Analysis of "How To Read Literature Like a Professor" By Thomas C. Foster

Introduction - “How’d he do that?”

How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern.

When understanding memory, symbol, and pattern it only improves the quality of literary work and allows the reader to distance oneself from the story. Memory allows the readers to look back and remember old times, stories and past experiences to learn and grow from them. Symbols are very significant because they deepen the meaning of what you’re reading. Patterns help you understand the text better. When I read the novel “The Hate u Give” by Angie Thomas it was about police brutality, the character Starr witness a police pull her friend over and shot him because he “thought” he was pulling out a gun but in reality, it was a brush. When reading this I felt a connection because I'm part of the minority community and made me remember that we’re at risk every day and hoping when a cop pulls us over he does not shoot. In this book, there was definitely a pattern it was the story if the witness.

Chapter 1- “Every trip is a Quest(except when it’s not)

List five aspects of a QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or

viewed).

The Odyssey by Homer

Our quester: the quester is Odysseus

Place to go: Ithaca

A stated reason to go there: he wanted to reunite with his family.

Challenges and en route: there are many different battles that got in his way, a few are: battle the suitors, the Scylla, and calypso's island

A real reason to go there: to reunite with his family but to also realize that he’s too prideful.

Chapter 2- “It’s nice to eat with you” acts of communion

Choose a meal from a literary work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction. What is the significance of the meal in that particular scene? Discuss each purpose of the meal. Show whether the characters get along, or not. What do professors mean when they say, *Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar?*

A meal brings people together most of the time, it shows us how much we are appreciated and help us form a stronger bond. In “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding in chapter 9 Piggy and Ralph decide to go to the feast and when they do they make a bit of an awkward entrance but they are welcomed. The other boys are eating and laughing. Jack orders that piggy and Ralph be given meat and ask who is joining his tribe. In this scene, the boys come together and realize they are all they have even if they get along or not. The reason why this is significant, almost ironic is that these clean-cut church boys are able to share a meal, something they are familiar with, but they most likely have never had to find their own food. They share this intimate and communal moment before they turn on each other.

Chapter 10- “ It’s more than just rain or snow

Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not in terms of plot.

Weather is very important, it plays a big part in movies/novel which helps to describe the mood of a character. In the book “the notebook” the two lovebirds Noah and Allie reunite after breaking up 10 years ago and as they begin to talk and catch up they realize a storm is coming, weather plays a big role because the weather expresses the mood of the character and really just ties in the scene. Noah and Allie were so happy to see each other again that the rain makes the scene gloomy and romantic as the two lovebirds makeout. The rain symbolizes washing away the bad parts of their relationship and shows them starting over again.

Chapter 23 – “It’s Never Just Heart Disease…And Rarely Just Illness.”

Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work. Consider how these deaths

reflect the " principles governing the use of disease in literature” (215-217). Discuss the

effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.

In ‘The fault in our stars” by John Green Augustus Waters was a teenage boy who lost his leg to bone cancer, throughout the movie he's illness gets worse and eventually dies. His passing was so unexpected because throughout the book he never mentioned he was in pain or was sick again. He has a girlfriend named Hazel and they both were very in love and Hazel was very sick herself so Augustus death was unexpected and a surprise to the readers. In this work of literature, it comes to show is that his no one ever knows what might happen and their diseases serve as their physical limitation but are also that brings them together.

Self-selected tasks

Chapter 3 – “Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires”

What are the essentials of the Vampire story? Apply this to a literary work you have read or viewed.

When thinking of a good vampire story it does not always mean a man with fanged teeth. Four main essentials of a vampire story are an evil figure, older male, female virgin, vampire bites, and an old age. The Twilight series is an example, Edward the vampire who is old in age but has a young appearance tries to stay away from Bella the female virgin. Throughout the time he ends up falling in love with her, it reveals that vampires aren’t just an “evil figure” but are capable of protecting the ones they love.

Chapter 8- “Hanseldee and Greteldum”

Think of a work of literature that reflects a fairy tale. Discuss the parallels. Does it create irony or deepen appreciation?

A classic fairytale that mostly everyone knows and grew up with is Cinderella. Cinderella became alone after her father’s passing and was mistreated by her stepfamily, she then becomes friends with the small little animals to help comfort her and keep company. Her fairy godmother transforms her into a beautiful princess where she met her prince at the ball, the prince helped her escape from her stepfamily and she lived “happily ever after life” with her prince. The irony is formed because the story ended with a happy ending. This demonstrates situational irony. Her stepmother and sisters actually see Cinderella at the ball and recognize that she is beautiful, but they do not recognize that it is Cinderella. They are never able to admit to themselves that Cinderella is beautiful until they cannot recognize her.

Chapter 15- “Flights of Fancy

Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in detail.

Flying symbolizes freedom and escape, most of us want to fly and have that amazing feeling that we’re “free” I can already imagine how great that must feel. The Disney movie peter pan he taught the average children Wendy, John, and Michael with a normal life to fly and head to Neverland. The flight to neverland signifies freedom and escaping the children’s “normal life” reality, the children now feel a freedom and do not feel limited. The flight to neverland signifies the escape of their normal life reality to a free life.

Chapter 19 – “Geography Matters…”

Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under “geography

Foster classified geography as the setting or detail relating to the characters, it has the tendency to build up the characters. A book that contains several aspects of geography is the book holes, in the book it’s setting is depressing and dry. What the setting does is amplify the feelings of the characters and allows the readers to understand the mood. In the novel, the boys are forced to dig to find a certain treasure, but there is nothing at Camp Green Lake that meets the eye. The boys in the camp also are not very appealing, and are potential criminals, but later on we notice that within the boys there is a sense of substance and value and we learn that like the dried up river, the boys are more than meets the eye, especially Zero, who seems to have no values or personality, but we eventually find out that within him, he holds treasure as well.

Chapter 7: “Or the Bible”

Find a “way the Bible shows up” in something you have read. Explain how this extends or emphasizes the story thematically.

In the novel, The Hate U Give, the character Khalil can be seen as a Christ-Figure. Although he is not a perfect human being, he generally is seen in a positive light by Starr and is killed, regardless of the fact that he is innocent, as Jesus was. After both of their deaths, they set off a chain reaction where Khalil inspires Starr to become a Black Lives Matter activist and use her voice to her advantage, and Jesus inspires his disciples after his death to continue to spread his message to the four corners of the earth, despite being faced with apprehension and even the threat of the death.