Books that Feature the Theme of Masculinity

This thematic Collection centers books that explore the concepts of manhood and masculinity. Through novels, plays, and literary genres, a diverse chorus of authors examines various interpretations of masculine identity and the masculine experience through coming-of-age stories, war narratives, and fantasy realms.

Rodrick Rules

by Jeff Kinney

Publication year 2008

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Conflict, Apathy, Fear, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Regret, Childhood & Youth, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Masculinity, Appearance & Reality, Education, Family, Siblings, Mothers, Fathers, Daughters & Sons

Tags Humor, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Rumble Fish

by S. E. Hinton

Publication year 1975

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Loyalty & Betrayal, Hate & Anger

Tags Coming of Age, Bullying, Relationships, American Literature, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

Susan Eloise Hinton was born in 1948 and lives in Oklahoma, where most of her novels are set. She wrote her first novel, The Outsiders, while still in high school. It was published in 1967 and earned Hinton her reputation as a pioneer of the young adult genre. The work “grew out of her dissatisfaction with the way teen-age life was being portrayed in the books she read” (Michaud, Jon. “S.E. Hinton and the Y.A... Read Rumble Fish Summary

Runaway: Stories

by Alice Munro

Publication year 2004

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Love, Loyalty & Betrayal, Nostalgia, Loneliness, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Fate, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Canadian Literature, Literary Fiction, Relationships

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Schooled

by Paul Langan

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Shame & Pride, Disability, Masculinity, Race, Coming of Age, Place, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Education, Literature

Tags Realistic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Children`s Literature

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Scorpions

by Walter Dean Myers

Publication year 1988

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Social Class, Masculinity, Race, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, African American Literature, Children`s Literature, Arts & Culture

Scorpions is a young adult, coming-of-age novel written by best-selling children’s author Walter Dean Myers. Like many of Myers’s works, the book is based on his experience of growing up in New York City’s historically African American Harlem neighborhood. Exploring themes of brotherhood and masculinity, love and loyalty, race, class, and curtailed opportunity, the narrative follows 12-year-old Jamal Hicks as he is confronted with a life-changing dilemma: whether or not to step into the shoes... Read Scorpions Summary

Seven Guitars

by August Wilson

Publication year 1995

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Death, Race, Masculinity

Tags Drama, Tragedy, Comedy & Satire, Race & Racism, African American Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Seven Guitars, which premiered in 1995 at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and transferred to Broadway in 1996, is the seventh play in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, also known as the Pittsburgh Cycle. This series, consisting of ten plays that are each set in a different decade of the 20th century, explore the lives of African Americans during each era. With the exclusion Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984), which takes place in 1920s Chicago... Read Seven Guitars Summary

Shadow Ticket

by Thomas Pynchon

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hope, Regret, Language, Masculinity, Future, The Past, Self Discovery, Nation, Politics & Government, War

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

by Anonymous

Publication year 1397

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Fear, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Classic Fiction, Narrative Poem, Medieval, British Literature

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a chivalric romance of unknown authorship. Written sometime in the late-14th century, the work employs a complex metrical scheme that involves several lines of pentameter punctuated by a “bob and wheel”: a two-syllable “bob” followed by a rhyming quatrain of six-syllable lines. The bob and wheel structure is fairly typical of Middle English verse, as is the alliterative verse used throughout the sections written in pentameter. Its subject... Read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Summary

Sky Full of Elephants

by Cebo Campbell

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Family, Fathers, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Justice

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Slay

by Brittney Morris

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Masculinity, Race, Coming of Age, Friendship, Self Discovery, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger

Tags Realistic Fiction, Science Fiction, Race & Racism, Sports, Modern Classic Fiction

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Snapdragon

by Kat Leyh

Publication year 2020

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Regret, Forgiveness, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Race, Sexual Identity, Fate, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Animals, Appearance & Reality

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, LGBTQ+, Children`s Literature

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So Far Gone

by Jess Walter

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Aging, Environment, Family, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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Soldier's Home

by Ernest Hemingway

Publication year 1925

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, War, Family, Masculinity

Tags Historical Fiction, American Literature, Modernism, Military & War, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

“Soldier’s Home” is a short story first published in Ernest Hemingway’s 1925 debut collection In Our Time. The version discussed in this guide is from The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition (Scribner, 2003).The story’s protagonist is Harold Krebs, a young man who returns home to Oklahoma after serving in World War I. It is one of many works by Hemingway, a WWI survivor, to show the impacts of the war... Read Soldier's Home Summary

Someone We Know

by Shari Lapena

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil, Marriage, Mothers, Conflict, Revenge, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Family, Justice

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Parenting, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction

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Sometimes a Great Notion

by Ken Kesey

Publication year 1964

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Place, Siblings, Masculinity

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Realistic Fiction, Business & Economics, Social Class, Relationships, Science & Nature, American Literature, The Beat Generation, US History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) is American author Ken Kesey’s second novel. The plot revolves around the Stampers, a family of independent loggers who choose to continue working in opposition to a logging union’s dispute with company leadership. The novel uses an experimental structure, switching between first-person and omniscient narrators and telling the story from the perspectives of multiple characters.Kesey and his counterculture group, the “Merry Pranksters,” were the precursors to the hippies of the... Read Sometimes a Great Notion Summary

Sonnet 1

by William Shakespeare

Publication year 1609

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Beauty, Birth, Hope, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Food, Daughters & Sons, Future

Tags Lyric Poem, Education, Education, World History, Romance, Classic Fiction

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