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"Faulkner uses the experimental forms associated with modernism to depict the impact of the sociocultural era called modernity, and the processes of urbanization and industrialization known as modernization, on poor whites in the rural South. As I Lay Dying makes clear that Faulkner's rural modernism has not simply a geographic logic but also a sociopolitical significance. Rural modernism critiques the conflation of the urban and the modern, in part by revealing how the country is used as a foil against which urban modernity is defined"

This source examines the novel from the perspective of modernism in Faulkner's writing. It discusses how it is used and how it effects other themes. This brings a new perspective to the groups of themes.

Reports are out: modern day meatpacking is still considered to be one imposing extreme hazard to the worker. This is only one of the many modern instances of ethical injustice as employers continue to intimidate their workers from creating unions, as described with Fast Food Nation and McDonald's. It is a marriage of Sinclair's eye-opening description of the meatpacking industry and Schlosser's depiction of contemporary business ethics. 

This is a great source and annotation showing how the horrors of the meatpacking industry first brought up in the Jungle, and later in Fast Food Nation are still going on today. The terrible ethics of these big businesses are still a problem to this day.

You guys bring up valid points. Honestly it gets frustrating hearing the same topic being incessantly repeated, but it still is a good source about these novels and the poor treatment of the workers. I like how your second quote even relates it to modern times, just like FFN

This article describes FFN as a modern day Jungle, but continues by saying that it is more that just 'muckraking.' Rather, Schlosser exposes the motives behind large businesses and how they effect unionization and social equality.

This article portrays not only the similarity between modern day working conditions of workers to those in the early 1900s, but it also illustrates the "declining power of labor unions" which illustrates the power of companies strengthening and unfairly taking advantage of these workers.

Fast Food Nation was acclaimed a modern day version of The Jungle when first published. However, this article shows that it was more than your average muckracking novel. It explains that the power of unions fell as the "Fast Food Nation" rose. Also, Schlosser's piece explained the widening social gap of Americans, as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

This is a touchy subject, and there are no quotes, HOWEVER this site was really neat because it provides a lot of modern statistics regarding those who favor laws AGAINST interracial marriage, based on race, religion, age, etc. In the same way that Malcolm and Shorty were arrested for being with white girls, rather than for the theft at hand, many modern people in America favor bans on interracial marriage.

This quote can be seen as the modern day version of The Grapes of Wrath. As the cyclical theory repeats itsself in history, the people of modern time are experiencing the same problems as the migrant workers. The author again evokes the passion to show the consequences of the poor treatment of workers

"These books catapulted food into the mainstream of modern culture and advocacy for social change, and opened doors for scholars as well as journalists to write about the political, commercial, and health aspects of food in modern society."

Food professor Marion Nestle discusses the social effects of FFN, as well as two other modern books, and the way they change how Americans view food. This topic is also related back to The Jungle, and it's seemingly ancient, yet undeniably relatable effects on the American food process.

Although this is a kind of ghetto site, it hit hard because it was a lot like Malcolm himself. In a protest to the blacks joining the Occupy Wall Street Movement, the author comments that he has been denied countless jobs, only because he is black. Despite having better credentials than many of his white friends, once employers discover his color, it's all over. Also, like the Nation of Islam and the Bro Hood, this guy talks about how the poor whites in the Occupy movements are only in it for themselves, and once they get what they want, they'll just forget about the black members. Unfortunately, this is modern, contemporary stuff that is going on now.

Mary Shelley used science as a metaphor for any kind of irresponsible action and what she really was concerned with was the politics of the era and the way the monarchy was operating in the interest of relatively few people.

This source relates Frankenstein to contemporary times, discussing the theme of social responsibility that scientists have, both to their experiments as well as to humanity. It discusses the manner in which Victor overstepped his boundaries, and resultingly was punished and suffered for it.

Discusses the harmful effects of cloning (a modern day experiment) upon the victims of it. Similarly to Frankenstein, the victims undergo physical distortions as well as pyschological issues that are nearly impossible to deal with. Again, just like Shelley, the author points out the negative impacts of tampering with human life.

This talks about the importance of family communication in a more modern sense, yet they values still hold true to AILD and Frankenstein. It discusses how children raised with poor communication skills cycles into family crisis, confusion and lack of self-esteem. These are all things faced by the characters of these 2 books. 

Connects The Jungle, and the Eastern European immigrant labor force used by the Chicago meatpacking industry to the present day use of Mexican immigrant labor in today's industries. Provides concrete details on the legality of the workforce used by modern corporations, as well as the questionable conditions in which they work. Bridges The Jungle and FFN without actually mentioning FFN

This shows the hard conditions that the workers have to go through even in modern times. The laissez faire style of the government is seen in which upper management can act corruptly toward the workers and get away with their behavior.

While many of modern society's economic talk, including Ehrenreich's experience, are of the injustice corporations and the government impose on the people with low wages that cannot even sustain a family for a month (or barely, at least)... they are overlooking the smarter state governments that do adjust their minimum wage policy to match inflation. Even if it may only be a few cents of a raise per hour, one can nearly earn a thousand, which definitely helps in sustaining a family. 

Just a bunch of helpful statistical data about women being paid less; even during modern days. Also would have been relatively helpful on the woman essay from her little essay

The site points out that women of back in the day were often unable to write a book simply for lack of three conditions that even modern day workers often take for granted. They were always kept too busy with simple preoccupations to bother with spending some free time writing books I also think the site made an interesting point in remarking that her style of writing is odd: she isn't talking about women's history, she's talking about thinking about it. Of course, it makes the book much more boring; however, it's a new and creative method of writing.

This is sad. What Woolf describes in her essay, that a woman must have means and money to be able to think freely, one would think that a woman in a modern society, where no continent is neglected of technology and accessible tools for the creative space, is able to share her own thoughts and words to express her mind. No-- her concerns nearly a century ago ring true today, women are commodities, sold to slavery, prostitution, forced marriage, social censorship, many women of the world are trapped in a system constantly exploited by men. 

"In 2000, in the Middle Atlantic and East North Central regions, black families' median income was especially low relative to that of whites." In IM, a running truth that kept IM going was that "white men only allowed black people to go as far as the whites wish it to be." In this 2000 statistic, we can see that this is still happening, that even though there is parity between whites and blacks in terms of graduation rates, the median incomes, the lifestyles of millions of blacks living in the North East Central region of the country were significantly less than of their white counterparts. We were also introduced to the whole concept that racism seemed to be a distant issue when IM finds his way up north, but instead, he eventually realizes that the north was waging a secret racism war on itself, where the racism was in truth, more intense than it was in the more modest, and "well-mannered' south.

goes into detail about the theme of invisibility and connects it to the real world. Relates the apocalyptic ending of the novel to the theme of invisibility, as well as discussing Ellison's literary influences

This literary review of IM praises the plot line, and discusses its relevancy to not only Harlem, but everywhere in the world where a social norm has developed. 

For there is a way for Negro novelists to go at their problems, just as there are Jewish or Italian ways. Mr. Ellison has not adopted a minority tone. If he had done so, he would have failed to establish a true middle-of-consciousness for everyone. In all other parts of the country people live in a kind of vastly standardized cultural prairie, a sort of infinite Middle West, and that means that they don't really live and they don't really do anything. Invisibility touches everyone, and Ellison helps to bring this fact to light.

"Most Americans thus are Invisible." Discusses both the faults of the novel as well as the powerful impact of the novel, and the application of it to all Americans, both past and contemporary.