics: The novel is full of bad behavior: lying, cheating, physical abuse, crime, and finally murder. Yet none of the characters ever answer to the law, and God is only mentioned as an exclamation, or briefly projected onto an advertisement . Does the novel push for the need to fix this lack of morality, or does it accept it as the normal state of affairs in the "wild, wild East"?

The Mutability of Identity: Mutability just means "subject to change," so this theme is about how changeable (or not!) personal identity is. Do people really change? Or are our past selves always with us? And how would this shape our desire to reclaim parts of our past? Gatsby wants to have it both ways: to change himself from James Gatz into the sophisticated, wealthy Jay Gatsby, but also to preserve his past with Daisy. Does he fail because it's impossible to change? Because it's impossible to repeat the past? Or both?

How to Write About The Great Gatsby Themes

So now that you know about the major themes of The Great Gatsby , how can you go about writing about them? First up: look closely at your prompt.

Sometimes an essay prompt will come right out and ask you to write about a theme , for example "is The American Dream in Gatsby alive or dead?" or "Write about the relationships in Gatsby. What is the novel saying about the nature of love and desire?" For those essays, you will obviously be writing about one of the novel's major themes. But even though those prompts have big-picture questions, make sure to find small supporting details to help make your argument.

For example, if you're discussing the American Dream and arguing it's dead in the novel, don't just make that claim and be done with it. Instead, you can explore Gatsby's past as James Gatz, George Wilson's exhausted complacency, and Myrtle's treatment at the hands of Tom as examples of how the American Dream is treated in the novel. Obviously those examples are far from exhaustive, but hopefully you get the idea: find smaller details to support the larger argument.

On the other hand, many essay prompts about Gatsby will look like a question about something specific, like a character or symbol:

• Explore Tom and Daisy as people who 'retreat into their money.'
• What does the green light at the end of Daisy's dock represent? How does its meaning change throughout the novel?
• Show how Fitzgerald uses clothing (and the changing of costumes) to tell the reader more about the characters and/or express theme(s).

These prompts are actually a chance for you to take that detailed analysis and connect it to one of the larger themes—in other words, even though the prompt doesn't state it explicitly, you should still be connecting those more focused topics to one of the big-picture themes.

For example, if you talk about Tom and Daisy Buchanan, you will definitely end up talking about society and class. If you talk about the green light, you will end up talking about dreams and goals, specifically the American Dream. And if you discuss clothing to talk about the characters, you will definitely touch on money and materialism, as well as society and class (like how Gatsby's pink suit makes him stand out as new money to Tom Buchanan, or how Myrtle adopts a different dress to play at being wealthy and sophisticated).

In short, for these more specific prompts, you start from the ground (small details and observations) and build up to discussing the larger themes, even if the prompt doesn't say to do so explicitly!

What's Next?

Now you're an expert on themes, but what about symbols? If you need to write about the important symbols in The Great Gatsby, check out our symbols overview for a complete guide.

Want a full analysis of Jay Gatsby and his backstory? Not sure how his story connects with the American Dream? Get the details here .

Want to go back to square one? Get started with Chapter 1 of our Great Gatsby plot summary.

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Halle Edwards graduated from Stanford University with honors. In high school, she earned 99th percentile ACT scores as well as 99th percentile scores on SAT subject tests. She also took nine AP classes, earning a perfect score of 5 on seven AP tests. As a graduate of a large public high school who tackled the college admission process largely on her own, she is passionate about helping high school students from different backgrounds get the knowledge they need to be successful in the college admissions process.

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25 Themes Examples (In Literature)

In literature, a theme is a central topic, subject, or message that the author is presenting for us to ponder.

It represents the underlying meaning or main idea that the writer explores in the book.

In my last article, I explored the six types of conflict in literature , and these represent six key literary themes as well:

• Man vs Nature
• Man vs Society
• Man vs Technology
• Man vs Self
• Man vs Destiny

But, of course, we can tease out many more themes in literature.

Themes can be as simple as love, friendship, or survival, or they can be more complex, such as the critique of societal norms, exploration of human mortality, or the struggle between individual desires and societal expectations. They often provoke thought and offer insight into the human condition.

So, in this article, I want to present 25 of them to you (which include some of those listed above, of course). For each theme, I hope to present you with an example within literature that you’ll likely be familiar with.

Themes Examples

1. love and sacrifice.

Love, as one of the most intense of human emotions, also features as a core theme in not only literature, but also music, film, and theater.

This theme can go in a variety of directions, but often examines the extent to which we will go in order to experience and maintain love (often at great personal cost), the way love makes us irrational or conduct extraordinary deeds of both good and evil, and of course, the experience of heartbreak.

Examples in Literature

Notable examples include “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, where the two main characters sacrifice their lives for their love, and “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, where a couple each sacrifice their most prized possessions to buy a gift for the other.

2. The Individual versus Society

The individual vs society theme – one of the six key types of conflict in literature – occurs when one person grapples with and stands up against established social norms, mores, and powers-that-be.

It may be just one person or a group who stands up against society. An example of the former is Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games who starts off as a solo fighter against a dystopian government, when no one else is willing. An example of the later is the group of children in Tomorrow When the War Began who form a band of friends standing up as a guerilla group against an occupying army.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a strong example, with Atticus Finch standing up against societal racism. He is an outcast lawyer who is the only man willing to represent a Black man who is framed for a crime in a deeply racist town.

3. The Hero’s Journey

This theme, derived from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory, features characters undertaking great journeys or quests.

According to the monomyth theory, there is a common motif throughout stories – both historical and fabricated – that gain currency in the social imagination. In these theories, the journey sets out on an adventure, faces challenges that lead to a dramatic personal transformation for the better, and returns home anew.

A quintessential example of the hero’s journey can be seen in “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien, where Frodo sets out a shy hobbit having never left his shire. He goes on a journey where he develops self-belief and gains the respect of powerful people, before returning home.

4. Coming of Age

This theme, also known as the Bildungsroman, focuses on the growth and maturation of a young protagonist, usually a teenager.

Over the course of the story, they confront and overcome personal or societal hurdles, ultimately leading to self-discovery and self-acceptance.

Oftentimes, such storylines explore the unique experience of teenagers as they are developing cognitively and emotionally. Indeed, as my wife often tells me when we watch this storyline on television: “only a teenager would ever do that!”

These storylines do also have important place in society because they offer young people empathetic and supportive stories that can help young people through the important coming-of-age period of life.

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger is a key example, where the main character, Holden Caulfield, goes on a journey on his own after being kicked out of school. The journey ends with him learning that he does truly value his education and family, leading him to professing he will attend school again in the Fall.

5. Power and Corruption

This theme explores how power can corrupt individuals and societies, and the destructive consequences that can result.

This theme generally tells an important story about how power operates in society, makes commentary about injustice, and the ways in which power can bring out the worst (and best) in people.

This theme is often seen in political or dystopian literature, such as “Animal Farm” and “1984” by George Orwell. Similarly, in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, the titular character’s quest for power leads to his tragic downfall.

6. Redemption and Forgiveness

Another common theme is the exploration of the human capacity for making mistakes and the subsequent need for redemption or forgiveness.

Characters may be haunted by their past actions, seeking atonement, or striving to make amends.

We see this, for example, in the trope of the ghost who is stuck in this life until they achieve some degree of inner peace and redeption.

It is also seen in Christian literature, where forgiveness following repentance is an important moral underpinning of the faith.

Similarly, as with in the man vs self conflict trope, the character is seeking self-forgiveness and self-atonement.

Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” is a powerful exploration of this theme, where the protagonist, Amir, spends a significant portion of his life seeking to redeem himself for his past betrayal of his friend Hassan.

7. War and Peace

Literature that explores war and peace might depict the physical and psychological impact of war on individuals and societies, the politics of war, or the tireless pursuit of peace.

They may also explore the aftermath of war on people’s lives. It can follow people’s struggles to achieve inner peace after a conflict and the trouble of returning to civilian life.

Or, they may explore the deep brotherhood forged in battle, such as in the epic Band of Brothers storyline.

Of course, there are many directions we can take with this theme, but at the center is the extraordinariness of wartime, which opens the door for exploration of intense aspects of humanity.

“All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque provides a harrowing look at the physical and emotional trauma endured by soldiers in World War I. On the other hand, Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is an expansive work that explores war from various perspectives, including the experiences of soldiers, families, and politicians.

8. Death and Mortality

Literature is at its best when it grapples with the themes at the core of the human experience – and the inevitability of death is certainly one of these.

Some works might meditate on the grief and loss associated with death, while others might use the prospect of death as a device to reflect on the meaning of life, or to explore how people live knowing they will die.

Oftentimes, this theme overlaps with religiosity, or themes about seeking meaning in life.

“The Death of Ivan Ilyich” by Leo Tolstoy explores the protagonist’s confrontation with his own mortality, leading him to reflect on the life he has lived and the value of genuine human connection.

9. Nature and Environment

With the rising threat of climate change, this theme has seen renewed attention in recent decades.

Environmental themes often explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world (oftentimes, for example, showing how small and insignificant we are in comparison to nature).

At the same time, other themes examine the environmental consequences of human action during the age of the anthroposcene.

Themes that explore conflict between man and nature represent one of the key conflicts in literature, such as when a person is challenged by being stuck in the desert or isolated from civilization and nature becomes the main antagonist or challenge to overcome.

Some literature might emphasize the spiritual or therapeutic aspects of nature, as seen in “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau, where Thoreau embarks on a two-year retreat to a cabin in the woods to explore simple living and the natural world. Alternatively, environmental literature, like “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss, uses storytelling to convey warnings about environmental destruction and the importance of conservation.

10. Identity and Belonging

This theme delves into the exploration of the protagonist’s place in society and their personal identity.

The earlier theme of coming of age overlaps significantly here, and so too does the hero’s journey, which commonly examines a hero’s developing sense of self.

Characters in this type of theme might struggle with societal expectations, personal self-discovery, or feelings of alienation, seeking a place or group where they feel they belong.

“Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison, for instance, explores the protagonist’s struggle to define his identity within a society that refuses to see him as an individual rather than a racial stereotype. Similarly, “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan navigates the complexities of cultural identity and generational differences among a group of Chinese-American women and their immigrant mothers.

11. Good versus Evil

One of the most fundamental themes in literature, good vs evil features a clear conflict between forces of good and forces of evil.

This theme often pits heroes against villains in a struggle that often represents larger moral, philosophical, or societal issues.

One of my complaints about many contemporary ‘pop lit’ and blockbuster films is that they fail to adequately examine the subjectivity of this false dichotomy – good vs evil themes are at their best when ‘evil’ is an elusive concept, and where we even are able to empathize with the evil character while still seeing the wrongs in their views.

J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series is a prime example, with Harry Potter and his friends constantly fighting against the dark wizard Lord Voldemort and his followers. The struggle between good and evil also underlies C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

12. Freedom and Confinement

This theme highlights the dichotomy between the desire for freedom and the reality of confinement.

Confinement might be physical, such as imprisonment or slavery, or it could be psychological, stemming from societal expectations or personal fears.

The ‘freedom’ element might emerge as a wistful theme, as in many coming-of-age narratives about the young character wanting to escape their hometown confines and beat culture narratives of the 1950s; or it might emerge as a struggle with physical constraint, such as themes surrounding imprisoned POWs.

“The Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King, for example, explores both the physical confinement of prison and the ways in which characters can find freedom despite their circumstances. Similarly, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey features characters confined in a mental institution, highlighting their struggle for autonomy against oppressive authority.

13. Rebellion and Conformity

This theme centers on the tension between individual freedom and societal norms.

Characters might challenge authority, resist societal expectations, or fight against oppressive systems. (Here, we’re looking at strong overlap with the man vs society conflict narrative).

The theme may also explore an individual’s rebellion against a cult or religious group which they wish to escape, rebellion against parents, or search for an extraordinary life in an ordinary world. Sometimes, characters return to their roots, embracing conformity, while others escape the orbit or their cultural norms , achieving freedom through rebellion.

In Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” the protagonist, Guy Montag, rebels against a dystopian society that has outlawed books and free thought. Montag’s transformation from a conformist fireman who burns books to a rebel who seeks knowledge demonstrates the struggle between conformity and rebellion.

14. Innocence and Experience

The theme of innocence vs experience often demonstrates a transition from a naive idealism to wisdom earned through experience .

For example, this theme may also explore the transition from the naivety of childhood to the disillusionment of adulthood.

Characters often face harsh realities or undergo experiences that shatter their innocence and lead them towards a more complex understanding of the world.

In “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, a group of boys stranded on an uninhabited island gradually lose their innocence as their attempts at creating a society descend into savagery.

15. Reality versus Illusion

This theme investigates the nature of reality and the power of illusion.

Characters might grapple with distinguishing between what is real and what is not. In these situations, the story may play with the reader, not even allowing the reader an objective vision of what’s true and what not (such as in the unreliable narrator trope).

Similarly, the theme might explore how characters intentionally choose illusion over reality to escape unpleasant circumstances.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” explores this theme through the character of Jay Gatsby, who constructs a grand illusion of wealth and social status to win the love of Daisy Buchanan. Similarly, in “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, Blanche DuBois often retreats into her fantasies, unable to cope with her harsh reality.

16. The Search for Self-Identity

The theme of self-identity revolves around the process of understanding oneself, and it often involves characters undergoing significant personal growth or change.

This theme often begins with characters experiencing a sense of unease or dissatisfaction with their present circumstances or sense of self.

This feeling of discomfort acts as a catalyst for the characters to embark on a quest for self-identity, an inner journey often mirrored by an outward physical journey or experience.

Example in Literature

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor Samsa wakes up one day to find himself transformed into a monstrous insect. This shocking transformation forces him to reassess his identity, no longer defined by his role as a family provider, and navigate the alienation from his family and society.

17. The Injustice of Social Class

This theme explores the division of society into different social classes and the resulting inequity and conflict.

One of my favorite American authors, John Steinbeck, explores this theme in much of his literature. He takes the perspective of working-class Americans, examining how corporate interests make their life hard, how fellow Americans discriminate against them, and how they persevere through the relationships they build with other people in their social class.

In “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, the theme of social class is prevalent, influencing characters’ attitudes, behavior, and prospects for marriage. The story continually highlights the injustices of a rigid class system , such as the Bennet sisters’ limited prospects due to their lower social status and lack of dowries.

18. Isolation and Loneliness

The theme of isolation involves characters experiencing physical or emotional separation from others.

This isolation can be self-wrought, caused by an individual’s actions or decisions, or externally imposed, such as societal exclusion, geographical displacement, or unforeseen circumstances.

This theme explores the various forms and impacts of isolation, offering a deep dive into the psychological and emotional ramifications it has on individuals.

I am often compelled by storylines that use physical isolation as a metaphor for the sense of loneliness and isolatedness within the hearts and minds of the protagonists.

In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” the creature, despite his desire for companionship, is shunned and rejected by society because of his monstrous appearance. This isolation leads to profound loneliness and ultimately, a desire for revenge against his creator, Victor Frankenstein.

19. Survival

This theme is often explored in literature through characters facing extreme conditions or challenges that test their will to survive.

There is generally a conflict here, which could be man vs nature (surviving the elements), man vs man (surviving against a foe), or even man vs technology (fighting against rogue technology, such as in Terminator ).

Survival themes can be a window into exploration of the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit against the odds.

In “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, the protagonist Pi Patel finds himself stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Pi must use his intelligence and faith to survive in this hostile environment, with the story exploring themes of resilience, faith, and the human will to live.

20. The Human Condition

This theme delves into the shared experiences of being human, exploring a wide range of emotions, relationships, and moral dilemmas .

This theme is an examination of the joys, sorrows, conflicts, and complexities that define the human experience.

This theme has been prevalent in literature across all ages and cultures, as it captures the universality of human experiences, making it timeless and deeply relatable.

The human condition looks at the constants in human life, such as birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, mortality, and how these shape our individual and collective experiences.

Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” provides a complex and insightful exploration of the human condition. Through its diverse cast of characters, the novel delves into various facets of humanity, such as love, infidelity, societal pressure, and the search for meaning in life.

21. The American Dream (Illusory or Real?)

This theme critiques the idealized vision of the American Dream — the belief that anyone can achieve success and prosperity through hard work.

Some all-American storylines (Like the film Pursuit of Happyness featuring Will Smith) show how the American dream is a worthy ideal .

Similarly, in politics (and even real life, for American nationalists), the American dream is something people hold onto as an ever-present fundamental truth: if you work hard and dream big, you’ll make it in the end. It just takes hard work.

But there are many texts that challenge this idea, demonstrating how the pursuit of the American dream can sometimes be a fickle and pointless task. Below are just two examples.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” the protagonist Jay Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth and social status, driven by his love for Daisy, ultimately leads to his downfall. Similarly, in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman’s obsession with success and social acceptance blinds him to his family’s love, leading to tragedy.

22. The Absurdity of Existence

This theme underpins most texts that emerge out of existentialism and absurdism.

At the core of this theme is the exploration of the idea that life really has no meaning behind it. This can create some engaging and post-modernist texts whose storylines tend to meander, cut back in on themselves, and leave us at the end thinking “what a wild ride!”

This theme will tend to bring to the fore the chaotic, irrational, and meaningless features of a storyline.

In “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, the protagonist Meursault’s indifferent reaction to his mother’s death, his senseless murder of an Arab, and his subsequent philosophical musings in prison all point to the absurdity and meaninglessness of life.

I explore 5 more examples of existential literature here.

23. The Power of Faith

This theme looks at the role of faith or belief systems in shaping our lives and experiences.

While generally based on religion, it could also more generally represent faith in oneself, the journey of life, or family and friends.

Commonly, the theme will explore how having faith – and releasing stress, anxiety, and discontent when faith underpins our worldview – can provide strength, and hope.

For example, we’ll commonly see this theme when exploring an unbelievably tough journey – either physically (e.g. crossing a desert) or psychologically (e.g. coming to terms with death).

A darker turn, however, may demonstrate how faiths can clash and cause conflict.

In “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, the protagonist Pi maintains his religious belief despite his extraordinary circumstances. His faith provides him comfort, hope, and strength to survive his ordeal at sea.

24. The Struggle for Women’s Rights

This theme involves the fight for gender equality, focusing on the experiences, struggles, and triumphs of women in a patriarchal society.

This theme could fit into the category of “protagonist vs society”, or rather “woman vs society!” It generally attempts to reflect real social, cultural, and political circumstances to make a social commentary about current social inequalities and the underlying patriarchy.

It may explore a woman’s attempts to assert her place in society, her struggles with discrimination, or women’s solidarity in the face of an oppressive outside world.

There has been a resurgence of so-called “bonnet dramas” in recent years that explore this theme, harking back to times when the patriarchy was far more overt.

Nevertheless, it can still be used in contemporary literature because, of course, the patriarchy does still exist in many areas of society and women often feel this intensely.

In Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian future is depicted where women are reduced to their reproductive functions, stripped of their rights, and segregated according to their societal roles. The protagonist Offred’s experiences and memories underscore the theme of women’s subjugation and their struggle for autonomy. In contrast, “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott explores this theme through the everyday experiences of the March sisters as they navigate societal expectations and strive for their dreams in 19th century America.

25. Fear of the Unknown

This theme plays on the inherent human fear of the unfamiliar or unknowable and is most commonly employed in horror, drama, and murder mysteries.

The fear of unknown motif is very effective for authors who want to create suspense, dread, or anticipation. By prolonging the mystery of an unknown threat, the author can compel the reader to keep on reading until the suspense is overcome.

This fear could stem from various sources: the future, death, the supernatural, or anything beyond human comprehension. A good example in film is the ongoing narrative of the ‘monster’ in the woods in the hit television series, Lost .

H.P. Lovecraft’s body of work, often grouped as Lovecraftian horror, prominently features this theme. His stories frequently involve characters who encounter cosmic horrors or ancient, malevolent beings that defy human understanding, highlighting the insignificance and vulnerability of humankind in the face of the unknown.

Some Closing Thoughts

There are a few notes worthy of providing as we wrap up this exploration of examples of themes in literature.

First, a theme isn’t usually stated explicitly . Instead, it is revealed gradually through elements such as the actions of characters, their thoughts and dialogue, the setting, and the plot. These elements come together to express the theme or themes of the work. So, as consumers of texts, themes might be bubbling under the surface, ready to surprise us toward the end of our experience, making us finally realize the message our author is presenting us about society or humanity.

Secondly, one literary work can, and often does, contain multiple themes . For example, George Orwell’s “1984” explores themes of totalitarianism, censorship, the manipulation of information, and the loss of individuality and privacy.

So, enjoy playing with themes – whether as a consumer or producer of literary content – and always remember to reflect on how those themes can help us dig ever deeper into an empathetic understanding of the complexity of the human condition.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Essay Topics – List of 500+ Essay Writing Topics and Ideas

List of 500+ essay writing topics and ideas.

Essay topics in English can be difficult to come up with. While writing essays , many college and high school students face writer’s block and have a hard time to think about topics and ideas for an essay. In this article, we will list out many good essay topics from different categories like argumentative essays, essays on technology, environment essays for students from 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades. Following list of essay topics are for all – from kids to college students. We have the largest collection of essays. An essay is nothing but a piece of content which is written from the perception of writer or author. Essays are similar to a story, pamphlet, thesis, etc. The best thing about Essay is you can use any type of language – formal or informal. It can biography, the autobiography of anyone. Following is a great list of 100 essay topics. We will be adding 400 more soon!

But Before that you may wanna read some awesome Essay Writing Tips here .

Get the Huge list of 100+ Speech Topics here

Argumentative Essay Topics

• Should plastic be banned?
• Pollution due to Urbanization
• Education should be free
• Should Students get limited access to the Internet?
• Selling Tobacco should be banned
• Smoking in public places should be banned
• Facebook should be banned
• Students should not be allowed to play PUBG

Essay Topics on Technology

• Wonder Of Science
• Mobile Phone

Essay Topics on Festivals on Events

• Independence Day (15 August)
• Teachers Day
• Summer Vacation
• Children’s Day
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
• Janmashtami
• Republic Day

Essay Topics on Education

• Education Essay
• Importance of Education
• Contribution of Technology in Education

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

• Mahatma Gandhi
• APJ Abdul Kalam
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Swami Vivekananda
• Mother Teresa
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
• Subhash Chandra Bose
• Abraham Lincoln
• Martin Luther King
• Lal Bahadur Shashtri

Essay Topics on Animals and Birds

• My Favorite Animal

Essays Topics About Yourself

• My Best Friend
• My Favourite Teacher
• My Aim In Life
• My Favourite Game – Badminton
• My Favourite Game – Essay
• My Favourite Book
• My Ambition
• How I Spent My Summer Vacation
• India of My Dreams
• My School Life
• I Love My Family
• My Favourite Subject
• My Favourite Game Badminton
• My Father My Hero
• My School Library
• My Favourite Author
• My plans for summer vacation

Essay Topics Based on Environment and Nature

• Global Warming
• Environment
• Air Pollution
• Environmental Pollution
• Water Pollution
• Rainy Season
• Climate Change
• Importance Of Trees
• Winter Season
• Deforestation
• Natural Disasters
• Save Environment
• Summer Season
• Trees Our Best Friend Essay In English

Essay Topics Based on Proverbs

• Health Is Wealth
• A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
• An Apple a Day Keeps Doctor Away
• Where there is a will, there is way
• Time and Tide wait for none

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Essay Topics for Students from 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

• Noise Pollution
• Environment Pollution
• Women Empowerment
• Time and Tide Wait for none
• Science and Technology
• Importance of Sports
• Sports and Games
• Time Management
• Cleanliness is next to Godliness
• Cleanliness
• Rome was not Built in a Day
• Unemployment
• Clean India
• Cow Essay In English
• Describe Yourself
• Festivals Of India
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Healthy Food
• Importance Of Water
• Plastic Pollution
• Value of Time
• Honesty is the Best Policy
• Gandhi Jayanti
• Human Rights
• Knowledge Is Power
• Same Sex Marriage
• Childhood Memories
• Cyber Crime
• Kalpana Chawla
• Punctuality
• Rani Lakshmi Bai
• Spring Season
• Unity In Diversity
• Artificial Intelligence
• Online Shopping
• Indian Culture
• Healthy Lifestyle
• Indian Education System
• Disaster Management
• Environmental Issues
• Freedom Fighters
• Grandparents
• Save Fuel For Better Environment
• Importance Of Newspaper
• Lal Bahadur Shastri
• Raksha Bandhan
• World Environment Day
• Narendra Modi
• What Is Religion
• Charity Begins at Home
• A Journey by Train
• Ideal student
• Save Water Save Earth
• Indian Farmer
• Safety of Women in India
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
• Capital Punishment
• College Life
• Natural Resources
• Peer Pressure
• Nature Vs Nurture
• Romeo And Juliet
• Generation Gap
• Makar Sankranti
• Constitution of India
• Girl Education
• Importance of Family
• Importance of Independence Day
• Brain Drain
• A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed
• Action Speaks Louder Than Words
• All That Glitters Is Not Gold
• Bhagat Singh
• Demonetization
• Agriculture
• Importance of Discipline
• Population Explosion
• Poverty in India
• Uses Of Mobile Phones
• Water Scarcity
• Train Journey
• Land Pollution
• Environment Protection
• Indian Army
• Uses of Internet
• All that Glitters is not Gold
• Balanced Diet
• Blood Donation
• Digital India
• Dussehra Essay
• Energy Conservation
• National Integration
• Railway Station
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Health And Hygiene
• Importance Of Forest
• Indira Gandhi
• Laughter Is The Best Medicine
• Career Goals
• Mental Health
• Save Water Save Life
• International Yoga Day
• Winter Vacation
• Soil Pollution
• Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
• Indian Culture And Tradition
• Unity Is Strength
• Unity is Diversity
• Wildlife Conservation
• Cruelty To Animals
• Nelson Mandela
• Of Mice And Men
• Organ Donation
• Life in a Big City
• Democracy in India
• Waste Management
• Biodiversity
• Afforestation
• Female Foeticide
• Harmful Effects Of Junk Food
• Rain Water Harvesting
• Save Electricity
• Social Media
• Social Networking Sites
• Sound Pollution
• Procrastination
• Life in an Indian Village
• Life in Big City
• Population Growth
• World Population Day
• Greenhouse Effect
• Statue of Unity
• Traffic Jam
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
• Importance of Good Manners
• Good Manners
• Cyber Security
• Green Revolution
• Health And Fitness
• Incredible India
• Make In India
• Surgical Strike
• Triple Talaq
• A Good Friend
• Importance of Friends in our Life
• Should Plastic be Banned
• Nationalism
• Traffic Rules
• Effects of Global Warming
• Fundamental Rights
• Solar System
• National Constitution Day
• Good Mother
• Importance of Trees in our Life
• City Life Vs Village Life
• Importance of Communication
• Conservation of Nature
• Man vs. Machine
• Indian Economy
• Mothers Love
• Importance of National Integration
• Black Money
• Greenhouse effect
• Untouchability
• Self Discipline
• Global Terrorism
• Conservation of Biodiversity
• Newspaper and Its Uses
• World Health Day
• Conservation of Natural Resources
• A Picnic with Family
• Indian Heritage
• Status of Women in India
• Child is Father of the Man
• Reading is Good Habit
• Plastic Bag
• Terrorism in India
• Library and Its Uses
• Life on Mars
• Urbanization
• Pollution Due to Diwali
• National Flag of India
• Vocational Education
• Importance of Tree Plantation
• Summer Camp
• Vehicle Pollution
• Women Education in India
• Seasons in India
• Freedom of the Press
• Caste System
• Environment and Human Health
• Mountain Climbing
• Depletion of Natural Resources
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
• Health Education
• Effects of Deforestation
• Life after School
• Starvation in India
• Jan Dhan Yojana
• Impact of Privatization
• Election Commission of India
• Election and Democracy
• Prevention of Global Warming
• Impact of Cinema in Life
• Subhas Chandra Bose
• Dowry System
• Ganesh Chaturthi Festival
• Role of Science in Making India
• Impact of Global Warming on Oceans
• Pollution due to Festivals
• Ambedkar Jayanti
• Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat
• Family Planning in India
• Democracy vs Dictatorship
• National Festivals of India
• Sri Aurobindo
• Casteism in India
• Organ trafficking
• Consequences of Global Warming
• Role of Human Activities in Global Warming
• Issues and Problems faced by Women in India
• Role of Judiciary in the Country Today
• Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
• PUBG Mobile Game Addiction
• Role of Youths in Nation Building
• Value of Oxygen and Water in Life/Earth
• Farmer Suicides in India
• Start-up India
• Pollution Due to Firecrackers
• Life of Soldiers
• Child Labour
• Save Girl Child
• Morning Walk
• My School Fete
• Essay on Financial Literacy
• Essay On Sustainable Development
• Essay On Punjab
• Essay On Travel
• My Home Essay
• Child Marriage Essay
• Importance Of English Language Essay
• Essay On Mass Media
• Essay On Horse
• Essay On Police
• Essay On Eid
• Essay On Solar Energy
• Animal Essay
• Essay On Mango
• Gender Discrimination Essay
• Essay On Advertisement
• My First Day At School Essay
• My Neighborhood Essay
• True Friendship Essay
• Work Is Worship Essay
• Essay On Self Confidence
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• Essay on Birds
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• Essay on Kargil War
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• Sports Day Essa
• Value Of Education Essay
• Essay On Isro
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Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence

From: National Defence

Backgrounder

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair released Our North, Strong and Free – a defence policy update that responds to the significant global shifts we have witnessed since Canada’s comprehensive defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, was announced in 2017.

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair released Our North, Strong and Free – a defence policy update that responds to the significant global shifts we have witnessed since Canada’s comprehensive defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged , was announced in 2017. It is an investment in Canada, Canadians and our shared values, security, and sovereignty.

The most urgent and important task we face is asserting Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic and northern regions, where the changing physical and geopolitical landscapes have created new threats and vulnerabilities to Canada and Canadians. This includes the need to upgrade our continental defences to threats or defeat them when necessary.

Today, the Prime Minister and Minister Blair announced Canada’s vision and its plan to defend Canadians in this new global environment. The new defence policy sets out to address two core objectives: strengthen the foundations of the CAF and acquire new capabilities to deal with new threats.

To deliver on our renewed vision for defence outlined in the policy, we need to provide the members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) with the tools, equipment, and training they need to keep Canada and Canadians safe in an increasingly unpredictable world, and to support them on the home front.

The new investments in Our North, Strong and Free will ensure that Canada can deliver on this vision. Defence investments in Budget 2024 are expected to bring Canada’s defence spending-to- GDP ratio to 1.76% by 2029-30, a significant step forward in our efforts to reach the NATO commitment of 2% to which we agreed at the Vilnius Summit in 2023. The initiatives under this defence policy also put Canada on track to exceed NATO’s target of 20% for major equipment expenditures as a proportion of defence funding.

Canada will invest $8.1 billion over the next five years, and $73 billion over the next 20 years, in our national defence over six major themes to:

• support our people ;
• strengthen our foundations ;
• build an innovative industrial base ;
• defend Canada ;
• defend North America ; and
• defend Canada’s global interests and values .

Supporting Our People

Supporting caf members and families.

• $295 million over 20 years to establish a CAF housing strategy, build new housing, and rehabilitate existing housing so CAF members have safe and affordable places to call home where they and their families are posted.
• $497 million over 20 years to accelerate development of an electronic health record platform to improve the continuity of care as CAF members move between provinces and territories.
• $100 million over five years to improve childcare access for CAF personnel on bases across Canada.

Reforming Personnel Management Policies

• We will explore adjusting personnel policies related to compensation and benefits, human resources, leave, and other supports for work-life balance for those in uniform. Our current framework was put in place decades ago and does not address the expectations and realities of today’s members.

Strengthening our Foundation

Maintaining and renewing national defence infrastructure.

• Investing $10.2 billion over 20 years in current and new infrastructure to support the required tempo of training, operations, and day-to-day military activities. These investments will range from asset maintenance and repair to other improvements to military facilities, such as piers and runways.

Civilian Capacity

• $1.8 billion over 20 years to increase the number of civilian specialists in priority areas to accelerate and improve the purchase of new equipment, recruit, and train new soldiers, and upgrade our infrastructure, among others.

Building an Innovative Defence Industrial Base

Sustaining military equipment.

• $9.0 billion over 20 years to sustain military equipment under the National Procurement Program to ensure the CAF can continue to receive the critical updates necessary to preserve its ability deploy on operations.

Ammunition Supply and Production

• $9.5 billion over 20 years to accelerate the establishment of new artillery ammunition production capacity in Canada and invest in a strategic supply of ammunition. Artillery ammunition is becoming increasingly difficult to procure abroad – and this production capacity will help meet the ammunition demands of Canada and our closest allies while creating skilled jobs for Canadian workers for the long term and generating economic benefits for Canadian communities. The CAF will also establish a greater strategic reserve of battle-decisive munitions. Canada needs adequate stockpiles of munitions to meet its defence and security commitments during a crisis or conflict, and industry needs clarity from government about future acquisitions to set up production lines. This production line will also help replenish CAF ammunition previously donated to Ukraine.

NATO Innovation Fund

• $107 million over 20 years for Canada’s participation in the newly established NATO Innovation Fund, which will offer additional funding streams for innovative Canadian entrepreneurs. The Fund is the world’s first defence-focused multi-sovereign venture capital fund, providing investment in start-up firms developing dual-use, emerging and disruptive technologies critical to our defence.

Defending Canada

Specialized maritime sensors.

• $1.4 billion over 20 years to acquire specialized maritime sensors to conduct ocean surveillance. They will be used to monitor Canada’s maritime approaches, including in the Arctic and North, and will be a critical component of the CAFs’ ability to defend Canada from a growing range and sophistication of underwater threats including vessel-launched missiles, underwater systems, ships, and submarines.

Satellite Ground Station

• $222 million over 20 years to build a new satellite ground station in the Arctic. This ground station will improve our ability to detect, deter and respond to malign activities and to communicate those threats quickly with our most trusted partners.

Tactical Helicopters

• $18.4 billion over 20 years to acquire a more modern, mobile, and effective tactical helicopter capability. It will provide the CAF with the speed and airlift capacity to assert Canada’s sovereignty and respond to natural disasters and emergencies throughout the country.

Northern Operational Support Hubs

• $218 million over 20 years for Northern Operational Support Hubs. These will better ensure Canadian sovereignty by establishing a greater year-round presence across the Arctic and the North, and investing in multi-use infrastructure that also meets the needs of the territories, Indigenous peoples, and Northern communities.

Enhancing Canada’s Intelligence and Cyber Operations

• $2.8 billion over 20 years to stand up a joint Canadian cyber operations capability with the Communications Security Establishment, integrating the unique strengths of each organization into a unified team that will conduct active cyber operations in support of Canadian interests.

Renew and Expand Submarine Fleet

• We will explore options for renewing and expanding our submarine fleet to enable the Royal Canadian Navy to project a persistent deterrent on all three coasts, with under-ice capable, conventionally powered submarines.

All-terrain Vehicles for Arctic Mobility

• We will explore options to acquire new vehicles adapted to ice, snow, and tundra. These versatile, all-terrain vehicles would be able to operate effectively in all Arctic terrains and climate conditions. These vehicles would allow the military to maintain awareness in remote regions and along Canada’s entire coastline, and better respond to unauthorized activity.

Enable Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels to Operate Helicopters

• We will explore options for enabling our Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels to embark and operate our maritime helicopters at sea.

Defending North America

Airborne early warning aircraft.

• $307 million over 20 years for airborne early warning aircraft that will vastly improve Canada’s ability to detect, track and prioritize airborne threats sooner, and respond faster, and to better coordinate our response with the United States when required. They will allow Canada to continue making meaningful contributions to NORAD while also supporting allies and partners globally.

Long-Range Land Missiles

• $2.7 billion over 20 years to acquire long-range missile capabilities to enable our forces to deter threats to Canada from an appropriate distance and reach targets at greater ranges than our adversaries in combat.

Contribution to Integrated Air and Missile Defence

• We will explore options to ensure our new airborne early warning and control aircraft and previously announced platforms such as the Canadian Surface Combatants can contribute to efforts with our allies to defeat new missiles that move faster and in more unpredictable patterns.

Ground Based Air Defences to Defend Critical Infrastructure

• We will explore options for acquiring ground-based air defences to defend critical infrastructure from a diverse array of incoming airborne attacks, including drones, missiles, and artillery.

Long-Range Air and Sea Missiles

• We will explore options to acquire long-range air- and sea-launched missiles to enable our forces to deter threats to Canada from an appropriate distance and reach targets at greater ranges than our adversaries in combat.

Defending Canada’s Global Interests and Values

Sustaining naval vessels.

• $9.9 billion over 20 years to improve the sustainment of our naval fleets. This will include extending the life of the Halifax-class frigates and preserving the Royal Canadian Navy’s interim at-sea replenishment capability. These investments will help Canada maintain a globally deployable naval fleet capable of supporting NATO and engaging in operations, exercises, training, and defence diplomacy with key allies and partners, among other activities.

Worldwide Satellite Communications

• $5.5 billion over 20 years to acquire a comprehensive worldwide satellite communication capability. Working with our allies, we will jointly develop updated access to the satellite constellations that enable the military to operate effectively around the world, including by better defending its communications against jamming or disruptions by adversaries while deployed.

Modern Artillery Capabilities

• We will explore options for modernizing our artillery capabilities, which will significantly improve the protection of our deployed personnel by providing them with the capacity to strike enemy positions from farther away and in a greater number of directions.

Upgrade or Replace Main Battle Tanks

• We will explore options for upgrading or replacing our main battle tanks, which continue to have a decisive effect on the modern battlefield and remain key to conducting land operations against conventional militaries with advanced capabilities.

Upgrade or Replace Light Armoured Vehicles

• We will explore options for upgrading or replacing our light armoured vehicle fleet and establishing a production program to replenish our fleet while also enabling industry to invest in a sustainable defence production capacity to support Canada and our NATO allies.

Surveillance and Strike Drones and Counter-Drone Capabilities

• We will explore options for acquiring a suite of surveillance and strike drones and counter-drone capabilities.

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