Premium Essay

How To Read Literature Like A Professor Analysis

Submitted By
Words 655
Pages 3
In Thomas C. Foster’s Chapter 11 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “...More Than it’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence,”compares violence in literature to violence in the real world. Violence in literature can mean a lot of things and be a lot of things like “symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, Romantic, allegorical, transcendent,” etc. while violence in the real world is exactly as it sounds, aggressive and mean (Foster 95). Joseph Conrad killed off his characters by having them kill each other, but all for absurd reasons. Mr. Jones kills Lena because he has a very strong hatred of women, regarding them as “wriggling vipers” of “horror” (Conrad 64, 65). He also shoots Ricardo, his secretary, because he wants the money that is nonexistent to himself. Wang, Heyst’s servant, kills Pedro, Mr. Jones’ slave, …show more content…
Each person can have their own personal symbol because “every reader’s experience of every work is unique, largely because each person will emphasize various elements to differing degrees” (Foster 110). The character symbolisms of Axel Heyst and Lena are exact opposites. Lena symbolizes love through her action towards Heyst while Heyst symbolizes lack of love through his philosophies. Schomberg represents evil, though without violence, “silent but deadly,” while Mr. Jones represents the same thing, but with violence. Some object symbolism in Victory by Joseph Conrad are the late Heyst Senior’s books and portraits. When he died, his son had sent his objects to be brought to Samburan. He was surprised to see his father's portrait with an “air of youth around it,” and hung it up in his house. The portrait is symbolic because it symbolizes the hold that Heyst’s father's philosophies have on him by serving as a reminder for what is true (Conrad

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

How To Read Literature Like A Professor Analysis

...Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) The first chapter Thomas Foster’s of How to Read Literature Like a Professor is about the plot line of a quest. He uses a metaphorical story to show the different parts and pieces to the plot. A few of components include a quester, a place to go, a reason to go there, challenges he/she must face on the road there, and finally the real reason to go there. He also compares a novel, Crying of Lot 49, to the key elements of a quest. Just like the hero’s journey a quest was stemmed from an ancient story and has been readapted for years now and is still used in modern works. The reason quests and hero’s journey work so well is because of the concept of a happy ending and a hero. Readers and watchers...

Words: 311 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

How To Read Literature Like A Professor Analysis

...death on the cross. He has become such a familiar figure that images of him shows up frequently in literature. Thomas Foster, the author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, outlines a wide range of characteristics common in Christ-like figures. Readers recognize Christ figures consistently in literature, both because of the well-know characteristics Foster lists in his chapter on Christ figures and because readers find them through their own understandings. In Yu...

Words: 1960 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

How To Read Literature Like A Professor Character Analysis

...Aslan represents a Christ figure. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, Foster describes a Christ figure as “sacrificing yourself in some way for others” (129). In the movie, Aslan willingly trades his life for Edmund, one of the Pevensie children who betrays his siblings, to appease the White Witch’s claims that Edmund belongs to her because of his traitorous behavior. Aslan’s self-sacrificing actions are similar to those of Jesus Christ whose death was used to atone for all of mankind’s sins. The parallel of their deaths makes Aslan’s altruistic behavior even more sacrificial because it compares his action to the person whose sacrifice is greatly known by most people. Furthermore, Foster explains that as a Christ figure, he should have disciples. Already known by Narnia as the “King of the Woods” or the “Real King of Narnia,” the mere mention of Aslan brings hope to his followers despite him being away for many years. The Pevensie children, well most of them anyway, get baptised. According to the book, Foster describes baptism as “...taking the new believer completely underwater causes him to die out of his...

Words: 474 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Stuff

...the assigned reading within the first two weeks of the school year. AP English IV (11th grade students entering AP IV in 2016-2017) Seniors should create a synopsis card for each novel read of literary merit. Your teacher will explain how this will prepare you for the open questions for the AP Literature exam. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C, Foster Complete writing assignments from the chapter sheet that accompanies Foster. See Assignments on the back of this sheet. Access this link for tips on dialectical journal entries: https:www.YouTube.com/watch?v=CBsJTqfB1Ws AP English IV Writing Assignments Directions: Complete assignments for chapters 1-10 as you read Foster’s work. Writing Assignments for How to Read Literature like a Professor By Thomas C. Foster (Adapted from Donna Anglin by Sandra Effinger) 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. (200 words) Chapter 1 – Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5. Chapter 2 – Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion Choose a meal...

Words: 1265 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Reading

...AP English Literature and Composition 2012 Summer Reading Assignment I. DRAMA Oedipus Rex by Sophocles We are not requiring any particular edition of the play; however, we would highly recommend a version which includes supplemental materials/explanations of Greek drama and Greek mythology. Purchase, read, and annotate the play prior to the first day of class. It would be wise to focus your annotation on instances of dramatic irony, images of vision and blindness, and tension between fate and free will. The following literary analysis assignment will be collected during the second week of school. LITERARY ANALYSIS OF DRAMA In a typed, one-page essay, offer your assessment of Oedipus at the end of the play. Was he foolish? Heroic? Fated? Support with textual evidence as appropriate and follow MLA format. II. READING FOR PLEASURE Read a book—fiction or non-fiction—strictly for pleasure. Strong readers and writers have a wealth of textual experiences and a vast amount of background knowledge from which to draw. The most important aspect of this assignment is that you select a work you will enjoy reading. During the first week of class, you will conduct a book talk over your selected work in which you will “sell” the experience of reading your book to your peers, so pick something good! Some suggestions for selecting your “reading for pleasure” book include, but are not limited to: * Classic works of literature from an era, author, or genre you...

Words: 485 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

About Me

...The process piece I chose to revise was my About Me page. Due to the relatively small length of the piece (two paragraphs), especially in comparison to longer papers like the Familiar Genre Analysis (four pages), doing a momentous amount of revisions is unpractical. However, the changes I did make significantly altered the piece. To start off, I made some corrections to various middle and lower order concerns, like grammar (added “am” before “from” in the first sentence) and transitions (first sentence of second paragraph links the two, creating flow that was previously absent). After that, I focused on these, more important higher order concerns: audience, pathos and genre conventions. Previously, the reference to the audience for my blog was vague and practically missing. By adding the fact that “one of the primary uses of this blog is for my English 1020 class at Wayne State University,” I was able to hone in on my prospective audience: my professor and fellow classmates. Next, I added in more details about myself to help the reader feel better connected to me. By stating where I lived through my life and what country I identity myself as being from, as well as one of my biggest goals in life, I am allowing future readers to know me and my writing, not just the latter. Finally, I attempted to improve my use of genre conventions. About Me pages typically include a reason why the writer started a blog, so I included that. Also, I tried to be more interactive with my readers...

Words: 1477 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Read Literature Like A Professor Chapter Summary

...One amongst many other sayings, "It doesn’t matter what you what you look like on the outside; it’s what's on the inside that count.” (Unknown) This is true when it comes to finding a significant other, but also when pertaining to literature. How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas Foster, is a guide purposefully identifying literary conventions to enable a reader to develop analytical skills. Each chapter highlights essential elements seen in texts within the literature society including references to the Bible, purposeful environment settings, and the symbolic attachment of supernatural creatures. The Bible is a powerful piece of literature connecting to the vast majority of society's morals and beliefs. Foster states how "often those values will not be religious in nature but may show themselves in connection with the individual's role within society."(Fitzgerald 88)Religious references in literary text do not always refer to God but biblical references in a text can strengthen the plot through...

Words: 651 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Knowledge Management

...Successful Transitions: Beginning Graduate Studies Many students find the shift from undergraduate to graduate studies to be more challenging and therefore more surprising than the transition they experienced when they moved from high school to university. There is more reading, more lab time, and more writing. The ideas, discussions, and questions are at a higher level. There’s a reason that not everyone does this! Entering your studies with a clear purpose and sense of direction, informed by a thorough understanding of new responsibilities and expectations, can help you to adapt better to the new demands of Masters and Ph.D. level research, organization, presentation, and writing. Perfectionism. Many academics would characterize themselves as perfectionists. To a certain extent, this is a healthy trait that promotes self-awareness and hard work. However, perfectionism can also be crippling as it can make you feel as if you can’t write a paper or make a comment unless it is absolutely brilliant. Remember, you are a student, not an expert. You are discovering new terms, concepts, and areas of study. Your first draft or class presentation will never be perfect, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. The Counselling Centre offers excellent support for perfectionism. For more information, visit the Centre’s web site at: http://www.trentu.ca/counselling/ Your Key Responsibilities Common Challenges in Graduate Studies Finding Balance. It is easy to...

Words: 3573 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Cultural Divrsity on Jobs

...Read and this 5 minute introductory page to EazyPaper and then click (Your paper starts on the next page) Tutorial #1 Generate an APA template, just like the one EazyPaper has just generated for you how Tutorial #2 Import any reference from any Windows program how Tutorial #3 Search for a reference in your database, and databases around the world how Tutorial #4 Set a quick bookmark how and then jump to it how Learn the other features of EazyPaper to save you time and grades demo user manual Cultural Diversity on Jobs Paula Metropolitan Christian Bible Institute Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 List of Tables 4 List of Figures 5 Abstract 6 Introduction 7 Method 8 Participant (subject) characteristics 8 Sampling procedures 8 Sample size, power, and precision 8 Measures and covariates 8 Research design 8 Experimental manipulations or interventions 8 Results 9 Recruitment 9 Statistics and data analysis 9 Ancillary analyses 9 Participant flow 9 Intervention or manipulation fidelity 9 Baseline data 9 Adverse events 9 Discussion 10 References 11 List of Tables Table 1. DELETE ME: Sample table caption 7 Hint from Professor Randy List of Figures Figure 1. DELETE ME: Sample figure caption 7 Hint from Professor Randy Abstract This paper analyses the relationship between cultural diversity and workgroup outcomes in multicultural organizations, in the presence of moderating variables of...

Words: 665 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Study Habits

...CHAPTER 2 Review of Related Literature and Studies Local Literature   Foreign Literature (Scott Young) What are Good Studying Habits? I’m just another student like yourself. I don’t believe there is one perfect key to excellent grades that will work for everyone. But there are some common themes to improving study habits and not all of them require investing more time. In fact, most of these suggestions will be aimed at reducing your total time usage, by studying smart–not just hard. I believe learning is a product of investment. If you make small, efficient investments in learning throughout the term you can spare yourself the frustration of cramming near the end. Your grades will thank you and your social life doesn’t need to wither and die to learn more each term. Here are some tips for improving your study habits next term: 1. Use 30-Day Trials. Popularized by Steve Pavlina, trial periods work under the principle that by committing to a change for a month, it will become a habit. Since it is study techniques you want to reinforce, pick one or two habits and work on them for an entire month. 2. The Learn-It-Once Approach. Spend your time learning things as they come up in your courses. Attend classes with the perspective that you could be tested at any moment. It should only be material that you were just presented that you might not have had time to fully learn. Waiting before tests, assignments or finals is taking things too far. 3. Morning...

Words: 1250 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Facebook

...Facebook to Teach Rhetorical Analysis Jane Mathison Fife The attraction of Facebook is a puzzle to many people over the age of thirtyfive, and that includes most college faculty. Yet students confess to spending significant amounts of time on Facebook, sometimes hours a day. If you teach in a computer classroom, you have probably observed students using Facebook when you walk in the room. Literacy practices that fall outside the realm of traditional academic writing, like Facebook, can easily be seen as a threat to print literacy by teachers, especially when they sneak into the classroom uninvited as students check their Facebook profiles instead of participating in class discussions and activities. This common reaction reflects James King and David O’Brien’s (2002: 42) characterization of the dichotomy teachers often perceive between school and nonschool literacy activities (although they are not referring to Facebook specifically): “From teachers’ perspectives, all of these presumably pleasurable experiences with multimedia detract from students’ engagement with their real work. Within the classroom economy technology work is time off task; it is classified as a sort of leisure recreational activity.” This dichotomy can be broken down, though; students’ enthusiasm for and immersion in these nonacademic literacies can be used to complement their learning of critical inquiry and traditional academic concepts like rhetorical analysis. Although they read these texts daily, they are...

Words: 7879 - Pages: 32

Free Essay

Literature Review

...Literature Review Handout Liberty University Online Writing Center Handout Description A review of literature is a critical analysis of a portion of the published body of knowledge available through the use of summary, classification, and comparison of previous research studies, reviews of literature, and journal articles (“How to Write a Literature Review”, 2012). This handout discusses the reasons for writing a literature review and presents its various requirements. It examines what a literature review is, as well as what it is not; it distinguishes between the literature review and the annotated bibliography. Like many academic writing assignments, there is not one universal standard for writing a literature review. Its format can differ from discipline to discipline and from assignment to assignment. There is, however, an overall structure that is commonly used across various disciplines, and this format is examined in more detail. The handout concludes with some helpful “tips and tricks” for preparing a literature review. Disclaimer: The content of a literature review may vary from discipline to discipline and from assignment to assignment. The literature review content recommended in this handout is that which is most commonly included. If in doubt about what you should include in your literature review, please consult your professor. Literature Review Handout Defining a Literature Review ...

Words: 2913 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Manner of Speech

...complete their Research Methods Examinations and thesis project without difficulty. HOW ARE TOPICS SELECTED OR DEVELOPED? You should not be surprised if a professor gives you a perturbed look or cringes when you tell him/her that you have no idea of what you would like to pursue as a thesis topic. Why might your professor react this way? Because there are potentially hundreds of topics or research questions that can be pursued and your professor is anticipating your next question, which is usually, "Do you have any suggestions?" In addition, the topic is one that is chosen by you, not your advisor, and thus, the responsibility of constructing possible topics is the student's. In essence, your thesis topic should not just be chosen and that's it! The topic must be explored, developed, and assessed. Is it an original one? Is the purpose to replicate previous research? Is the research feasible in terms of access to data, cost, time, and effort? Does anybody care about the topic you have in mind? If you have a topic in mind you might ask yourself these questions: --Does it suit your interests and possible career objectives? --Does it fit your background and experience? --Are you willing to commit the next 6 months (or longer) researching the topic? --What do you already know about it? --Do you believe your findings will be of interest or benefit to anyone else? One professor adds this thought regarding topic selection: "Don't hesitate to go back to THE BASICS...

Words: 4991 - Pages: 20

Free Essay

Sociology

...Sociology of Literature, Children’s Books, and Social Inequality Amy E. Singer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology Knox College, USA © 2011 Singer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract This article discusses the complexity of literary analysis and the implications of using fiction as a source of sociological data. This project infuses literary analysis with sociological imagination. Using a random sample of children’s novels published between 1930 and 1980, this article describes both a methodological approach to the analysis of children’s books and the subsequent development of two analytical categories of novels. The first category captures books whose narratives describe and support unequal social arrangements; the second category captures those whose narratives work instead to identify inequality and disrupt it. Building on Griswold’s methodological approach to literary fiction, this project examines how children’s novels describe, challenge, or even subvert systems of inequality. Through a sociological reading of three sampled texts – Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, A Wrinkle in Time, and Hitty: Her First Hundred Years – readers learn how these analytical categories work and how the sociology of literature might be enriched...

Words: 8238 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

How to Read Literature Like a Professor

...How 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 comprehend literature, then you won’t know the real meaning behind that passage. But that’s why memory, symbol, and pattern come in to help. I think the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature because then we can analyze what exactly it is that we are reading. It gets readers to look more in depth of the literature itself. I think memory helps the readers connect emotionally and/or physically to that literature. Also, symbols analyze a deeper thought to something. When I read something, I picture it in my head and I would create a scene in my mind. Then by using memory, symbol, and pattern, I’ll try to sort everything out to make it clearer for my understanding. Chapter 1 – Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) * List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5. * The quest has five aspects, which includes: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d)...

Words: 1577 - Pages: 7