Community

A community can come together for the common good or be torn apart by disagreement and strife. This collection explores what makes a community and how individuals struggle or succeed in finding their place within it.

Publication year 1991

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Race, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, American Literature


Publication year 1987

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community

Tags Health / Medicine, Science / Nature, Sociology, History: World, LGBTQ, Politics / Government

And The Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic is a work of investigative reporting by Randy Shilts, a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle. Shilts covered the AIDS epidemic from 1982 for the only newspaper willing to give its full attention to the epidemic. Shilts examines the roots of AIDS beginning in 1976 to two events and focuses on the mysterious illness of a Danish physician working in Africa, Dr. Grethe Rask. Before... Read And The Band Played On Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Lyric Poem


Publication year 1913

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Society: Nation, Identity: Race, Society: Community

Tags Education, Education, British Literature, Irish Literature, Arts / Culture, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1882

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Community

Tags Play: Drama, Classic Fiction, Scandinavian Literature

IntroductionHenrik Ibsen, a well-known Norwegian playwright who is often lauded as the founder of modern drama, wrote An Enemy of the People in 1882. It is an example of Ibsen’s starkly realist, late-career style. Ibsen’s works were very popular throughout his life, but often drew criticism due to their frank discussion of political and social problems in 19th-century Norwegian society. Two years prior he had released the most controversial work of his career, Ghosts, which... Read An Enemy of the People Summary


Publication year 1974

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Gender / Feminism, Social Justice, Race / Racism, Politics / Government, Civil Rights / Jim Crow

Angela Davis: An Autobiography, originally published in 1974, is a political autobiography focused on the imprisonment and trial of activist and scholar Angela Davis in the early 1970s. In 1970, after guns belonging to Davis were used in an uprising at the Marin County Courthouse in California, Davis was accused and convicted of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. A jury acquitted Davis of all charges in 1972. She published her autobiography two years later to center... Read Angela Davis Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance


Publication year 2000

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Society: Community, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Memoir / Autobiography, Southern Literature, History: U.S., Politics / Government


Publication year 1955

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Technology, History: U.S., Biography, Action / Adventure, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1945

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Community

Tags Satire, History: European, Politics / Government, Philosophy, Animals, Post-War Era, Allegory / Fable / Parable, British Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Education, Education, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Published in 1945, Animal Farm by George Orwell (1903-1950) achieved immediate success and remains one of Orwell’s most popular works. A political satire in the guise of a moving and whimsical animal fable, the novella is about a group of farm animals who overthrow their owner, Mr. Jones, and establish animal rule. Although the animals start with high hopes for Animal Farm as a harmonious and just utopia where “all animals are equal” (19), it... Read Animal Farm Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Education, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: The Future, Society: Community, Natural World: Place, Society: Colonialism

Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Education, Military / War, Anthropology, Colonial America, Class, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, History: World


Publication year 2010

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: Community

Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Poverty, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Children's Literature, Biography

Author Laura Schroff’s 2012 New York Times bestseller An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny recounts a fateful meeting between two vastly different individuals: Maurice, a young boy living in poverty and a broken home, and Schroff, a successful ad executive enjoying a fast-paced career. In the memoir, the author posits that an invisible thread joins their lives. It is beyond her... Read An Invisible Thread Summary


Publication year 1849

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Community

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Love / Sexuality, Education, Education, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, American Literature, Gothic Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction

The last poem Edgar Allan Poe—infamous poet and fiction author of the macabre—completed during his tumultuous life, “Annabel Lee,” was first published in the New York Tribune in 1849, two days after Poe’s death. Displaying the melodic lyricism, gothic overtones, and memorable imagery which informed so much of Poe’s work, “Annabel Lee” is considered one of the defining entries in his canon, and a classic of 19th century American poetry.The poem concerns the death of... Read Annabel Lee Summary


Publication year 1909

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Anne of Avonlea, the second novel in the Anne of Green Gables series, is the heralded sequel that brings readers back to the second chapter in Anne Shirley’s life from age 16 to 18. First published in 1909 by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea is set in the latter part of the 19th century in fictional Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Filled with many familiar characters from the first... Read Anne of Avonlea Summary


Publication year 1936

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Class, Society: Community

Tags Philosophy, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Asian Literature, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Indian Literature, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Romance


Publication year 1938

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Self Discovery

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Philosophy, Education, Education, Philosophy, Politics / Government

Anthem is a short novella written by Ayn Rand and published in 1938. Rand is known for her polarizing fiction, which includes the well-known novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. She is also known as the founder of a controversial philosophy known as Objectivism. In 1987, Anthem won the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Hall of Fame Award. Since its publication, the novella has been met with mixed reviews due to the controversy around its Objectivist themes... Read Anthem Summary


Publication year 1940

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy

Tags Modernism, The Lost Generation, Relationships


Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Family, Society: Immigration, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Arts / Culture

Tony Johnston’s Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio is a young adult novel originally published in 2001 by Scholastic, Inc. As a meditation on the value of friendship, family, and community, the novel centers the Mexican American Rodriguez family as they adapt to life in a lower-income Los Angeles barrio (Spanish for “neighborhood”). In school, their son Arturo bonds with other Mexican American students, joining them as they reclaim their Mexican roots. Ever... Read Any Small Goodness Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Relationships, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

Anything Is Possible is a 2017 novel by Elizabeth Strout in which each chapter features a character who is separate from but interconnects with the book’s other characters. Each chapter thus serves as both an autonomous short story and a piece of a larger, cohesive narrative and echoes or parallels other chapters.Strout, whose 2008 novel Olive Kitteridge won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, received the prestigious Story Prize for Anything Is Possible. The novel follows... Read Anything Is Possible Summary