Literary Themes In How To Read Literature Like A Professor By Thomas C. Foster

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster discusses various literary themes to help the reader more thoroughly understand and analyze pieces of literature. Foster references several literary works to demonstrate the depth added from the implication of the concepts. He writes that many authors use the same tools to shape their writing, therefore “Literature … grows out of other literature”(Foster 24). He also elaborates upon how the context changes the notion the reader receives from a device, such as with different weather or the mood when sharing food. Common literary themes, such as communion and weather, can be applied to “The Interlopers” and “The Scarlet Ibis” to further understand the meaning of these devices within the context of the stories.

After exchanging several foul remarks, Ulrich offers Georg a flask of wine and asks Georg to be his friend. Foster introduces the concept of the intimacy of a communion and writes “breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace”(Foster 8) and an unsuccessful meal signifies animosity in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. He defines a communion as “whenever people eat or drink together”(Foster 8). Saki writes “I don’t drink wine with an enemy”(Munro 4) to accentuate the intimacy of it, which highlights the sentiment Ulrich displays through offering the flask. Foster declares that drinking and “eating with another is a way of saying “I’m with you, I like you”(Foster 8), which Georg recognizes while accepting Ulrich’s