In this Collection, we've gathered together a selection of fictional and real-life narratives that share the theme of Challenging Authority. These selections feature protagonists and real-world figures who stand up to both powerful individuals and oppressive systems in an array of cultural and historical settings.
Publication year 1914
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Fathers, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Education, Education, History: World
Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by Irish writer James Joyce. Originally published in 1914, the collection met resistance from publishers and critics due to its controversial themes and unusual portrayal of the everyday. Dubliners follows a range of people living in the titular city, often seeking some form of social or emotional transcendence without ever truly achieving it.This study guide is for the 1965 paperback edition from Penguin Modern Classics.Content Warning: This... Read Dubliners Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Disability, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Psychological Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Duma Key by Stephen King is a novel in the literary-horror genre, praised for its eerie, spooky atmosphere and suspenseful build-up. Published in 2008, Duma Key is the first novel by King to be set in Florida. The book follows Edgar Freemantle as he moves from Minnesota to the island of Duma (one of the Florida Keys, or small islands) after a life-changing accident. Tormented by phantom-limb pain from his amputation and unable to remember... Read Duma Key Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Education, Education, History: World, Politics / Government, Race / Racism, Sociology, Social Justice, Health / Medicine
Publication year 1949
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Survival Fiction, Action / Adventure, Classic Fiction
Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart, was originally published in 1949. The novel was one of the first of the post-apocalyptic science-fiction genre and a direct inspiration for Stephen King’s 1978 dark-fantasy novel The Stand.Stewart’s novel is unique given its historical context. Written during the early years of the Cold War when the threat of nuclear annihilation loomed in the American mind, the narrative portrays a world devastated not by bombs but by microscopic organisms—a... Read Earth Abides Summary
Publication year 1843
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Economics, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government
Tags Business / Economics, Philosophy, Politics / Government, History: World, Education, Education, Sociology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Self Help, Philosophy, Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Romance, Fantasy, Mythology
Publication year 1991
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Children's Literature, Education, Education, American Literature
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Southern Literature, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism
Ellen Foster is a work of adult fiction by US novelist Kaye Gibbons, first published by Algonquin Books in 1987. The novel was Gibbons’s debut, and it won the Sue Kaufman Prize for literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a notable citation from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. Critics praised the novel for its unsentimental outlook and the wry, distinct voice of its protagonist. Ellen, a young girl living in the American... Read Ellen Foster Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Business / Economics, Science / Nature, Leadership/Organization/Management, History: World, Biography
Publication year 1999
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Society: War, Society: Colonialism
Tags History: Asian, WWII / World War II, Politics / Government, Military / War, Asian Literature, History: World, Japanese Literature
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Class
Tags American Literature, Humor, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction
In Empire Falls, published in 2001, award-winning author Richard Russo focuses his sharp observations on family, faith, and hope for the future in small-town America, where the factories have left, the populations are dwindling, and the prospects are shrinking. Miles Roby almost got out of Empire Falls, but his mother’s illness brought him back a semester shy of graduating college. Now he runs the Empire Grill, a landmark that still anchors the dying town, and... Read Empire Falls Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: Class, Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Health / Medicine, Politics / Government, History: U.S., Addiction / Substance Abuse, Business / Economics, Crime / Legal, Finance / Money / Wealth, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science / Nature, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Indigenous, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Magical Realism, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 2023
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags History: European, Politics / Government, Sociology, British Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2023
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Biography
Publication year 2002
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Children's Literature
Eragon (2003), an epic fantasy novel in the style of Lord of the Rings, is the first book in the four-part Inheritance Cycle by author Christopher Paolini. Paolini wrote the first draft of Eragon at age 15. After spending an additional year revising and polishing the work, he showed it to his parents, who agreed to self-publish the novel in 2001. Afterward, Paolini actively promoted the book by traveling to 135 schools and libraries around... Read Eragon Summary
Publication year 1985
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Life/Time: Aging, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Objects, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction