When watching movies or reading books, you may notice a pattern or similarity in the stories. This is called an archetype. The hero’s journey is one example. Authors have different ways of expressing their thoughts in their hero’s journey. The Hobbit is about the journey of Bilbo Baggins and 13 dwarves who journey to get their treasure back.
The novel How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas Foster, takes the reader inside the journey of embracing and analyzing a novel. This book helps one to deepen and further their understanding and become more in tune with the piece of writing itself. In the very first chapter, Foster jumps rights in and begins to examine the first page of a novel. He speaks of how they must be “seductive” and “give you everything you need to know.” It is kind of a life or death situation.
Xander Carrasco Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 6 21 September 2017 How to Read Literature like a Professor The book, How to Read Literature like a Professor, was written by the well-known author, Thomas C. Foster, with a purpose to further educate readers who wish to better their understanding of literature and analysis strategies. Major focuses of Thomas C. Foster was to aid or train readers to recognize, patterns, symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. Throughout the work, Foster cites other pieces of fiction or classics in order to further his own arguments made on the approach of reading analysis.
Characters in stories sometimes follow a theme when it comes to their traits. These traits are called archetypes. Archetypes can be as simple as a villain or hero. They can also be used to portray unfathomable human characteristics that exists in everyone. Characteristics such as greed, lust, envy, pride, sloth, and gluttony are examples.
How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, is a book that teaches adolescence how to read and comprehend literature. Foster’s purpose for writing this book was to help adolescents become better readers. Foster also wants to show that literature is not just a story, though it is also a learning experience to help us in life. He teaches us that “Every Trip is a Quest”, Vampires do exist, “It’s All Political”, and much more. After reading this book, readers should understand more about literature and how to connect stories to other stories and real life.
What do all great works of literature have in common? All impressive literary works have hugely contrasting alienated characters, usually portrayed by the villains, and heroic characters. These two distinct characters may not get along well, but they both work together to highlight the underlying themes woven in the story. Alienated characters reveal the things a society values and desires by embodying characteristics that go against these wants. On the other hand, heroic characters highlight these morals and aspirations by exemplifying them.
At first glance, the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker appears to be a typical gothic horror novel set in the late 1890s that gives readers an exciting look into the fight between good and evil. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Dracula is a statement piece about gender roles and expectations for men and women during the Victorian age. Looking at the personalities, actions, and character development of each of the characters in Dracula bring to light startling revelations about Victorian society and how Stoker viewed the roles of men and women during this time period. To really understand Dracula, it is important to note that this novel was written during a time “of political and social upheaval, with anxieties not just about the
What would it be like to be a vampire? What would it be like to have a vampire in one’s life? What were the vampires of folklore like? These topics will be reviewed throughout this essay by comparing four of the vampire books and movies. All the vampire movies have some similarities and differences but four literature pieces in particular will be gone through in this comparison.
The presentation of Good vs. Evil is one of the main themes in the novel, Dracula. The portrayal of good and evil is seen in each character throughout the book. The characters considered “evil” in the novel are Dracula and his vampire brides. Dracula converts humans into vampires and has immense power over certain individuals. Everything he does demonstrates that there is no good in him at all.
Symbols in “The Cavemen in the Hedges” In the short story “The Cavemen in the Hedges” by Stacey Richter, there are many important symbols that make up the story. All these symbols all have a type of connection to each other. The couple, the narrator and Kim have been together for ten years and trying to live a happy life but the neighborhood has filthy cavemen wandering around doing uncivilized unlike a human being. The whole neighborhood wants to get rid of them wild cavemen.
Imagine you are entering a garden. You take in the aroma of the air and feel the serenity as the environment affects you. Now imagine you are stranded in a forest. You look in all directions feeling lost and anxious about what might happen next. As you can see, settings that appear within a story can help us determine how a character must feel.
As Stated by the author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor For Kids, by Thomas Foster, authors use certain varieties of weather conditions in order to set a mood in the story that’s relevant to the scenario present. Foster explains this action as saying, “But an author doesn't have a quick shower of rain, or a flurry or snow, or a flood or a blizzard, for no reason at all (Foster, 59).” What the author is trying to remark is that authors don't put unnecessary weather unless it contributes to the plot or the mood, sometimes even using it as means of ivory. One example of weather being used in the movie clip from Toy Story is rain. The rain didn't start until Sid was just about the release a rocket outside with Buzz attached, which
In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker highlights the theme of sexuality that challenge ideas of sex to both the female and male characters. The author objectifies the female characters in the novel to be over sexualized and portrays sex to empower women. Stoker may present the theme of female sexuality; however, he demonstrates gender inequality triumphs at the end leaving women in the shadows again. Women in the eighteenth century hardly had any type of power outside of overseeing the household and they probably contained much less power expressing any type of sexual emotions. Stoker’s novel gives readers a different perspective of the female sexuality as if almost empowering women and stating that they too can be sexual creatures like men.
Mother Archetype Mothers are seen occasionally as the strangest, craziest, altruistic people who have ever been encountered. However some argue that they are the complete opposite. The basic perception of mothers that they are loving, caring, and very nurturing, and this makes up the mother archetype, not only modern day but records and perceptions that date back to ancient history. Although it has come along way, Mothers play a very important role in modern day theatre, literature, and even stories dating back to the biblical era. In ancient texts, we see this role being played by Thetis, Achilles mother in Greek mythology.
Very little is known about the epic poem Beowulf besides that the story was told during the Anglo-Saxon period, specifically between the years 500-1100. The author is unknown, due to the fact that the story was originally told verbally and not documented until much later. Like many stories told throughout the ages, Beowulf consists of many archetypes. An archetype is a recurring symbol found in literature, such as the Hero archetype. In this epic poem, the hero, Beowulf, travels from his homeland to Denmark to save a kingdom from an awful beast that has been attacking men late at night for over twelve years.
