How To Read Literature Like A Professor Analysis

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. These are only a few characteristics that shape the movie into an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience for the audience.
Foster notes that most stories and movies follow a pattern concerning quests (Foster 6). A character’s quest

This film features massive thorns, tangled tree roots, landscapes of trees and waterfalls, and the mystical creatures that inhabit the land. Foster states that “...landscape and architecture and weather … merged as neatly with mood and tone to set a story in motion” (Foster 166). In the movie, the thorns and tangled roots immediately set a foreboding and gloomy tone. Foster mentions that geography not only includes physical surroundings, but also the people that live there. The creatures living in Maleficent’s kingdom resembled her imagination. In addition, geography served to isolate Maleficent’s kingdom from King Stefan 's kingdom in this film. The geographical isolation adds tension to the plot by establishing the apparent enemies and hatred toward each other. Foster also states that “Geography can also define or even develop character” (Foster 167). After Maleficent’s wings were removed, there were ominous skies, little sunlight, and few signs of life. These sudden changes in Maleficent 's kingdom reflect her dark and evil soul. Geography in literature doesn’t always pertain to just the setting. It also serves as a symbol to represent the character’s