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How To Read Literature Like A Professor Chapter 1 Analysis

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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. Foster believes …show more content…

The book has every part of the five significant things for a quest (a) quester- Edgar, (b) place to go- Starchild colony, (C) stated reason to go there- escape punishment for the death of Dr. Papineau, (d) challenges and trials en route- inexperience, hunger, or the possibility of being caught, and (e) real reason to go there- get away from Claude. The quest of the novel Demdemyanos 2 also fits perfectly into Foster’s purpose for a quest and his characterization of typical quester. Edgar is an inexperienced and immature teenager who descends on a journey and along the way he finds himself, his views, as well as his values changing, a prime example of this is when he begins to miss Almondine he starts to realize that he was in the wrong position when got angry at her for lying next to Claude, Wroblewski states “ Now Almondine occupied his thoughts...Perhaps she would have forgotten his crimes, for which he wanted more than anything to atone. Everything that had happened to him since he’d left made him think of her.” (498) Toward the end of the book Edgar almost beings to have a revelation and realizes his mistakes and although he still had a deep hatred for Claude he still goes back home for Almondine and uncover Claude 's crimes. In that sense the quest in the The story of Edgar Sawtelle fit perfectly into the quest

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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 first chapter in How to Read Literature Like a Professor: a Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Line by Thomas Foster, that I was able to draw a parallel with was “Every Trip is a Quest”. Within this chapter the author explains how the standard creator may loosely base their writing around the design of a quest. As a result, the author starts with a character who orders another to journey somewhere, to retrieve something, and then the character comes to a revelation about their life in the greater scheme. Foster stresses the importance in the knowledge that these minuscule errands the characters always seem to detect a growth in self- knowledge. Additionally, Foster introduces the concept of a standard pattern, he describes

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By reading “How to Read Literature like a Professor” and “The Kite Runner”, the reader is aided in his or her ability to understand the true meanings behind the text. One is able to decipher how the act of coming together to eat can mean anything from a simple meal with family, to an uncomfortable situation that leads to anger or stress in an individual character. The reader is able to understand the use of rain or other weather in a novel to transform the mood and tone of scene, or understand the cleansing or destructive qualities that weather may have on the overall plot of the story. The use of illness can be transformed, as it can lead to the reader discovering veiled means behind tuberculosis, cholera, a simple cold, or even cancers such

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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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“A Rose for Emily” is a unique short story that keeps the reader guessing even though its first sentence already reveals the majority of the content. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” is the epitome of a work that follows an unconventional plot structure and a non-linear timeline, but this method of organization is intentional, as it creates suspense throughout the story. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” follows an unusual plot structure, which creates an eccentric application of suspense to a short story. Throughout the story, there are no clear indications of standard plot structure in each section, such as intro, climax, and denouement. Instead, there are sections, which are not in chronological order, that describe a particular conflict or event, which in turn creates suspense, as each conflict builds upon each other to make the reader question the overall context and organization of the story.

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In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster teaches readers the meanings behind commonly used symbols, themes, and motifs. Many readers of all ages use this book as a guide to understanding messages and deeper meanings hidden in novels. The deeper literary meanings of various symbols in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale are explained in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. By using Foster’s book, readers can better understand the symbols in The Handmaid’s Tale.

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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

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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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The poem “Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy illustrates Foster’s quest theory by using metaphors. Throughout the poem there are several metaphors but overall the whole poem is a metaphor all in itself. The speaker begins to tell you right as the poem begins, “Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body.” The Laistrygonians, Cyclops, and angry Poseidon are obstacles that will cross your path, don’t let them get in your way. It is comparing these three terrifying things to the obstacles you come across everyday and how you can’t let them destroy you.

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“Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)”, chapter one of the novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, discusses the presence of quests and their importance in literature. Foster uses both hypothetical examples as well as examples from literature to provide cases in which quests are present and significant. Kip, a hypothetical example of daily life, is a normal high school student that is out to buy some Wonder Bread for his mother. He is confronted by a rich kid driving a nice car accompanied by Kip’s crush. Although this may seem like an extremely ordinary scene in high school, Kip’s adventure out to the grocery store is a quest of a sorts; the stroll out to the store fulfills all of the requirements of a quest.

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What is the purpose of a quest? We see people going on quests everyday in the news, at school, even in the books we read. Every human has gone on at least one quest in their lives, but why do we do it? What is the purpose? What do we get out of it?

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