Classics Like Romeo and Juliet Adapted for the Screen and the New Great Gatsby Movie and Its Setting

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Chose a classic and chances are it has been adapted into a movie or television show. Some of the adaptations may be exactly as the original version was and others may take liberties, but it seems as though a classic untouched by Hollywood is about as common as a movie version of the SAT. Why are these classics churned in Hollywood again and again? From straight "remakes" to "inspired by," Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet has seen countless adaptations and is among the most frequently adapted classics. What is it about stories like Romeo and Juliet that inspire someone to make a movie that so many want to see? For some classics, like Romeo and Juliet, it seems like it's the story or concept. For others it's the interesting or likeable characters. Some classics may be attractive to Hollywood simply for the unique "world" or location where the story takes place. In the case of The Great Gatsby, it's all of these things.

The Great Gatsby has been adapted into several major motion pictures and there is a new one in the works right now. Writer/director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Australia, Romeo and Juliet) is shooting his version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. Yes, there have been other Gatsby movies, but this one will be different because it is Baz Luhrmann, and because it will be... in 3D! So you will be able to go to the movie theater and see Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy in all their three-dimensional glory. So, why do we see Hollywood making another Great Gatsby movie? (Especially considering the fact that the 1974 film won many academy awards.) The story, characters, and setting are all extremely appealing.

The story is Nick Carraway's and we sympathize, relate, and root for him. We enjoy Nick's journey in this world and we appreciate how he has changed by the end. He has all the ingredients of a memorable character. Jay Gatsby and the lengths he goes to for his extreme love-slash-obsession with the ethereal Daisy Buchanan is both enthralling and entertaining. We are also taken by the world in which the story is set. The rich and unique setting, New York and the north shore of Long Island during the 1920s, is intriguing and exciting.

So what does taking a piece of great literature and turning it into a movie mean as far as experiencing the story? Writers of novels intend for them to be a personal, quiet, experience for a reader. As a movie, the story is being presented in a movie theater, with an audience. It is no longer the author speaking to one person. Seeing the actors play characters on a screen and watching the story unfold rather than reading it, completely changes the experience. We cannot experience it at our own pace, stopping to consider a moment in the book or going back to see if we missed something. We are in the hands of the filmmakers, allowing them to show us how they see the novel. Perhaps this is why so many people say, "The book is always better than the movie." When we sit down to read a book we are a bigger part of the experience, we are making the movie inside our own minds as we sit, with the author, and imagine what he or she is telling us.

Paul Thomson is an avid reader of English Literature. His areas of expertise include SAT, Romeo and Juliet, and ACT Prep. In his spare time, he loves to participate in online literature forums and promote reading for youth.

To Kill a Mockingbird: The Effect of Racist Influences on the Young

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America has a long history of racism. Unless you've spent your entire life with your head under a watermelon, you should be well aware of the negative stereotypes that African Americans have long had to endure, and the discrimination with which they continue to be faced. Believe it or not, there once was a time when they weren't even allowed to take the SAT!

Because of this country's long history of slavery, the struggles of African Americans have often been reflected in our nation's literature. Many works centering on race or racism have won Pulitzers and National Book Awards and are frequently listed as some of the greatest American novels - books such as Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Richard Wright's Native Son and Black Boy among them. However, none has stuck with us quite so strongly nor had quite such a profound effect on the makeup of the American literary canon as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

So the question is, why? What makes this book so special? You don't need to read an entire To Kill a Mockingbird Summary to figure it out - all you need to notice is something about a few of the main characters.

Whereas most novels dealing with the issue of racism tend to focus on adults of at least 17 or 18 years old, To Kill a Mockingbird explores the subject from the point of view of children who are quite a bit younger. The reason this is consequential is that the seeds of racism are planted when we are young. It is much more moving and powerful to see the ways in which children transform (or don't transform, depending on the quality of their outside influences) as they progress through their formative years. In To Kill a Mockingbird, we have the opportunity to observe just such a thing.

We'll leave you with a few To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes that draw attention to the differences between the ways that children and adults view and deal with racism:

"Atticus-" said Jem bleakly. He turned in the doorway. "What, son?" "How could they do it, how could they?" "I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it - seems that only children weep. Good night." (22.14-17)

"Don't talk like that, Dill," said Aunt Alexandra. "It's not becoming to a child. It's - cynical.""I ain't cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin' the truth's not cynical, is it?" "The way you tell it, it is." (22.32-34)

The adults in Maycomb never discussed the case with Jem and me; it seemed that they discussed it with their children, and their attitude must have been that neither of us could help having Atticus for a parent, so their children must be nice to us in spite of him. The children would never have thought that up for themselves: had our classmates been left to their own devices, Jem and I would have had several swift, satisfying fist-fights apiece and ended the matter for good. As it was, we were compelled to hold our heads high and be, respectively, a gentleman and a lady. (26.10)

Paul Thomson is an avid reader of English Literature. His areas of expertise include SAT, To Kill a Mockingbird, and PSAT. In his spare time, he loves to participate in online literature forums and promote reading for youth.