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 1979
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Society: Class
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction, Play: Drama, Victorian Literature / Period
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, originally published in 1979, is a musical play by Hugh Wheeler with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The play follows murderous barber Sweeney Todd, who seeks revenge against the corrupt Judge Turpin for wrongfully incarcerating him in order to steal Todd’s wife. Wheeler and Sondheim use this tale to examine the exploitation and retaliation of the working class, the perils of obsession, and the tension between tenderness and... Read Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Summary
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Education, Identity: Race, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Historical Fiction, Social Justice, WWII / World War II, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World, Arts / Culture
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Music, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Music
Publication year 2024
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Identity: Femininity, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Social Justice, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class
Tags Historical Fiction, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Social Justice, History: World
Publication year 2017
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Society: Class, Society: Immigration, Society: Economics
Tags History: World, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics / Government, History: U.S., Class, Sociology, Race / Racism
Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation is a 2017 non-fiction collection of 36 essays, poems, and short stories edited by former Granta editor John Freeman and including contributions by Rebecca Solnit, Sandra Cisneros, Edwidge Danticat, Julia Alvarez, Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Patchett, Annie Dillard, Roxane Gay, and more. The text crosses disciplinary boundaries, covering sociology, history, racial and ethnic studies, and gender studies.The personal essays, stories, and poetry in Tales... Read Tales of Two Americas Summary
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Race / Racism, Class, African American Literature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2017
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Community, Society: Class
Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Relationships, Sociology, History: World
Publication year 1887
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Mental Health, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags History: World, Psychology, Historical Nonfiction, Journalism, Social Criticism, Health / Medicine, Mental Illness
Publication year 1998
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Food, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Fame
Tags Food, Relationships
Prominent chef, food writer, and editor Ruth Reichl’s 1998 memoir Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table incorporates recipes with narrative and commentary to create a portrait of Reichl’s coming of age. Reichl’s sometimes-chaotic childhood with a mother who had untreated bipolar disorder made her into an independent and rebellious young person determined to distance herself from her parents’ world. Her adolescence and young adulthood in New York; Montreal; Berkeley, California; and Ann... Read Tender at the Bone Summary
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 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Space & The Universe, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Environment, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
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