While the traditional essay that analyzes short stories has very specific features, responses to short stories and other forms of literature can take many forms, including adaptations, sequels, and parodies. Responses to literature in other media, such as theater, dance, film, and music, are common: The musical West Side Story, for example, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; the 2007 opera Grapes of Wrath is based on John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name; and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has inspired numerous film versions, including a 3-D version directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Students sometimes interpret stories they have studied by presenting them in different media. The screen shot below is from a video developed by three students—Natalie George, Lacey Patzer, and Sam Williams—for their digital storytelling course. It retells “The Story of an Hour” from Mrs. Mallard’s point of view. This screenshot captures a moment not included in Chopin’s story (pp. 496–98)—the whispering of Mrs. Mallard’s sister and her husband’s friend, as they discuss the news of Brently Mallard’s death and how to break it to his “widow.”

Play the video.

Read the transcript.

Courtesy of Natalie Grace George, Lacey Iris Patzer, and Sam Williams.

Source: George, Natalie, Lacey Patzer, and Sam Williams. “The Story of an Hour.” YouTube. YouTube.com, 5 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsbuOcYYBF4