Class

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 1931

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Social Class, The Past

Tags Classic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Southern Gothic, Trauma & Abuse, Southern Literature, American Literature, Gothic Literature, World History

Publication year 1925

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Colonialism, Social Class, Marriage, Gender Identity

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, British Literature, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Regency Era, World History

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Social Class, Economics, Equality, Wins & Losses

Tags Psychology, Business & Economics, Science & Nature, Sociology, Self-Improvement, Politics & Government, Philosophy, Psychology, Philosophy

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

Publication year 2023

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Race, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Social Class

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

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

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class

Tags Realistic Fiction, Bullying, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Poverty, Humor

Scrawl (2010) is a young adult novel by American author Mark Shulman, who has written more than 200 books for young readers. Scrawl follows a young teenage bully, Tod Munn, and his experience in detention where he is required by a guidance counselor to write about himself in a journal. In the journal, Tod describes his struggles with coming from a low-income family, low self-esteem, and his problematic behavior at school. The novel was a... Read Scrawl Summary

Publication year 1811

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Beauty, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Shame & Pride, Perseverance, Conflict, Social Class, Economics, Gender Identity

Tags Romance, Romanticism, British Literature, Relationships, Social Class, Gender & Feminism, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Sense and Sensibility (1811) was the first published novel of English writer Jane Austen (1775-1817). She published it anonymously, identifying herself only as "a lady." It tells the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who find love after their father dies and they are plunged into a more modest lifestyle. Sense and Sensibility’s continual presence in the cultural imagination is evident in its numerous film and TV adaptations, including the award-winning 1995 version... Read Sense and Sensibility Summary

Publication year 1773

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Humor, Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, British Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature

She Stoops to Conquer is a play by British writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in 1773. The play is a comedy of manners and a romance set in 18th-century England. Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish poet and dramatist and this play is his most popular and well-known work, with performances still regularly occurring in the 21st century. In 1778, John O'Keeffe wrote a successful sequel to the play, entitled Tony Lumpkin in Town. She Stoops to... Read She Stoops to Conquer Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Mothers, Social Class

Tags Realistic Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse, LGBTQ+, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

Publication year 1861

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality, Family

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, Historical Fiction, Industrial Revolution, Education, Education, British Literature, World History, Victorian Era

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by Mary Ann Evans, published under the pseudonym George Eliot. The realist novel portrays the life of a weaver in 1800s England against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. The novel has been adapted into films, radio plays, theatrical productions, and television shows.This guide refers to the 2021 Alma Classics edition. Content Warning: This guide discusses addiction and depression, which feature in Silas Marner.Plot SummarySilas... Read Silas Marner Summary

Publication year 1900

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Gender & Feminism, Naturalism, Education, Education, World History

Sister Carrie is a novel published in 1900 by the American author Theodore Dreiser. Dreiser uses the story of Caroline Meeber, a naïve young woman who gets caught up in the gaudy venality of the city, to explore the emptiness of materialism, the tension between flesh and spirit, the inevitability of loneliness, and the role of women in the emerging America of the new century. Now recognized as one of the defining expressions of American... Read Sister Carrie Summary

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Love, Grief, Femininity, Gender Identity, Family, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Immigration

Tags Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature

In the novel Sister of My Heart, the Indian-born American author and poet Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explores issues of family, womanhood, and diasporic experience, constantly affirming and exploring the redemptive power of storytelling. Divakaruni’s first collection of stories, Arranged Marriage, won an American Book Award, a PEN Josephine Miles Award, and a Bay Area Book Reviewers Award. Her novel The Mistress of Spices was released as a film of the same name in 2005. Sister of My Heart was made into a television series... Read Sister of My Heart Summary

Publication year 1960

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Equality, Power & Greed

Tags Poverty, Children`s Literature, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Teamwork, Social Class, Politics & Government, War

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure