Analysis Of How To Read Literature Like A Professor Thomas Foster

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster teaches readers about the most commonly used symbols and their meanings and the similarities between stories.

According to some, Jesus was a savior: strong, honest, and selfless. The same can not be said for Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a rich man from a poor background. In the past Gatsby loved Daisy, but that love was short since gatsby went to go fight in WW1. When he returned he was still in love with Daisy, even though she married someone else. However that did not stop gatsby from trying to win her back. Even though Gatsby was corrupt, dishonest, and selfish, there is a distinct parallel between Jesus and Gatsby. Their commitment to a goal, their personalities, and the way things played out for both men are very similar. F. Scott Fitzgerald showed Gatsby as a Christ-like figure in

1. In chapter eleven of his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster examines violence in literature, and particularly the way violence functions on multiple levels. Foster identifies two different kinds of violence in literature, and discusses how those two different kinds create different literal and literary meanings. By examining Foster's categories of violence in more detail, one can see how violence in literature serves as an important link between the internal events of a story and the story itself.

“The Hobbit” and “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” are both very interesting books. These books have many similar and different concepts. Eating with others, eating others, quests, and geography are all concepts that are in both books.

In the twelfth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster provides various information on how to identify symbols throughout literature. The chapter stressed the individuality of identifying symbols, Foster mentions multiple times that “every reader’s experience of every work is unique, largely because each person will emphasize various elements to different degrees” (110). After learning this and also having read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, one thing that stood out was that the main character, Oskar, only has and only wears white clothes. Not only does Oskar often reference his various white clothes, including the white scarf that Grandma knitted

In the book “How To Read Literature Like A Professor” by Thomas C. Foster, many elements are brought to the reader’s attention. Three of these elements, happen to connect with the novel, “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time” written by Mark Haddon.

Every character that travels down a path, that encounters obstacles on their journey, that makes sacrificial decisions faces each of these components as they undertake a life-altering quest. Often times the hero ventures out to save someone or solve a problem, but in fact, their true journey is a search for self-knowledge. Through every obstacle and road-block along the way, the character discovers more about themselves and their true identity. Though they may have journeyed across great lands to accomplish their mission, the thing they were searching for was inside of them all along; the journey and challenges only helped to reveal their real character. As explained in Thomas C. Foster’s literary criticism, How to Read Literature Like a Professor,

In the skillful novel, "How To Read Literature Like A Professor" by Thomas C. Foster, there is neither a protagonist nor antagonist. As a whole, the novel gives insights on how to pick up signs of symbolism, irony, and many other hidden details that are buried within the words of literature. Foster refers to many classis novels by classic authors to demonstrate the use of logic in writing. The novel is extremely educational, leaving many insightful questions and interpretations to the reader's opinion.

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.

When Nick is describing Gatsby he uses this bold comparison between Gatsby and Jesus Christ to illuminate what Gatsby has created himself to be. Jesus is described to be “faithful to his self-created dream but scornful of the factual truth that finally crushes him and his dream”—an appropriate description of Gatsby. Though the comparison between Gatsby and Jesus is not an important event in The Great Gatsby, it is nonetheless a suggestive comparison, as Gatsby transforms himself into the image that he envisioned for himself as a youngster and remains committed to that idea, despite the obstacles that society presents to the

In the novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster discloses to the readers the significance of the communion of food, which can be applied to the journey Pi experiences in the novel Life of Pi. Foster manages to portray the significance of the communion of food by explaining that “whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion” (Foster 8). Communion can not only be religious, but it can also be an act of understanding a character’s relationship with other characters.

In chapter one of How To Read Literature Like A Professor Foster speaks all about the quest, which is very important in every well written story. Every character, in every novel, nevertheless of genre has a objective, something they are looking to fulfill. Foster addresses the many encounters that come with the quest in chapter one, which consist of: the quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trails en route, and a real reason to go there. He later on discussed that true reason for a quest is self- knowledge,and that every trip is not always a quest. But when a trip becomes a quest Foster explains to stay attentive because some interesting things may be abroad!

nterludes: • “Does He Mean That?”- I am confused with this interlude. Foster seems to skip from thing to thing without any real point or plan going on. He is first talking about how authors intentionally incorporate all the work they allude to and all the symbols they use. He then goes on to talk about how writers write for their intended audience; how they parallel something the reader is already familiar with. Next, mid-paragraph, he begins explaining the time he’s spent writing these few pages, he tells the readers of his stumbling over writing this piece. To finish off the chapter he discusses lateral thinking and how it can only be acquired with time and practice.

dissect the many different literary elements such as symbolism and vivid ironic imagery that help

The vast majority of readers tend to overlook certain symbols that aren’t blatantly obvious. Most times, a reader will think that if a symbol does not conclude to one sole thing, then it is not a symbol. The key to defining a symbol is to see the many possibilities behind one central idea. A complex thinking style, and a focus on the author’s writing techniques is how uncovering the many layers to one particular symbol can aid in the better understanding of any literary work.