Crash Course AP Literature

Dream, but wage slavery and the oppression of capitalism turn their lives into

tragedy.

Tags: corruption, traditional values, symbolism, immigrant experience, evils of

capitalism

Lord Jim by
Joseph Conrad,
published 1900

Genre: novel

Setting: Indonesia

Main characters: Jim (Lord Jim), Marlow

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: A young British seaman named Jim becomes first

mate on the Patna, a ship full of pilgrims traveling to Mecca. There is an

accident and Jim, along with the captain and some others in the crew, abandons

the ship and its passengers, a cowardly action for which he is eventually tried.

It is at the trial that he meets Marlow, a sea captain who becomes Jim’s friend

and mentor. Marlow is the story’s narrator. Jim’s life toggles between his

desire for redemption and his need to distance himself from the shame of his

past.

Tags: quest, human weakness, redemption

Native Son by
Richard Wright,
published 1940

Genre: novel (social protest)

Setting: 1930s, Chicago

Main characters: Bigger Thomas, Mary Dalton, Jan Erlone, Boris Max

(narrated from Bigger’s perspective)

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: A young black man gets a job as a chauffeur for the

Daltons, a wealthy white family. Bigger accidentally kills Mary and he flees,

but is eventually caught and put on trial.

Tags: oppression of racism, anti-Semitism, Communism, justice,

A Passage to India
by E. M. Forster,
published 1924

Genre: political novel

Setting: Chandrapore, India, early 20th century

Main characters: Dr. Aziz, Mrs. Moore, Miss Adela Quested, Ronny Heaslop

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: Miss Quested accuses Dr. Aziz of attempting to

sexually assault her in the nearby Marabar Caves. Aziz suspects Fielding of

plotting against him with the English.

Tags: colonialism