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In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, Death narrates the story of one girl who lived during the Holocaust. Not surprisingly, it's kind of a downer—bu...

The Grapes of Wrath is one of the longest—ahem, most important books in American literary history. But what's with the title?

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is about a young blacksmith boy (Pip) and his two dreams: becoming a gentleman and marrying the beautiful Est...

Trying to live up to expectations can be stressful. Watching someone else struggle with it, though? That's just fine.

Under what circumstances should people be allowed to lie? Is Annemarie's situation dire enough? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Please, Sir, can we have some more... Oliver Twist?

So... if grapes of wrath sat out too long, would they become raisins of wrath? If so, this could seriously affect the entire mood of our bran flake...

No, not the sour grapes of questionable freshness that gave you weird stomach rumblings before your last soccer game; we're talking about Steinbeck...

Crime and Punishment is all about a boy killing for money, literally, and then spending the rest of the book trying to hide it. Although the book c...

Folk tales are all about conveying a deeper meaning—no banjos required. Arabian Nights is one of the most famous collections, so get ready to lea...