Why do we so often say the book was better than the movie? Can film do things that fiction can’t? In this course, we will read four works of fiction (three short stories and a novel) and watch film adaptations of each text. By studying fiction and film side by side, we’ll discover how adaptations can shape, inform, or expand our understanding of a story. What do adaptations reveal to us about form? How does a ten-page short story lend itself to a two-hour movie? We’ll take a close look at how filmmakers interpret moments of literary ambiguity, as well as the creative choices that allow each film to stand as a work of art independent of its source material.