Texas Gateway: Compare/contrast Themes and Genres in Literary Texts

Determining the theme is not easy; you have to use the clues the author leaves to figure it out yourself. The author implies information about the story through plot points, setting, and characters. You infer and draw conclusions based on those bits of information. Keep in mind that this imply/infer relationship comes in handy when you analyze literature for almost any purpose: theme, characterization, motif, genre, etc.