As you read Foster's collection of essays, his main thesis is that EVERYONE has the ability to read and analyze literature like a professor if they know the patterns that all writers use throughout works of literature. What are some of these patterns that Foster points out? Also, are there any works of literature that you have read that fit into those patterns?
Example: Mr. Linder (A Raisin in the Sun) is symbolically a devil figure trying to make a deal for Walter Lee's soul.
Foster points out that recognizing patterns is key to reading and analyzing literature “like a professor.” These patterns overlap with other properties of literature that he mentions such as “symbolism” and “memory”; he recommends that when one interprets and perceives a story they must look for a deeper meaning (patterns of other stories or symbols.) Foster gives examples like Mr. Linder from “A Raisin in the Sun” and Grendel (the antagonist) from “Beowulf” to demonstrate that just viewing the character and not what they represent is not reading like a professor. Therefore, one reading like a professor should look for patterns of symbolism, allegory, allusion, etc. I know that the film “She’s the Man” is apparently based off of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and could be considered to follow such “patterns.”
ReplyDelete-Bill
Throughout the book "how to read literature like a professor" foster points out a number of literary patterns that are present throughout many works. His book brings these patterns to light, when they were previously hidden cleverly within the pages of other literary works. After reading Foster's book, I took a careful look back through one of my favorite books, Agatha Christi's "and then there were none". The amount of light and clever insight that "reading the book like a professor" brought to my reading experience was mind boggling. I discovered that while my previous reading of Christi's book had given me the pleasure of a great murder mystery, I had overlooked the key pattern in the story. Not only was "And then there were none" a complex murder mystery, but it was also a mystery into decoding the human mind. The story had a hidden puzzle inside of it that Foster's work allowed me to decode. Foster's work allowed me to put together the missing pieces of my literary puzzle to discover that the hidden meaning within "And then there were none" was that all people have the desire to play God. In the case of Agatha Christi's book, the God role was played by judge wargrave. It was truely amazing the amount of literary insight I gained by reading the book like a professor based on the tips supplied in Foster's collection of essays.
ReplyDelete-Ashley W.
Good afternoon Ashley and Bill! Thanks for posting your thoughts about "How to Read Literature Like a Professor." Bill, I agree that Foster's main point is to look for patterns in literature that reappear in many works. You mention "Twelfth Night" and "She's the Man"...I know that "She's the Man" is based on "Twelfth Night", but what are some of the patterns you've seen while reading "Twelfth Night"? You'll then be able to go back and compare "She's the Man" as an updated version of "Twelfth Night."
ReplyDeleteAshley, I'm glad that you were able to see one of the patterns in a work you read in the past. Certainly Judge Wargrave is definitely trying to play God because of the elaborate game he creates when he murders everyone on the island (including committing suicide)...Great Job!
I hope to see everyone else post something soon. Let me know if you have any questions!
The elements of literature that Foster points out that are repeated in many stories and novels is that of character plots, journeys, and outcomes. Foster has taught me that it is important to find the similaarities between a book you are reading and one that you have read. These similarities help you to better undersand what it is that you are reading. My favorite example right now is that of Jane Eyre and the character plots. Jane is the princess or hero, Mr. Rochester id the prince, Mrs. reed is the wicked stepmother, and The wife id the devil. Seeing a pattern here? Many stories have similar characters like cinderella and sleaping beauty. The journeys are always the same too. The main character gets a motive to travel on a journey where there are alwasy opsticals and an ending, Whether it be good or bad. In Jane Eyre she goes on a journey to find love. This journey is more metophorical than literal although she does go on many literal journeys. There are obsticals in her way like the wife and her belifs in faith but the outcome is that 'they lived happily ever after." You can also compare the famous Twilight with that of Hercules. The characters, the male character has special powers to great for the female character he loves who has none. They endure life together in its many consequences but are unhappy because they are to unequal to stay together. One of them musxt make the sacrafice for them tom be together. So in twilight Edward gives in and Bella becomes a vampire. Their strengths are matched. In hercules he asks to become mortal so he can stay with meg. See the similarity? Percy Jackson and The Lightning Theif vs. Harry Potter. They also follow the similar patterns.
ReplyDeleteI think that Foster's main point in "How to Read Literature Like A Professor" is that anyone can. And that the main thing they can do to achieve this level of reading is to read. Background knowledge is the key here. Being able to pick up references in the literature one reads brings the understanding of the book to a whole new level and brings a heightened sense of interest in the literature on the part of the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe point Foster tries to tell everyone is to "think-outside-the-box". He tells us to look pass the obvious and try to see more than meets the eye. This includes looking for the symbolism and everyday connection that literature has in the world ,as well, as finding it's connection to everyday life. An, example of a book I read that is similar to this is Paradise Lost. When Lucifer is tryin' to be shown as more of a hero rather than as the devil because he is acts like a human would.
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ReplyDeleteFoster assists the reader in a multitude of ways when it comes to analyzing literature. "How to Read Literature like a Professor" was the third book that I read and it personally helped me to analyze "The Best American Short Stories." I recognized when the rain was going to foreshadow a devastating event, when character names represented personalities, how important acquiring the background information of the year and setting was, etc.
ReplyDeleteI've seen in a lot of songs that are from the 60's and 70's, there are a lot of "Christ" like figures. Without having to be God, or Jesus, they match Christ in the way that they "do the impossible" and united people. As in the song "Pride (in the name of love)" there are a lot of mentions to to Martin Luther King Jr, Jesus, obviously and others like the soldiers of WW1.
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