This thematic collection covers texts that investigate the particularly fraught dynamics and divisions of class, including Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Ernesto Galarza's Barrio Boy.
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Gender / Feminism
Publication year 2013
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Satire, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Relationships, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Tenth of December: Stories (2013) is American author George Saunders’s fourth short story collection. Saunders is widely regarded as one of the modern masters of the short story form, and this collection features stories written between 1995 and 2012, some of which were previously published in various literary outlets. The book was a bestseller and was widely praised on release, winning both the Story Prize and the Folio Prize. This guide refers to the 2013... Read Tenth of December Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, New Adult
Publication year 1891
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Society: Community, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride
Tags Romance, Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period
Tess of the D’Urbervilles is Victorian writer Thomas Hardy’s 12th novel. It was first published in 1891 as a serial in the newspaper The Graphic; this serialized publication was followed by a three-volume edition in 1891 and a single volume in 1892. Like many of Hardy’s other realist novels, Tess is set in the fictional, southwestern English region of Wessex, using fictional locations closely modelled after real ones. Hardy’s sympathetic portrayal of a young woman... Read Tess of the D'Urbervilles Summary
Publication year 1979
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Class
Tags Realistic Fiction, Relationships, Animals
In small town Oklahoma during the 1970s, a rough-and-tumble teenager learns to navigate the world with his older brother and a mostly absent father in S. E. Hinton’s young adult fiction novel Tex. Published in 1979, the book was subsequently made into a popular movie starring young Matt Dillon in the title role. Hinton herself has written that Texas McCormick is the favorite of all her iconic characters, so good natured and even tempered that... Read Tex Summary
Publication year 1953
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Class, Self Discovery
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, American Literature, Jewish Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
The Adventures of Augie March is a 1953 novel by Saul Bellow. In the novel, Bellow’s third, the eponymous title character chronicles his eventful life from an underprivileged childhood in Chicago to his waning wanderlust in Paris. The novel is critically acclaimed and won the 1954 National Book Award for Fiction. Bellow was a lauded author in his lifetime, winning prestigious awards like the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution... Read The Adventures of Augie March Summary
Publication year 1956
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Class, Children's Literature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, History: World, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publication year 1920
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Midlife
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Class, Love / Sexuality, Gilded Age, American Literature, Gender / Feminism, History: World, Romance
American writer Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel The Age Of Innocence (1920) was a post-armistice reflection on the 1870s New York society of her youth. Wharton, an American who lived abroad in Paris, was already the successful author of other novels, including The House of Mirth (1905) and Ethan Frome (1911).In a The New York Times article, Elif Batuman reflects that “eventually, each classic tells two stories: its own, and the story of all the... Read The Age of Innocence Summary
Publication year 1610
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Teams
Tags British Literature, Play: Historical, Play: Comedy / Satire, Satire, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, Renaissance, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Humor, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2003
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Nation, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Class, Society: Immigration, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & Government
Tags History: U.S., Immigration / Refugee, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, American Revolution, American Civil War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Colonial America, Sociology, Education, Education, Business / Economics, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts / Culture
The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, originally published in 2003 by Oxford University Press, is a popular history book by American cultural historian Jim Cullen. As an overview and critical analysis of the American Dream, this book adds some meat to the bones of a traditionally ambiguous concept. Cullen maintains an optimistic outlook about the usefulness of the various American Dreams and about the promise of America, despite... Read The American Dream Summary
Publication year 1895
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil
Tags Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality, Science / Nature, Class, WWI / World War I
Publication year 1977
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Philosophy, Education, Social Justice
Publication year 1950
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Identity: Language, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos
Tags Play: Drama, Absurdism, French Literature
La Cantatrice Chauve, translated to The Bald Soprano in English, is a 1950 absurdist play by Eugène Ionesco and a seminal work of the Theatre of the Absurd movement. Ionesco was famously inspired to write the play while learning English from an Assimil language primer, in which cliché English characters having artificial conversations and reciting basic facts of life soon began to take on absurd philosophical meaning for the playwright. The Bald Soprano was Ionesco’s... Read The Bald Soprano Summary
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Environment, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Futurism
white... Read The Bar Code Tattoo Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Irish Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Class
Tags Romance, Southern Literature, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy
The Best of Me (2010) is a love story by the best-selling American author Nicholas Sparks. It was adapted into a feature film by the same name in 2014. The novel is about the conflict-ridden love story between Dawson Cole and Amanda Colliers, high school lovers who were separated by social circumstances. Twenty-five years later, they get together to honor the memory of Tuck Hostetler, a father-figure who was their silent supporter and well-wisher. Once... Read The Best of Me Summary
Publication year 1827
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Romance, Italian Literature, History: World
The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi), published in 1827 and revised in 1842, is a historical novel by Italian author Alessandro Manzoni. The novel follows two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, in 1600s Lombardy; their courtship is derailed by a jealous plot to prevent their marriage, ultimately leading them to the plague-stricken city of Milan, where they face many struggles. The Betrothed is heralded as one of the most important and widely read Italian novels. This... Read The Betrothed Summary
Publication year 2004
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Class
Tags History: European, Health / Medicine, Science / Nature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, History: World, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1967
Genre Novella, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Class
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Relationships, Religion / Spirituality, American Literature, Children's Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Action / Adventure
American author Scott O’Dell’s The Black Pearl is a young adult novel and bildungsroman (coming-of-age story) that was first published in 1967. The Black Pearl was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal, which recognizes distinguished American children’s literature. The work’s literary influences include Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and John Steinbeck’s The Pearl—another novel set among the pearl divers of La Paz. Scott O’Dell is best known for historical children’s fiction and his novel Island of... Read The Black Pearl Summary
Publication year 1979
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger