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!

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 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 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 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 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