Publication year 1995
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Safety & Danger
Tags Relationships, American Literature, US History, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
American Literature
This collection is designed for teachers and professors creating or revising a comprehensive American Literature syllabus. We’ve gathered study guides on classic novels, plays, and poems by some of the most frequently taught American writers, such as Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Toni Morrison, and Louise Glück. If you’re looking for more contemporary texts, like Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam or The Color of Water by James McBride, you’ll find those here, too!
Independence Day
Indian Camp
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities
Infinite Country
Infinite Jest
Ingram
Interior Chinatown
In the Heat of the Night
In This Place (An American Lyric)
Into The Wild
Introduction to Poetry
Intruder In The Dust
Invisible Man
Ironweed
I Sit and Look Out
It won’t be a bullet
Jazz
Jesus' Son
Jews Without Money
Jitterbug Perfume
Publication year 1995
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Safety & Danger
Tags Relationships, American Literature, US History, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1924
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Colonialism, Masculinity, Death
Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Education, Education, World History
One of his several short stories set in Northern Michigan, “Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was first published in a 1924 issue of the Parisian literary magazine Transatlantic Review. The next year, “Indian Camp” was included in Hemingway’s first story collection, In Our Time. “Indian Camp” has since become one of Hemingway’s most heavily anthologized works. Based partly on Hemingway’s visits to Petoskey, Michigan, during childhood and young adulthood, “Indian Camp” follows young Nick... Read Indian Camp Summary
Publication year 1938
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Nostalgia, Mental Health, Aging, Coming of Age
Tags Jewish Literature, US History, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Immigration, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mythology, Immigration & Refugeeism, Social Justice, Politics & Government, Relationships, American Literature, Latin American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1996
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Satirical Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Humor, Postmodernism, American Literature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Sports
Infinite Jest is a fiction novel by David Foster Wallace. First published in 1996, the novel has an unconventional narrative structure with hundreds of extensive footnotes. Exploring themes of addiction, alienation, and the plight of modern existence, Infinite Jest is famous for its complexity and humor. The novel has been praised by critics and heralded as one of the most important literary works of the 20th century. This guide was written using the 2014 Abacus... Read Infinite Jest Summary
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Masculinity, Coming of Age, The Past
Tags Literary Fiction, Contemporary Literature, American Literature
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Nation, Justice
Tags Realistic Fiction, Symbolic Narrative, Race & Racism, Arts & Culture, Diversity, US History, Asian Literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Humor
Publication year 1965
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Safety & Danger, Community
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Realistic Fiction, Race & Racism, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Diversity, Social Class, American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Published in 1965, John Ball’s In the Heat of the Night is a crime novel set in Wells, South Carolina. The story focuses on the police department’s numerous struggles to solve a recent murder. Virgil Tibbs, a Black detective from Pasadena, California, lends a helping hand, but his interactions with the locals reveal the deep-seated racism of Wells. Through this murder mystery, the novel addresses issues of systemic racism and offers hope for a better... Read In the Heat of the Night Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Nation, Wins & Losses, Future, Justice, Literature, Community, Politics & Government, Immigration, Race, Language, Place, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope
Tags Lyric Poem, Diversity, Social Justice, US History, Black Lives Matter, Immigration & Refugeeism, American Literature
Publication year 1996
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Music
Tags Action & Adventure, American Literature, Education, Education, Science & Nature, Classic Fiction, Biography
Into the Wild is a nonfiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It was first published in 1996 and turned into a feature film directed by Sean Penn in 2007. It has been classified as outdoor writing, travel writing, and biography.In 1993 Krakauer published “Death of an Innocent” in Outside magazine, an article that detailed the death of Christopher McCandless. The article generated an enormous response from readers, and Krakauer spent a subsequent year tracing McCandless’s... Read Into The Wild Summary
Publication year 1988
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Art, Perseverance
Tags Lyric Poem, Arts & Culture, American Literature
Publication year 1948
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Shame & Pride, Race, Equality, Justice
Tags Race & Racism, Southern Gothic, Mystery & Crime Fiction, American Literature, Southern Literature, Southern Gothic, World History, Classic Fiction
Intruder in the Dust is a 1948 novel by William Faulkner that examines racism in the American South in the mid-20th century through the tale of a Black man wrongly accused of killing a white man. The novel was adapted into a well-received film in 1949.This guide is based on the 2015 Vintage edition.Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss racism, enslavement, and death by suicide. In addition, the source text uses the... Read Intruder In The Dust Summary
Publication year 1952
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Music, Modern Classic Fiction, Existentialism, American Literature, African American Literature, Race & Racism, Education, Education, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Invisible Man is a novel written by African American author Ralph Ellison and published in 1952. An example of 20th-century realism, the novel combines psychological and social storylines to examine how racism affects its unnamed protagonist and his ability to rise above all obstacles to craft his own sense of self, considering themes like Race in 20th-Century America, the Journey Toward Self-Understanding and Adult Identity, and Alienation from a Sense of Place Through Involuntary Resettlement.A... Read Invisible Man Summary
Publication year 1983
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fate
Tags US History, American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Published in 1983, Ironweed is the third entry in William Kennedy’s cycle of historical fiction set in Albany, New York; it garnered critical acclaim and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award. The novel details a few days in the life of Francis Phelan, a drifter long estranged from his family, upon his return to Albany in 1938, taking his story as a chance... Read Ironweed Summary
Publication year 1860
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Conflict
Tags Lyric Poem, Social Justice, Grief & Death, Poverty, American Literature
Publication year 2017
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Race, Safety & Danger, Equality, Justice, Grief
Tags Grief & Death, Social Justice, Race & Racism, American Literature, African American Literature
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Marriage, Family, Conflict
Tags Historical Fiction, African American Literature, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction
Jazz by Toni Morrison is the second installment of the Beloved trilogy. Morrison outlines the entirety of the plot in the first paragraph of the novel, allowing the rest of the text to explore the histories and emotional landscapes of the characters. Set in Harlem in the 1920s, Joe Trace has an affair with a young woman named Dorcas. When Dorcas later rejects Joe, he relentlessly searches for her. Joe sees Dorcas dancing with another... Read Jazz Summary
Publication year 1992
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Apathy, Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Regret, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Mental Health, Death, Future, The Past, Friendship, Self Discovery, Community, Safety & Danger
Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction
Jesus’ Son (1992) is a collection of short fiction by American writer Denis Johnson, published by Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux. It explores themes of The Slipperiness of Time, Substance Use Disorder, and Violence as Inevitability. In the form of a short story cycle, each of the 11 stories of Jesus’ Son is narrated by the same protagonist, who has a substance use disorder and is referred to in the narrative as “Fuckhead”. The book takes... Read Jesus' Son Summary
Publication year 1930
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Immigration, Social Class, Justice
Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Social Class, Poverty, Social Justice, American Literature, Education, Education, Jewish Literature, World History, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Jews Without Money is a semi-autobiographical 1930 novel by Itzok Isaac Granich, published under Granich’s pseudonym, Mike Gold. The book charts the impoverished conditions of the Lower East Side of New York City and the experiences of growing up in a community of predominantly Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century. Growing up in such a difficult environment informed the author’s socialist politics as an adult. Plot SummaryMike Gold is born and raised by a... Read Jews Without Money Summary
Publication year 1984
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Fantasy, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Humor, Classic Fiction
In Jitterbug Perfume, published in 1985, Tom Robbins combines realism with fantasy and comedy to tell his tale of intertwined lives across centuries. His works have reputations as cult classics that tweak conventional notions of the novel while seeking to reinforce new conventions of their own. The story spans both centuries of time and nearly the entirety of the globe. Other works by Robbins include Another Roadside Attraction, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and Still... Read Jitterbug Perfume Summary