Adapting a much-beloved novel for the screen can be a tricky business. Each media has its own possibilities and limitations. The second PBS Jane Eyre resource in the Masterpiece series asks readers to evaluate how the filmmakers have...

As part of a study of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, class members compare the portion of Chapter IV, where Jane is criticized by Mrs. Reed and interrogated by Mr. Brocklehurst, with the film interpretation of the same scene.

The famous length of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace — 15 books and 365 chapters — presents a real challenge for many readers and their teachers. So why bother? Use a short video that argues for a reading of an unabridged...

In this video [3:24] from the American Masters film Novel Reflections on the American Dream, learn about F. Scott Fitzgerald and his notorious fictional character Jay Gatsby. Both were in the pursuit of the American dream and love....

Meet F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic character Jay Gatsby in this video from the American Masters film Novel Reflections on the American Dream. Learn about the spectacle of Gatsby, the techniques the author uses to present Gatsby, and the...

In this video [3:06] from the American Masters film Novel Reflections on the American Dream, see the quest for the American dream as depicted in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." Follow the Joad family as they search for work and...

In this lesson, you will learn to describe how the characters' traits and motivations contribute to the sequence of events by asking, 'What character trait or motivation made this event happen?' [7:58]

In this lesson, you will learn how to determine character motivation by asking "Did my character do this because he or she feels a certain way?" [4:24]