Book/Novel Adaptation

 What is the relationship between literature and film?  Is it possible to adapt a literary work to screen? In other words, is it possible to narrate the same story in such different languages?  What do we mean when we speak about “adapting” a literary work to screen?  What do we mean by “fidelity” to the text?  Is adaptation a “translation” or rather a “re-interpretation”?  How do we understand the relationship between the original source and its adaptation?  What is the impact of adapting literary classics to a modern context?  Is the adaptation a straight or a loose interpretation of the novel?  Can the adaptation stand alone, or is it necessary to have read the novel to understand the film?  Does the adaptation capture the novel’s formal elements: the theme, characterization, style, tone, and plot of the novel?  When the screenwriter and/or director changes any of the formal elements of the novel, is the overall message retained?  What does the film omit or add? What is the significance of these changes?