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.

The Reckoning

by John Grisham

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Guilt, Grief, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Shame & Pride, War, Social Class, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Race, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Femininity, Masculinity, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Death, Coming of Age, The Past, Nation

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Race & Racism, Military & War, World History

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The Red and the Black

by Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle)

Publication year 1830

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Social Class, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, French Literature, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction

The Red and the Black (in French, Le Rouge et le Noir: Chronique du XIX siècle) is an 1830 historical novel by Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by the pen name Stendhal. The Red and the Black follows the rise and fall of Julien Sorel, a bright and ambitious, but in many ways naïve, young man of lowly birth, who resolves to work his way up in the highly stratified French society during the Bourbon Restoration... Read The Red and the Black Summary

The Red Shoes

by Sheila Black

Publication year 2014

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Grief, Love, Community, Conflict, Safety & Danger

Tags Narrative Poem, Confessional, Grief & Death, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Relationships, Mental Illness, Disability

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There Is No Place for Us

by Brian Goldstone

Publication year 2025

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, Political Science, Journalism, Poverty, Urban Studies

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The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Publication year 1989

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Love, Social Class, Self Discovery, Aging, The Past, Religion & Spirituality, Grief

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

The Remains of the Day is a novel by British writer Kazuo Ishiguro. Released in 1989, the novel tells the story of Stevens, who once worked as a butler at a stately home in England. In his old age, he returns to the house and reminisces about his experiences in the 1920-1930s. Most of the novel is told in flashback. The novel was adapted into a critically-acclaimed film of the same name, released in 1993... Read The Remains of the Day Summary

The Return of the Native

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1878

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Love, Fate, Appearance & Reality

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, Victorian Period, Historical Fiction, Romance, World History, Victorian Era

Thomas Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native was published serially in Belgravia magazine in 1878. Its setting, the formidable and unforgiving Egdon Heath, is based on the Wessex region of England where Hardy was born. Hardy provides a map that gives the locations that his love- and grief-driven characters visit as the story unfolds. The novel explores the themes of class, chance, fate, superstition, and social upheaval. This guide references the 2008 Oxford World’s... Read The Return of the Native Summary

The Rights of Man

by Thomas Paine

Publication year 1791

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Justice, Power & Greed, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government

Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, US History, European History

Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man (1791) is one of the 18th-century’s most influential political treatises. It offers a spirited defense of the ongoing French Revolution and calls for dramatic reforms in Britain. Paine wrote Rights of Man as a direct response to Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a conservative critique that professes skepticism and even horror at the course of events in France since the Revolution began in 1789. Rights of... Read The Rights of Man Summary

The Road to Wigan Pier

by George Orwell

Publication year 1937

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Memory, Social Class, Community

Tags Social Justice, Social Class, European History, British Literature, Journalism, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government, Biography

The Road to Wigan Pier is a 1937 nonfiction book by George Orwell. The book describes Orwell’s firsthand experiences of life in Great Britain’s working-class communities in the early 20th century and advocates for the adoption of socialism. SummaryThe Road to Wigan Pier begins in a small lodging house in Northern England. The impoverished, rundown house rents crowded rooms to people who work in the nearby mines. The landlord, Mr. Brooker, was once a miner... Read The Road to Wigan Pier Summary

The Rocking Horse Winner

by D. H. Lawrence

Publication year 1926

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Social Class, Childhood & Youth

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, Modernism, Finance, Social Class, Education, Education, Horror & Suspense, World History, Fantasy

D. H. Lawrence published “The Rocking Horse Winner” in 1926, just four years before his death in 1930. He had written a story, “Glad Ghosts,” for inclusion in Lady Cynthia Asquith’s supernatural fiction anthology Ghost Book. She did not like the story, partly because of the celebration of male sexuality and other erotic undertones. Lawrence wrote “The Rocking Horse Winner” for her instead. Lawrence sets the story in a haunted house, appropriate for a “ghost”... Read The Rocking Horse Winner Summary

The Romance of the Rose

by Guillaume De Lorris

Publication year 1230

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Love, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Social Class, Beauty

Tags Narrative Poem, Symbolic Narrative, Romance, Medieval, French Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Romance of the Rose, or Roman de la Rose in the original French, is an allegorical poem written between the years 1225 and 1278 by two authors, Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. De Lorris wrote the first three chapters of the work from 1225-1230, and de Meun added nine additional chapters from approximately 1269-1278. Not much is known about either author, but the poem became a foundational piece of medieval literature, particularly... Read The Romance of the Rose Summary

The Rover

by Aphra Behn

Publication year 1677

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Marriage, Social Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, Restoration, British Literature, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Romance

Aphra Behn’s play The Rover, or The Banished Cavaliers, debuted in London in 1677 with King Charles II in attendance; The Rover was reportedly one of his favorite plays. In Restoration England, theatre was a political act, particularly when a play was written by a woman and openly defied Puritan conservatism. Beginning in 1642, the Puritan-run Parliament had banned theatre, partially because they viewed it as sinful and financially excessive, and partially because the theatre... Read The Rover Summary