'How To Read Literature Like A Professor'

In the novel “How to Read Literature like a Professor” the author, Thomas Foster, analyzed and broke down many literary techniques and reoccurring themes in literature. One of the most widely used literary techniques as shown in the novel was Symbolism. Symbolism is heavily used in literature from precipitation and weather to politics, almost everything we read in literature is a form of symbolism.

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.

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 Picoult, Picoult writes that “Emma Alexis- who was one of the cool, beautiful girls…she rolled her wheelchair right beside Justin. She’d asked him if she could have half of his donut” (367). Splitting the donut between one of the popular girls and one of the quieter, nerdier boys was a representation of the deformation of the high school social classes. After reading this chapter, I could recall the significance of meals together in so many novels and movies but I never noticed this pattern before.

How 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 books and writing. As for the examples, they are informative, descriptive, relative, and entertaining.

Intertextuality is the ongoing interaction between poems or stories. Romeo and Juliet, and the Titanic are two examples

“Sometimes the really scary bloodsuckers are entirely human” (Foster 18). In How To Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster argues that vampires in literature are not always actual vampires, but can be figurative as well: “Using other people to get what we want. Placing our desires above the needs of others...as long as people act toward their fellows in exploitative and selfish ways, the vampire will be” (Foster 22). In essence, Foster illustrates that the act of using others to attain one’s personal goal is analogous to a vampire sucking the blood out of it’s victim. Foer’s protagonist in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Oskar, also shows these vampiric tendencies in his goal of learning about his father’s key. “‘Actually, I’m diabetic

Karanvir Dhami Ms. Yu ENG3U March 7, 2011 Symbolism in Life of Pi In Life of Pi there are many literary devices used to present the different themes in the novel. The main literary device used in Life of Pi is symbolism. Symbolism is often used to represent an object to something else, either by association or by resemblance. Most of the names of animals, objects and even humans in this novel have a symbolic meaning. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, symbolism such as pi’s name, the colour orange and the algae island, are used throughout the novel to provide Pi with protection to help him either survive or overcome his emotional pain. The mathematical pi is undefined, infinite and unable to be understood, just like Piscine Patel.

* Communion is a way of saying, “I’m with you, I like you, and we form a community together.” People would only eat dinner with someone that they are comfortable with. That’s the importance about food. Any meal would represent sharing and peace. But at times, it could be considered a bad thing. An example I can come up with is when Snow White ate the apple a strange looking old woman just decided to give to her.

-Flight is freedom. When a character has the ability to fly they are free from the burdens of everyday life.

If you were stranded in the middle of the ocean with a tiger, what would you be thinking about? Well Piscine Molitor Patel also referred to as “Pi Patel” survived 227 days on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. This makes me think that the central theme of this novel is survival, well everything he does, fishing for fish, killing animals and taming a tiger is to survive. He was influenced by this theme because of hunger/thirst and awareness of Richard parker. In the novel The Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses “Pi” to show that humans can do anything if driven to it.

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 name Pi is also symbolic because as Pi stated: “I was named after a swimming pool” (8) The word “Piscine” in French translate to ‘swimming pool’ in English. The significance of his name is because he spends 227 days in a huge swimming pool (the ocean) fighting for his life.

There is a foreshadowing device in Piscine’s name because the pool that he was named after was “as big as small oceans” (19) and he survives later on in the Pacific Ocean which is the largest ocean on planet Earth. Everything that he was taught as a little boy, all of the lessons on swimming made sense because it was all useful in the survival. Pi was the only one who knew how to swim in his family and it seemed like faith that he only survived the big storm. Patel’s nickname ‘Pi’ relates to the novel as the theme was religion, it hit the aspects. The reader can understand Pi’s

As the title of the novel has already suggested, the name of the protagonist is Pi, legally known as Piscine Moliter Patel. Piscine's first name is later on shortened to "Pi", for it is a much simpler name. If the name is analyzed with further thought, a significant meaning can be uncovered. Pi's name not only represents his identity, but is in a way, connected to the theme the nature of religious beliefs. In the science field, "Pi" is symbolized as the mathematical term for " ". This term is commonly recognized as the number 3.14. In particular aspects of Hinduism, the number 3 signifies the ability an individual possess to build curiosity upon faith and connect with its spirituality. This means that they are often curious about religion

The Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by author Yann Martel. It describes the protagonist Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, and his miraculous 277 days of survival in the Pacific with a 450 pound adult Bengal Tiger. In this novel, the literary device symbolism, which is using of symbols and other objects to represent ideas or qualities, plays an important role in the novel. It utilizes symbolism to describe animals as humans. Richard Parker (tiger) symbolizes Pi, and Orange Juice (orangutan) symbolizes Pi’s mother.