ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Race Videos
Play All
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...
Historical fiction novels like The Help can whisk you back to a place and time that you may have only read about in history books. Or... a place an...
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...
Everyone has that happy-go-lucky friend. The one who skips through life with a smile and believes everybody has a beautiful soul. We're guessing th...
If you suddenly came into a bunch of money, you'd give it all away, right? Yeah, we figured.
You’re one in a million, buddy. Er...actually, more like one meaningless speck in a sea of billions. Makes you feel kind of insignificant, right?...
Kaffir Boy is the story of a young South African tennis player living under the restrictions of apartheid. He ends up going the self-preservation r...
Could one of America’s most famous anti-slavery books be racist? Well, the book’s offensive caricatures combined with today’s perspective on...
In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout is really, really not interested in learning about the so-called requirements of her gender. Even though she realize...
Their eyes may have been watching God, but we think we know who won that staring contest.
In this memoir, Eliezer struggles with his relationship with his father during the Holocaust.
A word to the wise: secret marriages don't work out well in Shakespeare plays. Just ask Othello and Desdemona.
One minute, we're crying out of sadness; the next thing you know, we're crying out of laughter. Arnold's diary puts ours to shame. Excuse us while...
River raft. A good friend. Adventures. Tricks. Lots and lots of surprise feelings. Basically, our boy Huck has 'em all.
If you're looking for this one at the library, we suggest looking between The Color Red and The Color Blue.
If you're still eating pie on a regular basis, you probably haven't read this book or seen the movie. If you have and it hasn't swayed you...well,...
Yes, there are kites. Yes, there are runners. No, despite how much we love running and flying kites, this isn't a happy story by any stretch of the...
Take a stroll with us through the shady back alleys of Venice. If you were looking for a relaxing ride through the gondola canals...well, wrong tra...
We know that snacking on some dry raisins in the beating hot sun doesn't sound like the most appetizing thing in the world. But stick with us and you'll see just how juicy and appetizing this story really is.
A great marriage begins with a blooming pear tree and ends with a hurricane, rabies, and a murder trial…or something like that.
Gee whiz! Running after kites sounds like so much fun! That's totally what this book is about, right? Nope. Hosseini's novel actually touches on subjects such as orphanages, abuse, and murder. Not quite as uplifting, but it does make for a great read.
Minny pulls quite a stunt in this story. Just try not to make a scene when Grandma Mimi won't tell you what her chocolate cream pie's "secret ingredient" is next Christmas Eve.
Moby-Dick - una ballena extraña. Nuestro amigo capitán Ahab la había perseguido para años, pero no es el mejor lider en el mundo. Piensas que perseguimos lideres como Ahab? Deside para ti mismo.
If you associate "night" with darkness and depression and danger…then maybe you're not the happiest person to be around when the sun goes down. But you are on the right track when it comes to Elie Wiesel's autobiography. Prepare for some serious darkness, Shmoopers.
One video to rule them all. One video to find them. One video to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Or something like that. The Lord of the Rings trilogy revolves around that one ring. Will the ring bring darkness or light, precious?
What happens when Charles Marlow journeys up the Congo River? Who is Mr. Kurtz—is he really amazing or just a crazy weirdo? And what’s up with all the chained up natives and fog and heads on poles? The horror, the horror!
We tend to think of Shakespeare as the timeless author who did nothing but craft beautiful, hilarious plays for our enjoyment. However, the fact is that he was a human being affected by the attitudes and beliefs of his time, just like the rest of us. Sorry to burst your Shakespearean bubble of bliss!
In order to understand Arnold's diary, you'll have to speak his language—cartoons. Huh, now that we say it out loud it doesn't sound too difficult, after all. We've been training every Sunday morning for this.