Great Books Episode Guide

Episode Guide

• 1984

  George Orwell depicts a totalitarian state in the novel '1984.'

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

  In '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,' Jules Verne describes forms of technology well ahead of their time.

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Alice in Wonderland

  Lewis Carroll writes 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' for a young friend.

• All Quiet on the Western Front

  A young German soldier views the horrors of war in Erich Maria Remarque's 'All Quiet on the Western Front.'

• Arabian Nights

  The wonder, adventure and romance of 'Arabian Nights.'

• The Art of War

  Suntzu applies Chinese philosophy to 'The Art of War.'

• Beyond Genesis: The Origin of Species

  Darwin's theory of evolution removes man from the center of creation.

• The Bible: Exodus

  The Book of Exodus tells of God laying waste to Egypt.

• The Bible: Genesis

  The Book of Genesis contains the first seeds of Western Civilization.

• Catch-22

  Joseph Heller's 'Catch-22' illustrates the absurdity of war.

• Crime & Punishment

  In Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment,' Raskolnikov, believing he is above the law, murders an elderly pawnbroker for her money in order to rescue his sister.

• Don Quixote

  Don Quixote.

• Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde

  Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde' reveals dark shadows that lurk in the souls of all humans.

• Dracula

  Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' remains an enigma.

• Frankenstein: Making of a Monster

  Movie clips and an interview with Anne Rice ('The Vampire Chronicles') show ideas behind Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein.'

• Freud's Interpretation of Dreams

  'The Interpretation of Dreams' establishes Sigmund Freud as the father of psychoanalysis.

• Galileo

  Galileo's 'Dialogue' pits science against the religious stance of his era.

• Grapes of Wrath

  John Steinbeck's novel 'The Grapes of Wrath' depicts a Depression-era family's journey from Oklahoma to California.

• Great Expectations

  Charles Dickens' 'Great Expectations' explores Victorian society.

• The Great Gatsby

  F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' shows a society undergoing radical change.

• Gulliver's Travels

  Jonathan Swift's satirical 'Gulliver's Travels' examines human nature.

• Heart of Darkness

  Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' attacks colonialism.

• The Hound of the Baskervilles
• Huck Finn

  In 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' Mark Twain depicts slavery.

• The Inferno

  Dante Alighieri's 'The Inferno' becomes a defining vision of hell.

• The Jungle
• Le Morte d'Arthur: The Legend of the King

  Arthurian scholar Geoffrey Ashe examines the history behind Thomas Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur.'

• Les Miserables

  In 'Les Miserables,' Victor Hugo depicts an ex-convict unable to escape the stigma of his past.

• Lord of the Flies

  Lost boys form a society in 'Lord of the Flies.'

• Madame Bovary

  Gustave Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary' depicts an unfaithful wife.

• Malcolm X

  Charismatic leader Malcolm X rises to power from a life on the streets.

• Metamorphosis

  A man awakens as a huge insect in Franz Kafka's surreal tale 'Metamorphosis.'

• Moby Dick

  Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' tells of Capt. Ahab's obsession with a great whale.

• The Naked and the Dead

  Norman Mailer's 'The Naked and the Dead' depicts the brutality of war.

• Native Son

  Richard Wright's 'Native Son' depicts black society in the '40s.

• The Odyssey

  Homer's 'Odyssey' traces the return of Odysseus from the Trojan War.

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

  Ken Kesey's 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' blasts 1950s conformity.

• Plato's Republic

  Plato's 'Republic' envisions the ideal state.

• Poe's Tales of Terror

  Edgar Allan Poe's life is as tragic as his short horror stories.

• Pride and Prejudice

  Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' is a timeless novel of love and marriage.

• The Prince

  Machiavelli's 'The Prince' gives rise to the term Machiavellian meaning crafty, deceitful.

• Red Badge of Courage

  A young man faces Civil War conflict in Stephen Crane's 'Red Badge of Courage.'

• The Right Stuff

  Tom Wolfe shows astronauts' heroism in 'The Right Stuff.'

• The Scarlet Letter

  Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' deals with the consequences of desire in Puritan New England.

• Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

  Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' forces Congress to enact food safety laws.

• Walden

  Henry David Thoreau's 'Walden' emphasizes choosing spirituality over materialism.

• War of the Worlds

  Martians invade in H.G. Wells' 'The War of the Worlds'; narrator Donald Sutherland.

• The Wizard of Oz

  'The Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum.

• Wuthering Heights

  Heathcliff, archetype for the modern anti-hero, springs from Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights.'