How to Read Like a Professor - 1239 Words

Alexis Carino 7/31/10 Paragraph Reviews Chapter One: Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) In the opening chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s book, he explains the importance of a Quest. It is quite hard to figure out a quest, Foster explains that in an example about a young boy who goes to the supermarket and encounters his â€Å"nemesis.† Quests are the core base of a story since it involves just about everything a story is trying to portray. For example it includes the quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenged and trials during the journey, and a real reason to go there. These are all main components in a story. Foster states â€Å"The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge.† He means that the Quest is to help†¦show more content†¦The reason for even wanting a Christ Figure in novels is to have a point highlighted, but if you can’t clearly see the point, Foster advises to use imagination. Chapter 19: Geography Matters . . . Every little detail and description in literature has a deeper meaning. Just like weather, each type of geography means something significant. All of the types of literature is a vacation, and when someone asks about a vacation the first question is where (meaning location/geography). In some pieces of literature, the location teaches the reader a little bit about history and politics. A single location can show the growth of a character maturing from one stage to the next. In poetry and fiction literature, the location is mostly people. Geography also sets the theme like how weather sets the mood. For example, a graveyard with trees that are ages old, gravestones that have mold growing over them, bats hanging on the trees during the night time, and not one live soul in the graveyard. The theme for that geography is creepy and unwelcoming. That’s the effect the Geography has on the theme. Geography can also be a character, the actual people mentioned in the writing may not kn ow the land very well, can make a character evolve, or even make a character feel like a total stranger on an alien planet due to the lack of knowledge of the area that specificShow MoreRelatedHow to Read Literature Like a Professor782 Words   |  4 PagesHow to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster is a book that explains there is more to literature than just a few words on a paper or a few pages in a book. Thomas Foster’s book portrays a relatable message to a wide based audience. This book is relatable for two reasons, the way it is written and the examples it uses. The book is written in a conversational manner, as if the reader was in a group discussion about booksRead MoreHow to Read Literature Like a Professor1408 Words   |  6 Pagestold not to, by flying close to the sun. -Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder: In one of Alberto’s letters to Sophie he talked about flying. A small experiment shows Sophie the difference between the ideas of a child and a grown adult, and how something like flying can get such a different reaction from the two. â€Å"One morning, Mom, Dad and little Thomas, aged two or three, are having breakfast in the kitchen. After a while Mom gets up and goes over to the kitchen sink, and Dad - yes, Dad - fliesRead MoreHow To Read Literature Like A Professor Essay1020 Words   |  5 PagesJulia Hunnell Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 6 21 September 2017 What Are You Alluding To? In Thomas Foster’s book, â€Å"How to Read Literature Like a Professor,† readers learn how to look past the surface of a literary work to find a deeper or hidden meaning. Writers use devices, such as symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, irony and allusion to reveal these meanings. If these are overlooked, important aspects of the story can be lost. One literary device that Foster emphasizes in his book is allusionRead MoreHow Does Read Literature Like A Professor1557 Words   |  7 PagesHow to Read Literature like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Entry 1 Foster discusses the idea that when two characters eat together, that moment acts as a bonding experience and causes the characters to come together. I had never noticed the significance of a meal between characters before. After reading this chapter, I can think of so many moments in stories when the characters share a meal together to form friendships or come to a peace. In one of my favorite novels, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi PicoultRead MoreHow Does Read Literature Like A Professor1814 Words   |  8 PagesHow To Read Literature Like a Professor By Thomas C. Foster 1. Chapter 1- Every Trip Is A Quest (Except When It’s Not) a. The five aspects of the quest are the quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials on the way, and the real reason to go there. When I read The Secret Life Of the Bees the quester was Lily, she was looking to go to Tiburon to find out more information about her mother and the past. On her journey she runs away from her father, falls in love, andRead MoreHow I Read Literature Like A Professor Essay1141 Words   |  5 PagesBrylan Beard Mrs. Mary Smith Ap Literature 20 September 2017 How to Read Literature like a Professor Essay This essay will be about the analyzing of literary devices that are discussed in this book. The professor in the book thoroughly describes these devices and the allusions and symbols that are involved in literature over the centuries. I will be discussing the specifics of the allusions and symbols of the bible and the Christ like figures in literature. The first device I will be describingRead MoreEssay about How to Read Literature Like a Professor1562 Words   |  7 PagesHow to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster Chapter Reflections 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 reading literature: memory, symbol, and pattern help you understand the text better. If you don’t comprehendRead MoreHow I Read Literature Like A Professor Notes3177 Words   |  13 PagesKaylee Brooks How To Read Literature Like A Professor Notes Introduction: †¢ Archetypes- Spring (youth, renewal, rebirth, fertility) †¢ Comedic Traits- hero fights their own demons and becomes victorious/ downfall is threatened but avoided †¢ WHAT TO LOOK FOR- o Patterns o Interpretive opinions o Resemblance to previous works o Symbols Chapter 1- The Quest †¢ Always a quest (knight, dangerous road, Holy Grail, dragon, evil knight, and princess) †¢ Always a quester †¢ A set destination †¢ A stated reasonRead MoreHow to Read Literature Like a Professor Outline Essay3160 Words   |  13 PagesHow To Read Literature Like a Professor Outline Chapter 1 – Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) Main Ideas: To have a quest, a novel must have A knight A dangerous path A holy grail An evil knight A dragon A princess The quest is always educational and provides knowledge of ones self Chapter 2 – Nice To Eat With You: Acts of Communion Main Ideas: It is a communion â€Å"Whenever people eat or drink together...† Breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace Read MoreLife of Pi Analysis with How to Read Literature Like a Professor1656 Words   |  7 PagesLife of Pi Analysis With How to Read Literature Like a Professor 1. Chapter 12: Is That a Symbol? A. Example one In the early stages of Life of Pi, Martel mentions a place that Pi and Ravi had gone to visit while on vacation. While looking aimlessly through the window, they noticed three hills. On top of one hill was a catholic church, another a Hindu temple, and the other a Muslim mosque. Each hill portrays each of the religions in Pi’s complex faith. The hills represent Pi’s struggles