A novel about a curious friendship between a pig, Wilbur, and a spider, Charlotte, living on a farm. When Wilbur realises he is going to be eventually slaughtered, Charlotte promises to save him. She starts weaving words of praise about Wilbur into her web, making him a tourist attraction.
A poem on worries, anxieties, fears and other what-ifs. The speaker describes how, at night, he lies awake and asks himself “what if questions”. He doubts himself and worries about all the things that could go wrong in the near future.
A dystopian novel on gender, sex, fertility, rebellion, and love. In the near future, most women have become infertile and the USA have transformed into a theocracy where women are either the wives of party officials, supposed to take care of the household, or have to take part in a bizarre ritual. Offred is one […]
A magical realist novel about dependence and independence, myth and reality, power and self-reflexivity. Saleem is born at midnight, 15 August 1947, which is India’s day of independence. Growing up, he discovers his telepathic abilities and finds out that children born in India on this particular day (so-called Midnight’s Children) are gifted with magical powers. […]
A modern tragedy negotiating reality and illusion within the pursuit of the American Dream. Willy Loman is a travelling salesman who lives with his wife, Linda, in New York. Besides being constantly stressed out by his job, driving around and earning barely enough money to make a living, he is also disappointed by his son […]
A young-adult novel on the loss of innocence, isolation and alienation, morality, mental health, sexual confusion, youth and the painfulness of growing up. The Catcher in the Rye tells a story of teenage frustration and the way 17-year-old Holden perceives the world. Expelled from his private school, he goes to New York City, wandering the […]
An allegorical novel on civilization and savagery, the power of religion, identity, and youth. A group of young boys survive a plane crash and find themselves on an uninhabited island. They quickly establish a governmental structure, rules, and order and elect one boy as chief. However, not long after conflicts erupt, their group splits in […]
Orwell’s classic fable-like allegory to Stalinism. Feeling suppressed and exploited by the farmer, a group of farm animals plot a revolution. But soon after the revolutionary takeover of the farmyard, their leaders become corrupted by power and turn into the ones they once chased away.
An autobiographical coming-of-age novel on the dangers of religious enthusiasm and the power of love. Jeanette grows up within a fundamentalist Christian family. Her adoptive mother dominates her life educating her at home in isolation until a letter from the government arrives – ordering her mother to send her daughter to school. Jeanette struggles in […]
Three verses verbalise the answer to the child’s question, while exploring the motif of cars as a symbol for the standard of living and environmental pollution.
Exploring imprisonment, confinement and the urge for freedom, this poem vividly illustrates inequality. Comparing the life of a caged and a free bird, the speaker investigates the caged bird’s captivity, oppression and hope for liberation. It can be read as a metaphor portraying unequal treatment and discrimination against African-Americans during the civil rights era. When […]
A young-adult novel about racism, injustice and prejudice in the American South. The story is told from the perspective of the six-year-old girl ‘Scout’, who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her younger brother in a small town in Alabama during the time of the Great Depression. It is a peaceful summer until Tim […]
This empowering poem by award-winning author Maya Angelou explores sexism, oppression, resilience and racism. Using a call and response technique, Angelou tells the story of a black woman fighting for equality and the right to self-expression by speaking up. The confident, female voice condemns harassment and inequalities against people of colour and loudly recalls that […]
The speaker tells the story of how he got a one-dollar bill from his father. He then happily traded this bill for two 25-cent coins because, clearly, two coins are worth more than one bill. After a few more trades he returns to his father, proudly showing him the five one-penny coins he acquired.
This educational poem explains how the outcome of anything depends on what one puts into it.
An autobiographical novel on racial segregation, identity, and hypocrisy. The white journalist J. H. Griffin retells the story of a remarkable experiment: In 1959 at the height of racial tensions, he uses a dermatological drug that darkens his skin – so he could pass as an African American. Griffin embarks on a six weeks’ journey […]
A young adult novel on corruption of power, violence and history repeating itself. After a documentary fails to make his students understand how fascism works, Ben Ross, a high school teacher, decides to conduct a social teaching experiment. Applying concepts of fascism to his group of students works more effectively than expected – Ben notices […]
“Five Notes After a Visit” follows an unnamed, female narrator travelling from England to Northern Ireland (Belfast/Derry) – where she was born – to visit her boyfriend Stewart. During her visit, she experiences troubles, tensions and a trauma that she reflects upon in diary-like notes. The recommended edition Ireland – Changes and Challenges: Short Stories […]