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How To Read Literature Like A Professor Essay

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In How To Read Literature Like A Professor, I learned that characters are not people. Characters usually near the main characters ends up dead to help the plot just like how Patroclus best friend of Achilles died all because he was mistaken by the Troys as Achilles because he was wearing Achilles armor. The main characters are never killed in books this is the main distinction between characters and real people. They may have the same characteristics of a person they are based off of but they are not them, they are figures of imagination written by the author. Characters’ deaths are important plot devices this is reason why many side characters are killed in stories just like Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet his death was the reason why Romeo …show more content…

Violence in a story can either be a meaniless one or a needed one. Thomas C. Foster is the author of How To Read Literature Like a Professor said that one of the meaniless deaths in literature are in mystery books the murder is not the important part in the book but how or why the character was killed and by whom is the important part.But in other literature the violence is for symbolic effect like in D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love (1920) the physical fights between Gudrun and Ursula symbolize clashes in the social system of industrial capitalism. The central idea in this chapter is that if you think something is symbolic it's probably been symbolic. But sometimes symbolism is correct to put in literature because symbolism is very vague and widespread allegory is a better to be used in literature because it's not so widespread. Allegory means which means things stand for other things on a one-for-one basis.George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) is a good example of an allegory it’s clear that Orwell hopes to convey one specific message about the nature of political power and revolution using the setting of a

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The Pakistan Partition, in 1947, generated a great divide within cultures and families. In “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” Jhumpa Lahiri transcribes a short story about a man isolated from his family by depicting the aspects of symbolism, intrinsic first person point of view, and the theme of loneliness created by simple word choice structure. Jhumpa Lahiri incorporates her style, in this short story, with symbolism to synthesize two feelings of the main character, Lilia. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster states, “Oh, sure, there are some symbols that work straightforwardly: a white flag means, I give up, don’t shoot” (98). With this piece of information, it is best to say that Lahiri is using the candy as a symbol

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863 Words | 4 Pages

How does How To Read Literature Like A Professor applies to every piece of literature? This novel is written by Thomas Foster and he gives the better understanding on many things, including patterns, symbols, and other literary devices. He helps the reader to gain knowledge on how to recognize each small detail of the story. This novel makes the connection with The Scarlet Letter and makes it easier to comprehend. The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne; this novel is about Hester Prynne, who is a young and beautiful woman and committed adultery with town’s minister, Reverend Dimmesdale.

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The book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster, teaches readers how to pick up all the hints authors leave in their stories, and thus understand literature better (hence the title). Written in second person point of view, Foster explains how to spot the signs, and addresses questions he assumes most readers would ask about them. He provides well known examples and explanations to further his readers’ comprehension and does not hesitate to repeatedly clarify what he is saying to make sure they get the point. Foster believes this guide will help them better understand the novels that they read, wants them to ruminate the context and content, and hopes they consider his teachings while reading. Written by Kate Cary under

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1710 Words | 7 Pages

Book Report On How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster Thomas C. Foster’s “How to Read Literature like a Professor” has established itself as an essential and pivotal text in the landscape of literature, offering readers a thorough and insightful guide to literary analysis. Through the book report, a detailed exploration of Foster’s work will be provided, looking at the complexities, strengths, and weaknesses of the text. Assessing its significance for both academic and contemporary purposes. Through an academic analysis, a detailed review of the text, an analysis of its relevance within today’s culture, and recommendations for potential readers, this report aims

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800 Words | 4 Pages

Thomas Foster, a professor at the University of Michigan, taught literature and writing. He was born in West Cornfield, Ohio, and living in such a small town caused him to become very associated with books. In 2003, Foster published a book, How to Read Literature like a Professor, written in second person. The book is written as a guide for readers to know the parts of nonfiction books. It teaches young readers how to include important elements into their stories.

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How to Read Literature Like a Professor is a book that shows numerous ways and strategies to understand what their reading. Each chapter shows examples from books and use of literary devices that can help develop the meaning of the story. Think of this book as reading between the lines. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald used people to symbolize objects or things to let the reader have an interpretation on the characters. For example, the green light represents Gatsby's future for him and Daisy to be together.

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1075 Words | 5 Pages

Ryan Abbott 6th Period 8/20/15 How to Read Literature Like a Professor and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are Connected a lot More than You Might Think There is only one word that ties everything together in a story: connections. That is how piece of literature is formed.

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Reading the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster helps the reader see books in a whole new light. Throughout the book, the reader progresses through a series of steps that demonstrate depth and symbolism. Foster focuses on presenting the reader with the idea that there are themes, patterns, symbols and many more literary techniques that inexperienced readers might miss initially. Re-reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and analyzing it by Foster’s book helps the reader know what to recognize and analyze. The setting is based on Lennie Smalls and George Milton move to Soledad, California, to find a job and new beginning.

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327 Words | 2 Pages

In Thomas C. Foster's How To Read Literature Like a Professor, he describes the setup of the adventure of the protagonist, dividing it into five parts: Our quester, a place to go, a stated reason to there, challenges and trials, and the real reason to go. A protagonist must experience all of these things in order to accomplish their goals and learn their lessons. In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens, the main character, must encounter these things in order to unlock the mystery of what really happened to her mother the night she was killed, in addition to learning about the passion of writing and telling stories, the dangers and foolishness of racism, and female power. Our quester, Lily, is a fourteen year old girl with a passion for writing.

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704 Words | 3 Pages

In the tragedy of King Lear, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of symbols through his usage of a poisonous serpent, specifically the poison Cordelia introduces into the family. Similarly, in the historical text, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster illustrates the concept of symbolism, specifically in Chapter 5, “Is That A Symbol?”, when he suggests that symbols often possess multiple general meanings and a vary from one reader to another reader. Likewise, the symbol of poison Lear speaks of in Act I carries throughout the remainder of the tragedy, often exhibited as Lear’s pain due to Cordelia’s absence or the ruined relationships with his child developed when she travels away from the kingdom, emphasized by Act V;

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921 Words | 4 Pages

Almost every child grows up with the age old moral principle, ‘violence is never the answer’. But is violence occasionally the answer in literature? Violence is one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings, but it can also be cultural and societal in it’s implications. In the novel, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, particularly chapter eleven, Thomas C. Foster discusses violence in writing. This can then be connected to acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

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How to Read Literature Like a professor chapter1 In the first chapter of How to Read Literature Like a professor author Thomas C. Foster discusses how almost every story has some type of quest, the title of chapter is “ Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)” he clearly alludes to the fact that the chapter is about the quest aspect of a story and its significance. As the chapter developed Foster began to cover the essentials of a quest and the purpose behind a quest, according to him there are five significant aspects of a quest “(a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there. He then expands of each of these things.

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777 Words | 4 Pages

Behind each movie lies the meaningful aspects and significant features worth noticing. All movies and books can be carefully examined and interpreted. Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor provides a new view on interpreting literature. In the novel, Foster identifies and analyzes common patterns, themes, and motifs found in literature, many of which are also present in Disney’s film, Maleficent. This movie showcases several of his ideas, including quests, flight, geography, and symbolism.

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231 Words | 1 Pages

One of the most powerful techniques used in captivating stories is symbolism. Symbolism is using words that symbolize, or represent, something else.. This can cause the readers to become more drawn into the story. In George Orwell’s 1984, symbolism is used several key times to reach the readers of the novel and make them feel more connected to the work of literature. One of the largest uses of symbolism in this novel, was the glass paperweight.

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In the second day of school of a new year, a class of first graders returned to their room from their play time at the school’s park/playground. The teacher told the kids to take their seats, and noted that a kid seemed to be missing. She asked her trainee “Didn’t we have a red-haired kid in our class?”, but she already knew the answer. The teacher and the trainee were desperate that it was only the first day of school and she had already lost a student. The pair quickly ran back to the school’s park and began searching for the young student inside every single structure and toy in the playground, up in the trees, anywhere one would expect a child to be hidden.

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