In the introduction of “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” , Thomas C. Foster focuses on the grammar of literature and the qualities of a professorial reader. He asserts that practise is crucial to learn how to read literature in a more rewarding way. In addition, he defines main elements of the context such as pattern , symbols, and conventions. The purpose of Foster appears to be informing students who is beginning to be introduced to literature. Although Foster’s style is slightly condescending, he utilizes the conventions of literature quite well, and mentions the arbitrariness of these conventions in a sensible way.
In the beginning of Chapter ¬15 of How To Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas C. Foster first introduces the very known fact that humans cannot fly. So if a human is able to in a piece of literature, it belongs to the categories he lists later on. However, the categorization is an superficial analyzation of flying. He introduces the history of flying and how humans have strived to defied the laws of gravity forever. Foster analyzes Morrison’s Song of Solomon and explain how when Solomon flew off to Africa it is an act of returning “home” and “casting off the chains of slavery on one level”(Foster 92).
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
Thomas C. Foster states in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, that there are three main items to understanding literature. The first item is memory; Memory helps a reader connect works of literature with other experiences as a way of possibly better understating the writing at hand. Symbolism is the second item noted by Foster. Symbolism can be used to open a readers mind to the big picture being painted. Not all works of literature are as complicated, as to where symbolism is splattered through the pages.
They believe under the wrong impression that writings which incorporate topics like “Plato, Shakespeare, the French Revolution, and nuclear fission” are the only sources of scholarly work. Graff emphasizes the nonexistent linkage between the subject of the paper and the educational value that society has mistakenly thought to exist. Instead, that truly defines the educational weight is the writer’s own stake into the writing of any topic. Graff asserts that the individual’s own interest and devotion to analyzing and offering his or her own viewpoint is what produces scholarly work and having intellectual discussions. In his experience in the sports world, his dedication to staying aware of the “arguments, debates, problems for analysis, and intricate statistics” has allowed for more intellectual discussions than what can be had at
In Dwight MacDonald’s article, “Reading and Thought” he criticizes journalists on their lack of benefit and weakness in their pieces. MacDonald’s argument clashes with Henry Luce’s ideology of “functional curiosity”, the belief of having the “kind of searching, hungry interest in what is happening everywhere”. MacDonald wants to strengthen the practice of reading instead actually giving valuable information.
In the book , How to Read Literature Like a Professor written by Thomas C. Foster, he explains that there are five components to a quest, a quester, place to go, stated reason to go, the challenges and trials, and the real reason to go, which Foster explains is always self-knowledge. The initial purpose of the quest is not always completed; instead over time the protagonist runs into numerous challenges that test the very core of their being, reflecting their own thoughts on their life. While reading Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card, a sci-fi novel, Andrew Wiggin is the original speaker of the dead and Novinha a woman ravaged by her past and secrets, together they have to face the community of Lusitania. He searches to find an inhabitable
In the first chapter of How To Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas C. Foster begins with the idea that every trip is a quest. Foster theorizes that every trip must meet a certain five criteria to be considered a quest as well. Foster’s theory can be found in literature throughout the ages and into media today. Foster claims the quest always grows during the underlying adventure.
In “Reading and Thought” by Dwight Macdonald, Macdonald raises the idea of reading deeply and how our society has changed its reading style. He points out that our modern society constantly reads irrelevant information in articles, newspapers, or magazines in our daily lives. A term called “functional curiosity” is a person’s interest in being amused, entertained or wanting to know what’s happening around the world. According to Henry Luce, the creator of Time magazine, “Functional Curiosity grows as the number of educated peoples grows.” Macdonald argues that being “functionally curious” is not functional because it does not help the individual function.
Being an expert in literature may seem like a rigorous task to complete, but when you put passion into the work anything is possible. In How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster it gives tips on how to analyze all types of reading like a expert. While learning how to be an expert in literature you possess skills along the way. In order to be an expert in literature you have to keep an open mind, practice, and know everything has a deeper meaning.
Reading a factual book from an author who has not complied many sources of information is as useless as finding facts on Facebook. When asked to find information for a project, the first place to check is a credible source. Ways of Reading by Waite, Bartholomae, and Petrosky contain multiple examples of credible sources. Kathryn Shulz’s excerpt is one example that can be found in Ways of Reading. Due to multiple examples and extensive research that Shulz has placed in Evidence, Shulz is considered a credible writer and can easily speak on a ground for everyone.
Learning how to write a rhetorical analysis pulled me closer into the author’s argument. Doing so improved and developed my critical active reading skills in order to understand academic writing better. Because of this course, now I currently practice active reading, on everything I read, and especially complicated written material. My greatest challenge in this course was the interview.
What is a witch and are they really as bad as people portray them? A witch is a person who follows the 'Old Religion ', which he or she believes to predate the Judaic-Christian religion and which is nowadays called Wicca. 'Wicca ' may be the wrong word to use to describe someone who follows the Old Religion, but it seems to have come to stay. 'Witch" may still be used as an abusive term, but then, once upon a time, so was the label Christian, and the term Jew is still, unhappily, used abusively in some circles. But what do witches believe?
Reading Strategy File One #1: Before Reading Strategy Name of Strategy: Anticipation Guide Description of Strategy: Anticipation guides prepare students for a story or a text. Anticipation guides help to motivate students to read a story, build curiosity and help students predict what will happen in a text or a story before beginning to read it. Anticipation guides also help students to self-monitor their own interactions with a text or story.
