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.

Thirst

by Varsha Bajaj

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Perseverance, Femininity, Family, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Education

Tags Social Class, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Social Justice, Modern Classic Fiction, Indian Literature

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This Bridge Called My Back

by Cherrie Moraga, ed., Gloria Anzaldua, ed.

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Gender Identity, Race, Social Class

Tags Gender & Feminism, Creative Nonfiction, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Women`s Studies

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, is a feminist literary collection of essays, prose, poems, and transcripts on the experiences of women of color and Third World women, in a mainly United States context. While many of the contributors may have been lesser-known beforehand, this anthology has become a foundational text in feminist theory. Originally published in 1981, it set precedence by delving... Read This Bridge Called My Back Summary

This Earth of Mankind

by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Indigenous Identity, Family, Race, Social Class, Colonialism, Education, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Asian Literature, Social Class, Education, Asian History, Race & Racism

Pramoedya Ananta Toer—a famous Indonesian editor, essayist, and social activist—wrote This Earth of Mankind (1980)—the first book of his series The Buru Quartet—while imprisoned in the Buru Concentration Camp following a military coup that overthrew Sukarno, the first democratically elected president of Indonesia. Incarcerated for 14 years and prevented from having writing material, Toer memorized the books of his series and recited them to his fellow inmates each day until his release in 1979. The... Read This Earth of Mankind Summary

This Side of Paradise

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publication year 1920

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Love, Social Class, Shame & Pride, Self Discovery

Tags Classic Fiction, Jazz Age, Life-Inspired Fiction, Coming of Age, Roaring Twenties, Social Class, American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

This Side of Paradise (1920) is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was Fitzgerald’s first novel and became an instant hit, launching Fitzgerald into literary fame for its social commentary on a younger generation fueled by indulgence and materialism. This Side of Paradise is also a historical depiction of the Jazz Age, like Fitzgerald’s most famous novel, The Great Gatsby.This Side of Paradise follows Amory Blaine’s coming of age during prep school and four... Read This Side of Paradise Summary

Three Sisters

by Anton Chekhov

Publication year 1901

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Hope, Love, Marriage, Loneliness, Nostalgia, Family, Social Class

Tags Drama, Russian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

Anton Chekhov wrote the play Three Sisters in 1900 as a commission for the now-famous Moscow Art Theatre (MAT). The production debuted there in 1901 and was directed by the MAT’s two founders, Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. It was the first play that Chekhov penned specifically for production at the MAT. Three Sisters uses the three titular characters—Olga, Masha, and Irina—to examine the decay of the Russian aristocracy. Raised and educated to become the... Read Three Sisters Summary

Thunderstruck

by Erik Larson

Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Perseverance, Guilt, Marriage, Social Class, Community, Globalization, Immigration, Fame, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Crime & Law, European History, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science & Nature, World History, Biography

Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck is a 2006 work of narrative nonfiction that braids two seemingly unrelated historical events that captured public attention in the pre-World War I years. The first involves the emerging and transformative technology of wireless communication designed by Marconi, the second a gruesome murder in London perpetrated by a seemingly docile and genial doctor named Crippen. Thunderstruck follows the success of Larson’s 2003 Devil in the White City, which coupled America’s first major... Read Thunderstruck Summary

To Have And Have Not

by Ernest Hemingway

Publication year 1937

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Social Class, Economics

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Social Class, Disability, Poverty, Great Depression, US History, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History

Ernest Hemingway’s best-selling yet poorly reviewed 1937 novel, To Have and Have Not, reflects his growing disillusionment with the world following his experiences in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Written in piecemeal format during his travels, the novel was originally published as two separate short stories and a novella, and this disjointed formation is apparent in the continuity of the plot. Featuring Hemingway’s classic minimalism, the novel offers both the story of Harry Morgan... Read To Have And Have Not Summary

Top Girls

by Caryl Churchill

Publication year 1982

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Mothers, Gender Identity, Economics

Tags Drama, Gender & Feminism, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

British playwright Caryl Churchill’s groundbreaking play Top Girls, which opened in 1982 both at the Royal Court Theatre in London (August) and Off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in New York (December), is Churchill’s second internationally acclaimed play after Cloud Nine (1979). It won the 1983 Obie Award for Best Play of the Year, and it remains one of Churchill’s best-known and most widely produced plays, often anthologized as a canonical contemporary play. Top Girls was... Read Top Girls Summary