Theme Connections: Identity

Connecting Stories Through Theme: Exploring Identity Across Texts

One theme. Four stories. Multiple perspectives.

Theme is one of those literary concepts students encounter again and again. We ask them to identify it, support it with evidence, and explain how an author develops it.

But what happens when we stop looking at theme within just one story?

Some of the most meaningful conversations about literature can happen when students encounter the same big idea across very different texts.

Identity is a perfect place to begin.

Who are we? What shapes the way we see ourselves? How much of our identity comes from within—and how much is influenced by our families, cultures, relationships, experiences, and the expectations of others?

There isn’t one story that can answer those questions.

And that’s exactly the point.

One Theme. Different Stories.

Teaching several short stories through one central theme gives students an opportunity to move beyond simply identifying theme and begin considering how different authors explore similar ideas in completely different ways.

It also opens the door to something I think we need much more of in the ELA classroom: meaningful differentiation without completely separating students’ learning experiences.

Every student doesn’t necessarily need to read the same text in order to wrestle with the same important question.

Instead, we can choose stories with different levels of complexity, different characters, and different perspectives—and give students a common idea around which to gather.

For an exploration of identity, these four stories create an especially interesting progression.

Seventh Grade — Gary Soto

Accessible

Victor wants what so many middle school students want: to fit in, be noticed, and make a particular impression on the people around him.

That makes Seventh Grade an accessible entry point into a much larger conversation about identity:

How does the desire to fit in and impress others influence the way we present ourselves?

Students can begin with a situation that feels familiar and use it to consider the difference between who we are and who we sometimes try to be.

Names/Nombres — Julia Alvarez

Accessible–Intermediate

Names/Nombres moves the conversation from fitting in to the complicated relationship between identity, culture, language, and belonging.

The text invites students to consider:

How do our names, language, family, and culture shape the way we see ourselves—and the way others see us?

Now identity becomes more complex. It isn’t simply about how we present ourselves. It’s also about the parts of ourselves we carry with us—and what happens when those parts meet the expectations of a different world.

Marigolds — Eugenia Collier

Intermediate–Advanced

With Marigolds, the exploration shifts again.

This time, identity is connected to experience, maturity, and change.

Lizabeth’s story gives students an opportunity to think about the moments that alter our understanding of ourselves and the people around us.

How do difficult experiences and growing up change the way we understand ourselves and the world around us?

It’s a natural progression from Who am I? toward the more complicated question of How do I become who I am?

The Scarlet Ibis — James Hurst

Advanced

The Scarlet Ibis takes the conversation into even more challenging territory through ideas about love, pride, expectations, acceptance, and relationships.

Students can consider:

How can love, pride, and expectations shape the way we see others—and ultimately, ourselves?

Here, identity isn’t explored in isolation. It becomes intertwined with another person’s expectations and with the uncomfortable gap that can exist between accepting someone as they are and wanting them to become someone different.

Different Texts. Shared Thinking.

This is where teaching through thematic connections becomes particularly powerful.

Students don’t have to read the same story to engage in the same meaningful literary work.

Different texts can provide appropriate levels of challenge while the shared theme keeps the class intellectually connected.

Some students might work with Seventh Grade. Others may be ready for the complexity of Marigolds or The Scarlet Ibis. You might also use the stories sequentially, allowing the thinking to become increasingly sophisticated as students move through the texts.

Either way, the goal isn’t to give one group an “easy” assignment and another a “hard” one.

The goal is to create different pathways into the same meaningful conversation.

One Essential Question

Bring all four texts together around one question:

How do our experiences, relationships, culture, and desire to belong shape who we are and who we become?

Suddenly, students have something much richer to discuss.

A student who read Names/Nombres can bring culture and language into the conversation. A student who read Seventh Grade can talk about belonging and self-presentation. Marigolds introduces experience and maturity, while The Scarlet Ibis complicates the conversation through relationships, expectations, and acceptance.

After reading, students can come together to compare characters, examine perspectives, make thematic connections, and consider how different authors develop ideas about identity.

And now we’re no longer simply asking:

What is the theme of this story?

We’re asking students to think about what literature has to say about being human.