Crash Course AP Literature

Death of a
Salesman by
Arthur Miller,
published 1949

Main characters: Willy Loman, Linda (his wife), Biff and Happy (his two

sons)

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: A washed-up salesman considers the value of his

life and decides he can leave more to his family if he’s dead and his insurance

check provides for them.

Tags: tragedy, The American Dream, flashback

The Glass
Menagerie by
Tennessee
Williams,
published 1945

Genre: play

Setting: 1937, St. Louis

Main characters: The Wingfield family: Tom, Laura, and their mother Amanda

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: The family’s situation is revealed through Tom’s

memories. Tom worries he will have to work at a meaningless job instead of

writing poetry, which is more satisfying. Amanda is worried that Laura, who

wears a brace on her leg and is overly shy, will never find a suitor.

Tags: tragedy, family drama, symbolism, alienation

Jude the Obscure
by Thomas Hardy,
first serialized,
then published as a
book in 1894

Genre: novel

Setting: Southwest England

Main characters: Jude Fawley, Arabella Donn, Sue Bridehead, Mr. Phillotson

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: Jude Fawley is a stonemason who desires to be a

scholar, and toward that end, teaches himself Greek and Latin. Before he can

try to enter the university, he marries an unrefined local girl, Arabella Donn,

but she deserts him within two years. He moves to Christminster and meets Sue

Bridehead, his cousin, who becomes the love of his life. However, she marries

Mr. Phillotson. Sue is unhappy in this marriage, partly because she loves Jude,

so she leaves her husband and goes to live, unmarried, with Jude. Jude and Sue

have several children together and are ostracized for their behavior.

Tags: marriage, conventional morality, individualism

The Jungle by
Upton Sinclair,
published 1906

Genre: novel (social criticism, muckraking)

Setting: 1900, Packingtown, the meat packing section of Chicago

Main characters: Jurgis Rudkus, Ona Lukoszaite, Teta Elzbieta Lukoszaite,

Marija Berczynskas, and Phil Connor

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant, and his

extended family hope that by working hard they can share in the American