How To Read Literature Like A Professor Chapter 1 Summary

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.

Chapter 14 is about how almost everything, in some form, is a Christ figure. The chapter gives a list to relate characters to. The list is 1. crucified, wounds in the hands, feet, side, and head 2. in agony 3. self-sacrificing 4. good with children 5.good with loaves, fishes, water, wine 6. thirty-three years of age when last seen 7. employed as a carpenter 8. known to use humble modes of transportation, feet or donkeys preferred 9. believed to have walked on water 10. often portrayed with arms outstretched 11.

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.

“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 sixth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster examines the Bible and its importance throughout stories, poetry and film. The Bible is one of the most commonly known pieces of literature and is even “nonsectarian” in Foster’s eyes (44). Because stories from the Bible are so well known, the Bible is a tremendously easy for authors to reference when constructing a new composition. Especially “prior to sometime in the middle of the twentieth century” writers were “solidly instructed in religion” and could count on the public being very well acquainted with Biblical stories (47). This widespread knowledge of the Bible lead to greater understandings throughout literature, and the recognized allusions helped

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

Throughout history, literature has served as a prominent tool in the examination of social values, ideas, and dreams. In addition, literature has provided a vital connection between historical, social, and political events. Through the incorporation of religious principles and philosophies, writers have discovered a way to portray different time periods, characters, feelings, and most importantly God.

“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

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.

Christ figures are portrayed throughout literary works, and they help create a deeper and symbolic understanding in the novel. An example of a Christ figure in literature would be Simon from The Lord of the Flies. Simon is a little boy with epileptic tendencies who becomes stranded on an island with other boys his age after their plane crashes. Some similarities between Simon and Jesus Christ include:

The influence of religion upon society is echoed throughout E M Forsters’ novel A Room with a View, Tess of the D’Urbevilles written by Thomas Hardy and Simon Armitage’s adaptation of the 14th century Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. With use of Biblical imagery and symbolism, as well as significant interactions with both secular and pious characters, the effect of religion on moral development is documented and analysed by all three writers as their protagonists commence a spiritual pilgrimage or journey of conversion.

Joyce effectively confirms Foster’s assertions that Christianity plays an influential part in a text by implementing unique religious and aesthetic angles through literary aspects such as structure, diction, plot progression, and character development, with a focus on a thematic

Throughout human history, one element has been involved in every culture. This element is religion, or the belief of a higher power. Religion has shown up time and time again in literature, specifically in the Romantic and Victorian periods. The Romantic period in British literature spans the years of 1780-1830. This period witnesses growth in the access to literature because authors begin to write in a common language for the everyday man. A main focus in this time frame is rebellion from the industrialization of the time and the praise of nature (Rogers 274). The Victorian period is the consecutive period in British literature that lasts from around 1830-1901. This period has more of a traditional viewpoint and addresses many topics, such as religious doubt (Brantlinger 1). These two periods are connected through their use of religion. Although religion may first seem to serve a set function, this literary element is actually utilized in many different forms throughout poetry. Initially, one would think that the Romantic period and the Victorian period would have opposing viewpoints on spirituality. However, these two seemingly unalike periods are very similar in their use of religion. Works from the Romantic period, as well as from the Victorian period, are saturated with religious references in literature.

I will emphasis the people of the British Isles who have been profoundly influenced in their writing by Christianity, by analyzing the specific Christian ideas that are the central points in the following stories Judith, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue, John Donne’s Holy Sonnets, and Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Dr.Faustus.

Endless quests for valor, constant battles for glory, and a continued dedication to the king is a common theme throughout Anglo-Saxon literature, but why? Reflecting on the history of literature, leading up to today, divulges a surprisingly conspicuous undertone of all written works. Literature is often influenced by and reflects the time in which it was written. After all; writers are human, and the human instinct to adapt to one’s environment often manifests itself in written works. There are many ways the time can influence a writer and their work. However, this essay will mainly focus on the influences of religion and social values.