This study used four novels by Hermann Hesse as models to illustrate for secondary school English teachers a thematic analysis of the search for identity motif using the triadic view of individual growth. The novels are "Peter Camenzind,""Beneath the Wheel,""Demian," and "Siddhartha." In summary, this study (1) found that analysis of the question of identity in fiction shows the importance of selecting literature which reflects student problems and interests and which can aid students in self-understanding; (2) gives insight into the characteristics of the identity theme and suggests that analysis of these novels through the triadic view of individual growth may yield generalizations about other novels employing the identity theme; (3) should initiate new perspectives about this theme for both teachers and students. The importance of the search for identity as one of youth's most basic concerns and as one of literature's most characteristic subjects emphasizes the need for possible extensions of this study. (Author/DI)