Q&A: How Do Memory, Symbol, and Pattern Affect the Reading of Literature?

Literature is affected by memory, symbols, and patterns though the connections made between the reader and the novels. By understanding the symbols and patterns of a novel, the reader can better connect to the story being told. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is obsessed with looking at a green light. Realizing that the green light symbolizes Gatsby’s longing for Daisy, the reader can better acknowledge the greater theme of the story. Symbols and patterns provide better interpretation of a story to the reader.

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 how your appreciation of your summer reading novel was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern.

The recognition of patterns makes it much easier to read complicated literature because recognizing patterns will help you relate two or more pieces of literature together, therefore making it easier to understand and analyze the literature you are focused on. Patterns in literature can help the reader understand plots, settings, themes, and other literary elements. I greatly appreciated the novel, Brave New World because of how different the society in the novel was from the one I live in. Using the Signposts from Notice and Note, I was able to see contrast and contradictions that enhanced my understanding of the book. I noticed how I was expecting Bernard, in Brave New World to be just like everybody else in the novel but instead he was a “normal person” that felt normal human emotions, such as the longing for love, that the other characters just did not feel. He also felt isolated and alone. Bernard thinks in a way we were not expecting. Patterns such as this helped me, the reader, to better understand literary elements.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that a reader can turn again and again, gaining new insights and knowledge into life each time. Sometimes an author uses a motif- a frequently repeated incident or idea -to get a certain theme across to the reader. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee uses motifs to clarify her messages or insights about life. Three specific motifs that Lee uses throughout the whole story are the mockingbird, courage, and walking in someone else's shoes.

Symbolism is a major literary device that helps people see a book through symbols that often have a deeper meaning. A symbol is used to explain something in a different way, using images, objects, etc. instead of just saying it in words. As you search for a deeper meaning in a work of art or literature it can help you understand the author’s intentions and the deeper significance of a work. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, symbols help reinforce the major themes of the book.

Memory is the quality that allows the readers to personally connect with a work of art. Relatable works tend to have more of an emotional impact on the reader. Symbols are used to connect the tangible to something intangible. Through this connection, readers will associate the aspects of the thing being symbolized to the symbol. For example, if a character is used to symbolize the devil in a work of art, the audience will associate the aspects of the devil to the character. Patterns allow readers to parallel one work of art to another work of art.

Analysis: Compare chapter 20 :How to Read Literature Like a Professor-“…So Does Season” to part four (chapter 1) of The Fountainhead.

Being able to understand memory, symbol, and pattern in a literary work help to appreciate it and makes it more enjoyable. If someone couldn't understand or recognize these then they could miss some of the bigger points of a story because they could be focused on other things in the story other than what they should be. If you can recognize patterns and other things then you know what to look for and what is important, rather than just hoping to notice it. There have been a lot of novels in which my appreciation for it has risen because I was able to recognize a symbol or pattern. One my favorite ones, however, would probably have to be in Fahrenheit 451 with the destruction of the city and and everything else being compared to a phoenix. Mankind

Literature teaches many things, sometimes even coaches readers on how to correctly read and analyze other works of literature. The novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster, teaches the analysis of symbolism in chapter 12 “Is that a symbol?”, used to evaluate the meanings of certain passages and quotes throughout works such as The Tragedy of King Lear, by William Shakespeare. Using the definition of symbolism, the readers background information, and learning about correct application now allows readers to develop a more in depth analysis of the words spoken by King Lear.

Trace three of the following threads through the novel. In two paragraphs for each explain the various literary effects of each of the threads and how each is related to the theme. Use quotations from the novel to support each analysis.

Symbols are important in each story to define the theme. Close observation of the symbols within each story proves to one their

in order to input recognition of these concepts into the readers’ minds for better understanding

For example, throughout the entirety of Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols to advance the plot of the novel. These symbols, whether they are characters, objects, or ideas, hold the power and ability to change the course of the story. The symbols can hold many different meanings and can conflict with one another, with this new issues arise which further develops the plot of the story. As said before, Mr. Golding uses symbols in his story Lord of the Flies to control the destiny of the boys.

By delving deeper into literature with the combination of memory, pattern, and symbols in hand, a well suited mind can gain increased insights into the depths of stories and discover hidden joys. To take patterns and a book for an example, The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, gives the reader an impressive amount of description of a world that a person can simply not keep track of. One could look past the unnecessary details and hook onto the important sections that Tolkien describes beautifully. For me, one example of the use of incredible symbols was while watching and reading Cloud Atlas. Both the book and the movie track different characters throughout time and has many themes. To name a few, how history tends to repeat itself, and how everyone

Chapter 5, “Patterns,” the author gives a warning to be on the lookout for patterns, archetypes, and recurrences. He reminds us that all literature contains bits and pieces of other works from other places. Foster dives into further detail by stating the fact that people don't necessarily copy other literature, the ideas become concreted in society's cultural dialogue. All literature is founded on its predecessors. The authors expect the readers to infer on things and they test our knowledge on culture, history, and literature. Intertextuality is the continuous interaction between different literary pieces. Foster gives us articles to look for to help us understand the similarities and they are; patterns, archetypes, symbols, and literary