Understanding Theme and the Process

How to get to the theme:
1) Brainstorm the main idea of the novel.
2) What question does the author ask us to think about these ideas?
3) Think big picture and try to think of how the play answers the question.

Example:
1) prejudices
2) How do prejudices change an individuals' images?
3) Prejudices can cause a segregated individual to loose social status in a society.

What is a theme?
-big picture (universal)
-life lessons
-debatable
-messages
-prevalent throughout the entire book
-a statement (not an individual word, should read like a complete sentence when taken out of the thesis)

Annotations

What characterizes effective annotation?
-Shows how YOU think, not just what's happening
-Specific, elaborate, should be detailed
-Shows significance
-Does not capture that which will not contribute to understanding or analysis (i.e. reaction, questions)
-Finding the meaning of something you think may be important but do not understand (for example translating different languages)
-Keeps out the reactions and opinions
-Is well-organized, which may even include something such as color-coding
-Text to text connections should be included because they help to predict where the story/character may be going
-Is specific to the purpose of reading and digs deep into a couple concepts, don't try to focus on every idea possible.