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Themes Videos
Picking a theme for a party is pretty easy—always go karate party, because they come with nunchuck egg rolls. Themes in writing are a little different. They’re about sending messages, not chucking egg rolls at unsuspecting bystanders. We're not saying one is better than the other, though. We suggest you chuck a few egg rolls and draw your own conclusion.
Compassion and Forgiveness Videos 2 videos
What? She gets a rose and we don’t? Who is this Emily person anyway? What’s she done to deserve such a delightful, aromatic gift?
How did Scrooge go from being naughty to nice so quickly, and why? (Hint: contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the ghost of Santa...
Family Videos 53 videos
The Grapes of Wrath is one of the longest—ahem, most important books in American literary history. But what's with the title?
Así que ... si las uvas de la ira se perdió demasiado tiempo, iban a convertirse en pasas de uva de la ira? Si es así, esto podría afectar seri...
No, not the sour grapes of questionable freshness that gave you weird stomach rumblings before your last soccer game; we're talking about Steinbeck...
Fate and Free Will Videos 28 videos
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...
A cheap shot at a bestseller or a deeper book with connections relevant to the human race? In The Call of the Wild, the protagonist is a dog named...
No HBO? Well then, how does a horror short story writing contest sound? And the winner is...drum roll, please...Mary Shelley. You go, girl. And tha...
Friendship Videos 4 videos
Aren't midsummer night dreams the worst? You wake up all sweaty and gross, and for a minute there, you can't even remember where you are. And also,...
Have you ever pretended to be super happy for your BFF when they win an award when, really, you just wanted to rip it out of their undeserving, ung...
A cheap shot at a bestseller or a deeper book with connections relevant to the human race? In The Call of the Wild, the protagonist is a dog named...
Irony Videos 1 videos
And you thought a nymph was a naturally lovely woodland creature. To be fair, so did we. But boy did Jonathan Swift prove us wrong.
Isolation Videos 22 videos
How did Scrooge go from being naughty to nice so quickly, and why? (Hint: contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the ghost of Santa...
This video discusses the major ideas of the satirical American war novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. The horror of war meets…absurdity and humor?...
Love Videos 57 videos
Aren't midsummer night dreams the worst? You wake up all sweaty and gross, and for a minute there, you can't even remember where you are. And also,...
We're not sure if good ol' Shakespeare would endorse The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but that's not going to stop us from hosting themed viewing...
You really must love a town if you're going to write a whole poem about it. Carl Sandburg wrote an entire poem on his hometown, Chicago, just becau...
Power Videos 18 videos
We were so moved by Angelina Jolie's overseas adoptions that we created a proposal to bring foreign-born children over by the thousands! Think abou...
Three scantily clad young girls enter a store. No, this isn’t your grandfather about to tell an inappropriate joke. And no, you’re not watching...
How do you insult the Soviet Union and get away with it? Make them animals. (No one will ever know.) That was George Orwell's plan, and it worked....
Race Videos 4 videos
Should you ever find yourself on a raft, floating down the Mississippi River, you're going to want something to do. Reading Mark Twain's classic, T...
In The Color Purple, Celie is abused by her father and husband. She leaves her father by marrying Mr. ________, and then leaves Mr. ______, too. Bu...
This video summarizes the play A Raisin in the Sun. It discusses the Youngers, members of an African-American family trying to better themselves wh...
Warfare Videos 5 videos
You might be hearing a chorus of farewells if you recommend A Farewell to Arms as the next read for your Fabulously Feisty Feminist Book Club.
Stephen Crane wrote The Red Badge of Courage about the Civil War not long after the war had ended. And get this: he didn't even fight in the war. W...
This video discusses the important ladies of The Sun Also Rises…make that the one important lady. Brett is the only major female character in the...