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
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Symbol In Foster’s book “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” he writes a chapter on symbols. Foster explains that symbols aren’t just black and white, so to speak. Symbols can be as broad as you make them.
In Thomas C. Foster's How To Read Literature Like a Professor, he describes the setup of the adventure of the protagonist, dividing it into five parts: Our quester, a place to go, a stated reason to there, challenges and trials, and the real reason to go. A protagonist must experience all of these things in order to accomplish their goals and learn their lessons. In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens, the main character, must encounter these things in order to unlock the mystery of what really happened to her mother the night she was killed, in addition to learning about the passion of writing and telling stories, the dangers and foolishness of racism, and female power. Our quester, Lily, is a fourteen year old girl with a passion for writing.
One chapter in Thomas C. Foster’s book How to Read Literature Like a Professor that were not only extremely challenging, but was also enlightening and surprisingly engaging was Chapter 12: “Is That a Symbol?” In this chapter, Foster states that “So some symbols do have a relatively limited range of meanings, but in general a symbol can’t be reduced to standing for only one thing” (Foster, 105). This conveys that, generally, symbols have different symbolic meanings even though some symbols may have a very limited range of meanings. Essentially, this means that symbols in literature often have different symbolic meanings. The idea mentioned above is upheld by Cormac McCarthy’s book All the Pretty Horses, as the horses in the book are symbolic
In the tragedy of King Lear, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of symbols through his usage of a poisonous serpent, specifically the poison Cordelia introduces into the family. Similarly, in the historical text, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster illustrates the concept of symbolism, specifically in Chapter 5, “Is That A Symbol?”, when he suggests that symbols often possess multiple general meanings and a vary from one reader to another reader. Likewise, the symbol of poison Lear speaks of in Act I carries throughout the remainder of the tragedy, often exhibited as Lear’s pain due to Cordelia’s absence or the ruined relationships with his child developed when she travels away from the kingdom, emphasized by Act V;
Everyone makes lots of mistakes in their lives, but some people make too many and never learn. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding is a novel about a group of boys stranded on an island, resulting in their lives never being the same again. There are many objects that symbolize very important things in this story. The three most important symbols in Lord of the Flies are the fire, the boys’ hope; the beast, their fear; and the conch shell, their respect for one another. All of these are connected in some way, and binds the boys together.
In How To Read Literature Like A Professor, I learned that characters are not people. Characters usually near the main characters ends up dead to help the plot just like how Patroclus best friend of Achilles died all because he was mistaken by the Troys as Achilles because he was wearing Achilles armor. The main characters are never killed in books this is the main distinction between characters and real people. They may have the same characteristics of a person they are based off of but they are not them, they are figures of imagination written by the author. Characters’ deaths are important plot devices this is reason why many side characters are killed in stories just like Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet his death was the reason why Romeo
