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 1954

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Poverty, Urban Development, Education, Education, Asian Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

Nectar in a Sieve is a 1954 classical fiction novel written by Kamala Markandaya, who was one of the most prominent 20th-century Indian novelists. It was her first novel and was named an American Library Association Notable Book in 1955. The novel’s plot follows Rukmani, a poor farmer’s wife, as she learns what it means to survive and find happiness in postcolonial and post-partition India. Through Rukmani’s eyes, Markandaya explores the impacts of poverty, the... Read Nectar in a Sieve Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Identity: Race, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Regret

Tags Race / Racism, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2019

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class

Tags Humor, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Diversity, Race / Racism, Bullying, Class, African American Literature, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

New Kid by Jerry Craft is a 2019 graphic novel and winner of the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. Jim Callahan is responsible for the coloring. Craft is the creator of the 1990 comic strip Mama’s Boyz, as well as Class Act, the 2020 companion story to this book. New Kid focuses on an artistic middle school student who makes friends and builds confidence in himself as he navigates race and class... Read New Kid Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: Globalization, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community

Tags Sociology, Poverty, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Education, Education, Business / Economics

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a 2001 nonfiction book written by Barbara Ehrenreich. This book is considered a classic of investigative journalism and was ranked #13 in The Guardian’s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Ehrenreich takes a series of low-paying, entry-level jobs in three cities (Key West, Florida; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota) to answer the question of whether one can survive on these wages and... Read Nickel and Dimed Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Race / Racism, Poverty, LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1973

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Indigenous, Natural World: Environment, Society: Class, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Beauty


Publication year 1887

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Satire, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, History: Asian, Politics / Government, Asian Literature, History: World, Romance, Classic Fiction

Noli Me Tángere (1887)—which translates to “Touch Me Not” in Latin—is a novel written by Filipino writer José Rizal. The novel tells the story of Don Crisóstomo Ibarra, a young man of Filipino and Spanish descent who returns to the Philippines after a seven-year trip to Europe. Upon his return, and because he is now old enough to better understand the world, Ibarra sees the oppression wrought on the Indigenous population by Spanish colonialism. As... Read Noli Me Tángere Summary


Publication year 1960

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community

Tags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

No Longer At Ease (1960) is a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The story takes place in the years prior to Nigeria’s independence from the British Empire and focuses on Obi Okonkwo. Obi is a young Nigerian man who returns home after studying English in Britain and finds a job in the civil service. He finds himself situated within the conflict between African and Western culture, raising questions about his identity and worldview. No... Read No Longer at Ease Summary


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Globalization

Tags Travel Literature, Sociology, Poverty, Class, American Literature, Business / Economics, History: World, Politics / Government


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1970

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Relationships: Family, Identity: Masculinity, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Great Depression, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Food, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Action / Adventure, Classic Fiction

No Promises in the Wind is a young-adult historical novel that takes place at the height of the Great Depression. The first-person narrative tells the coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old boy who leaves home with his younger brother because their family doesn’t have enough to eat. Josh and Joey Grondowski use their musical talents to survive on their own as they travel through a country of angry and impoverished people. First published in 1970, the... Read No Promises In The Wind Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Music

Tags Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, Domestic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Depression / Suicide

Written by Colm Tóibín, Nora Webster (2014) is a historical novel that follows the titular character, a young woman who is struggling to raise her four young children, process her grief, and reinvent her life after her husband passes away. In 2015, the novel won the Hawthornden Prize, and it has also received numerous other prestigious award nominations. Throughout his career, Colm Tóibín has alternated between fiction and non-fiction, producing works such as Brooklyn (2009), which... Read Nora Webster Summary


Publication year 1854

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Victorian Period, Industrial Revolution, Historical Fiction, Romance, Class, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period, Classic Fiction

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell debuted in Charles Dickens’s magazine Household Words, appearing in 20 weekly installments between September 1854 and January 1855. The novel was later published in two volumes. Dickens heavily edited the novel and changed the title from Margaret Hale to North and South. In the novel, Gaskell draws on her personal experience of being married to a Unitarian minister, a role that brought her into contact with all levels of... Read North and South Summary


Publication year 1817

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Satire, Gothic Literature, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, British Literature, History: World

Northanger Abbey is an early novel by Jane Austen. Though it wasn't published until after her death in 1817, Austen wrote the novel in 1803, intending it as a satire of the gothic novels that were popular during this period. Northanger Abbey follows the life and loves of its unlikely heroine, seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, a naïve young woman away from her family for the first time and trying to navigate the world and the heart—with... Read Northanger Abbey Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance, Race / Racism, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Incarceration, Relationships, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Social Justice, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 1956

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Colonialism, Society: Class

Tags Race / Racism, Health / Medicine, African Literature


Publication year 1911

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Society: Community

Tags Classic Fiction

“Odour of Chrysanthemums” is a short story by English author, D. H. Lawrence, written in 1909 and revised before its first publication in The English Review literary magazine in 1911. Lawrence also included it in his 1914 collection, The Prussian Officer and Stories. “Odour of Chrysanthemums” was among the first of Lawrence’s works to be published, though he had been writing extensively for some time. Its key themes of The Inevitability of Death and Decay... Read Odour of Chrysanthemums Summary


Publication year 1915

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Society: Class, Society: Education

Tags Classic Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, British Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Romance

Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel written by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. The novel follows the maturation of a young man named Philip Carey as he grows up in England at the very end of the 19th century. The novel incorporates elements of both realism and modernism and has been interpreted as having some autobiographical inspiration drawn from Maugham’s own life. By describing events from Philip’s life, Maugham develops themes related to... Read Of Human Bondage Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Education, Society: Class, Society: Community, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Social Justice, Race / Racism


Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Aging, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Life/Time: Midlife, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Art, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Education, Identity: Femininity, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags British Literature, Race / Racism, Modern Classic Fiction

On Beauty by the celebrated British author Zadie Smith was published in 2005. On Beauty was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Smith is known for writing novels and essays that analyze the intersections of identity in the contemporary world with nuance, clarity, and empathy. She is also known to be influenced by the classic English author E.M. Forster. On Beauty is loosely based on Forster’s masterpiece... Read On Beauty Summary