Reading is not just about pleasure: books have the power to touch us profoundly, to open our eyes to injustices – and sometimes even act as a catalyst for social change.
To mark World Book Day, we take a look at some of the novels that have changed society.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe
“So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” This was how Abraham Lincoln reportedly greeted Harriet Beecher Stowe when he met her in 1862, a decade after she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the second-best selling book of the 19th century after the Bible.
The story of Uncle Tom, an African-American slave, brought the
horrors of slavery to the attention of the public on a personal level
for the first time, causing an uproar.
The novel greatly furthered the abolitionist cause in the north,
ratcheted up tensions with southern slaveholders and, as Lincoln
suggested, possibly even helped tip the country into civil war.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel portrays the
harsh working conditions, extreme poverty and exploitation faced by the
mainly immigrant labourers in Chicago’s meat-packing industry.
Although the book was written to highlight the plight of the
working poor and the deep-rooted corruption of people in power, it also
sparked a public outcry over food hygiene. Sinclair famously
complained:“I aimed for the public’s heart and by accident I hit it in
the stomach.”
Still, it is arguably considered one of the most politically influential American novels of the last century.
After reading The Jungle, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned an investigation into Chicago’s meat-packing industry.
Within a year, the Meat Inspection Act was passed, along with the Pure
Food and Drug Act, which later paved the way for the Food and Drug
Administration.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
One of the best-known anti-war novels, All Quiet on the Western Front depicts the horrors of the First World War trenches from the perspective of a young German soldier.
Translated into more than 20 languages and adapted into a
celebrated Hollywood film in 1930, the book spoke for a generation that
had been, in Remarque’s words, “destroyed by war, even though it might
have escaped its shells”.
It deals with the futility of conflict and attracted both praise
and harsh criticism at the time, mostly from Remarque’s fellow
countrymen, who felt it denigrated the German war effort. It was among
the books banned and publicly burned by the Nazis.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Perhaps the best-known novel of Nigerian novelist, poet and essayist Chinua Achebe describes a tribal society falling apart as a result of the arrival of Christian missionaries.
Written in 1958, the novel has sold more than 10 million copies
around the world and has been published in some 50 languages. It is
still widely read and studied as an example of the impact of colonialism
on African culture and identity.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
Robert Tressell’s 1914 socialist polemic about a group of honest
men exploited by money-grabbing capitalists was based on the injustices
faced by the working classes in Edwardian England.
The workers are “philanthropists” because they slave away for a
pittance, essentially giving away the value of their labour to their
employers.
The novel was an integral part of the drive for social reform at the start of the last century.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The 1939 classic chronicles a penniless Oklahoma family’s journey westward along Route 66.
An immediate bestseller, the novel highlighted the shocking
Depression-era poverty and destitution of hundreds of thousands of
migrants making the journey to California to find work.
The book was banned and burned in a number of places, including Kern County, California, where the Joad family’s journey ended.
1984 by George Orwell
George Orwell’s dystopian work about life under a totalitarian
regime inspired a whole subgenre of books, such as Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, that envision the future as a nightmarish place with no freedoms or rights.
Terms from 1984, including “Big Brother”, “doublethink” and
“thoughtcrime” are still commonly used today. The novel is a poignant
reminder of the importance of freedom of thought and speech.
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
“You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around
in it.”
The words of Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s 1960 tale of racial
inequality in 1930s Alabama still resonate with readers around the world
today. The book has left an indelible mark on generations and is a
valuable lesson in looking at the world through another person’s eyes.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison reportedly spent three years thinking about her Pulitzer-winning novel before writing a word.
Beloved, which deals with the legacy of slavery, was voted the best work of American fiction in the past 25 years by the New York Times.
It was inspired by the story of a runaway slave who, rather than give up her children to her former “owners” when they came looking for her, cut her daughter’s throat.
Culled from World Economic Forum
Discover more from The Ready Writers
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.