Multi-genre Thematic
Literature Lists
Grade 8:
Social Justice
Novels
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol.
Misanthropic Scrooge’s visit by three ghosts, Christmas Present, Past and Future, change his outlook on humanity and his life. In Dickens’ small jewel, one can examine the incidents which developed Scrooge’s character so that he became a man indifferent to social injustice… incidents which also allowed the visits by the ghosts to encourage Scrooge’s metamorphosis.
Green, Bette. Summer of My German Soldier.
Oppressed by her own family and marginalized in her small Arkansas town because she is Jewish, Patty Bergen overcomes her own fears and prejudices when she befriends a German POW who has escaped from the compound nearby. Seeing Anton as a frightened young person, similar to herself, Patty faces ostracizing by both family and town to help him. This award-winning book not only looks at the need of the individual to take a stand against injustice, it also looks at fairness, stereotyping, and power.
Hesse, Karen. Out of Dust.
Told in free-verse poetry of dated entries that span the winter of 1934 to the winter of 1935, this is an unremittingly bleak portrait of one corner of Depression-era life. Young Billie Jo tells her story in a series of thoughtful and touching poems as she tries to come to terms with the horrific death of her mother, the loss of her talent to play the piano, and the threat of losing her father to long cancer. In this testament to the strength of one girl's will, Hesse takes a poetic turn at telling the story of the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression. Although Billie Jo and her family and the farmers caught in the Dust Bowl had no power against the elements and were invisible to the society at large, this novel celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit. (Newbery Award winner)
Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils.
Transfiguring her grandfather’s childhood experiences into an award-winning novel, Hunt narrates the story of an Illinois farm boy as the Civil War rolls through America and impacts his family. Jethro Creighton is nine when his close knit family learns that hostilities have broken out. As numerous male relatives go off to fight for the North and the South, and after his father falls ill, young Jethro takes responsibility for the family farm. With help from an older sister and neighboring farmers, he copes with attacks from local vigilantes, and he makes mature choices about a cousin who has deserted the army. Prejudice, power and social injustice are issues that the drove the Civil War and impacted the American population. (Newbery Award winner)
Kerr, M.E.Gentlehands.
Can the person you love be a mass murderer? Buddy Boyle faces a situation which can destroy his family and a romantic relationship when the rumor emerges that his aristocratic grandfather was a Nazi sought for his war crimes. Is it true? Was he just a man following orders? If so, why did he follow them?
Lipsyte, Robert. The Contender.
Alfred is caught in a one-way world. He’s a drop-out, this best friend is a junkie, his job is a no-where job, and his Harlem life is a dead end. The ring, and the struggle to be the best there, can save him or crush him. Invisible to society, a cultural statistic, Alfred has to find an effective way to fight against the social injustice of being young, black, uneducated and poor.
Rinaldi, Ann. In My Father’s House.
This novel is based on this quirk of historical coincidence: the first battle of the Civil War took place on the Manassas farm of Wilmer McLean, who eventually moved with his family to Appomattox, where the Civil War ended with Lee's surrendering to Grant in the McLean’s parlor. The essence of the book is the compelling character and story of Oscie McLean, the girl who grows from child to woman during the years from 1852 to 1865. Oscie's a proud daughter of the Old South, but her stepfather, Will McLean, thinks the world of her childhood must change. Amid arguments about the John Brown massacre, and debates on Lincoln's election, Oscie is caught up in the questioning of the status quo and the imbalance of power in the southern culture, questions which change her.
Rostowski, Margaret. After the Dancing Days.
World War I is over, and Annie’s mother wants it to be forgotten, but her father’s decision to keep working at a hospital for wounded soldiers introduces Annie to Andrew, an bitter, wounded and withdrawn young soldier. Her decision to keep returning to the hospital forces her to confront her mother’s anger and to reexamine what heroism and courage really are, and to face her own power and responsibility as an individual to deal with issues of social justice.
Sachar, Louis. Holes.
As all the other Stanley Yelnats for several generations, the main character is cursed. In a terrible miscarriage of justice. He is sent to a detention center for delinquent youth, where boys are expected to dig holes all day long. Unknowingly, Stanley and the other boys are digging for the treasure sought by the malevolent warden in a desert fraught with poisonous lizards. Taking a stand against this oppression can be hazardous to their health and lives. (Newbery Award winner)
Taylor, Mildred. Let the Circle Be Unbroken.
In this sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Cassie Logan and her siblings, growing up in rural Mississippi during the Depression, experience racial antagonisms and hard times, but learn from their parents the pride and self-respect they need to survive. The strength of the parents in striving in a prejudiced society teach Cassie what an individual can do to overcome this injustice and whether or not choices exist concerning fairness and justice.
Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Owning their own land is vitally important to Cassie Logan’s family, ownership which gives them courage, pride and dignity. Nightriders, cross burnings, and humiliation by a white girl just because she is black show Cassie the strength of her family and its ties in a time when black families and the injustices perpetuated against them are invisible to the rest of society. Although they may lack recognized power, the reactions of Cassie and her family and of the society in which they function reveal the true characters of all. (Newbery Award winner)
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Tom doesn’t mean to get into trouble…he just does. There are two different ways to look at life… the expectations reflected in his town, and the way he sees things. Questioning the status quo and reacting against it, Tom strives to be true to himself .
Wells, H. G. The War of the Worlds.
In the time of horse drawn carriages, Wells had the vision to write about the take-over of the earth by a more powerful and technologically advanced society, describing technology we are just beginning to see today. Commenting on humanity, Victorian imperialism and lack of humility, the arrogance of invulnerability, we watch a cultured society crumble in the face of harsh reality. We see what it means to be dominated as world cultures have dominated other, less advanced cultures. Wells' book was meant as a commentary on English Imperialism, but that lesson still has relevance today, whether you apply it to superpower politics or global environmentalism.
Yolen, Jane. The Devil’s Arithmetic.
Weary of the many stories and lectures about the Holocaust by her grandfather and great aunt, Hannah is forcibly made aware of the pain and impact of their suffering when, opening the door for the Prophet Elijah during Passover, she is channeled back into the experiences of her aunt’s best friend, Chaya. Living the nightmare causes Hannah to experience the degradation of being an invisible and powerless minority undergoing horrific social injustice. Living the nightmare also gives Hannah an appreciation of the character of the survivors.
Drama
Goodrick and Hackett. The Diary of Anne Frank (play).
Hidden with her family to escape the Nazis, Anne’s diary reflects the angst of the teenager caught in the injustice of a system prejudiced against Jews. Some people chose to stand against the Nazis; some collaborated. Why?
Short Fiction
Poetry
Nonfiction