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Reading Literature Makes USarter Analysis

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In her report titled “Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer,” journalist Annie Murphy Paul claims that the experiences and mental capacities developed when one engages in deep reading, such as reading a novel, versus reading online are different. Murphy asserts that deep reading, such as reading fictional books, makes us socially and morally better. She presents evidence based on research in the field of cognitive science that concludes that deep reading, through its use of vivid details and elaborate plots, allows readers to be more empathetic to others and more understanding. Therefore, this essay will explore the differences and similarities between deep reading versus reading online, whether or not reading can make us smarter or …show more content…

I tend to read online simply to gather facts or information. In contrast, I read books for enjoyment and to engage myself mentally. I agree that you can get some enjoyment from reading both novels and online; however, deep reading books tends to build a deeper, more intimate connection with my mind and is more thought provoking. I believe that both reading traditional novels and reading online can make us smarter but not necessarily nicer. Through reading we are able to gain knowledge about anything and apply this knowledge in reality. We can enlighten ourselves with information but without it we are stuck in dark. In regards to whether reading makes us nicer, I do not think there is a way to prove that because a person’s morals have a lot to do with their upbringing and personality. Based on the information previously stated, most educators would more like be a proponent of deep reading as opposed to reading online because deep reading is more thought provoking, there are less distractions, and deep reading allows us to use are imagination more through its use of details and metaphors. In conclusion, both deep reading and online reading can make us smarter but the experiences and mental capacities developed from

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In the book How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, the first chapter illustrates the elements and ideas of quests in literature. Foster starts off the chapter with a hypothetical story where an average sixteen year old boy named Kip goes to the A&P, a local super market, to buy a loaf of Wonder Bread. Along the way, Kip unpleasantly encounters a German shepherd but meets Karen, the girl of his dreams, laughing with Tony Vauxhall in his ‘68’ Cuba. Kip continues to search for the bread in the store, but he is disturbed by a marine asking him to join the Navy. The story is immediately paused, and Foster analytically explains how Kip’s trip to the A&P was actually a quest.

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Chapter five of How To Read Literature Like An English Professor is about how Shakespeare is prominent in both old and current works of literature and in the media. Foster states “He’s everywhere, in every literary form you can think of. And he’s never the same: every age and every writer reinvents its own Shakespeare.” (33). So why Shakespeare?

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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.

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Today’s youth spend countless hours on the internet for various reasons. Whether it is for research purposes, indulging in social media, watching videos, or playing games, reading is involved in some shape or form. Regardless of the content, reading online gives children certain abilities, such as expanding their vocabulary, adapting to different wordings and writing styles, identifying errors, understanding the material, and identifying the importance of details/imagery in their writing, that they may or may not be getting from books. In the article Literacy Debate: R U Really Reading?

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Science has proven that reading can provoke positive changes in us as human beings. Annie Murphy Paul is the author of the article ‘Your Brain on Fiction’ published on March 17, 2012. Annie explains how researchers have discovered that reading can initiate different parts of the brain, this is the reason why sometimes literature can make the reader so engaged and attached to a piece of writing. Research also explains how reading has the ability to produce activity in our brain’s motor cortex. Finally, Annie explains how reading fictional pieces can change how you interact with other individuals.

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How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster offers a variety of different ways to analyze literature so the reader can understand all levels of a literary piece to get the most out of their reading. His ideas can be applied to almost any kind of work, including movies, such as Beauty and the Beast. The chapters of HTRLLAP that can best interpret and explicate all levels of meaning in Beauty and the Beast are: Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not); …More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence; and Is That a Symbol? “The real reason for a quest,” states Foster, “Is always self-knowledge.

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To the untrained eye, a story could be viewed one-dimensionally; a tale might only appeal to emotion while logic is left out in the cold. Equally, logic may be forgotten while emotion is heavily focused on. However, through the use of Critical Lenses, readers can begin to see greater depth in literature. As readers find connections through Critical Lenses, they become more educated on various topics, more aware of social, political, and even logical abstractions. Instead of failing to retain the intent and content of the material, they even can remember details of stories more vividly when truly examining literature rather than reading it once for entertainment (or chore).

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This outlook is reflected in national surveys, the number of literary non-readers in the United States is starting to outweigh the number of readers and, this has slowly been proceeding over the past 20 years (Gioia 421). Reading is a fundamental part of life. It’s a major way of expression, imagination, learning and being the best person

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In Frye’s The Educated Imagination, the audience is introduced to the topic, why one should educate their imagination. Frye begins by informing the reader that the imagination is made of intellect and emotions. A person who lacks these two areas is unable to think and feel. While, a person who is educated in these areas is morally just and socially informed allowing him to view the world in a different perspective. Members in society constantly use their imagination so it is of utmost importance to educate your imagination so you may express yourself, use your imagination to create your own ideas, and finally to appreciate the study of literature.

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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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