How To Read Literature Like A Professor Charles Dicken

After gaining his wealth, Pip becomes snobby and lets everything go to his head. Now, after losing his wealth, we, as readers see a new change in Pip's personality. As for himself, Pip appears to feel ashamed of himself and his new class. In ​Great Expectations​, explaining Pip's feelings, Pip thinks, "Next day, I had the meanness to feign that I was under a binding promise to go down to Joe; but I was capable of almost any meanness towards Joe or his name." (Dickens, 391) Pips thoughts here, represent how he starts to realize how he has changed since moving to London. In his childhood, Pip was practically best friends with Joe, then becoming a gentleman, he has this sense that he is above Joe and essentially wanted nothing to do with

Throughout Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the character, personality, and social beliefs of Pip undergo complete transformations as he interacts with an ever-changing pool of characters presented in the book. Pip’s moral values remain more or less constant at the beginning and the end; however, it is evident that in the time between, the years of his maturation and coming of adulthood, he is fledgling to find his place in society. Although Pip is influenced by many characters throughout the novel, his two most influential role models are: Estella, the object of Miss Havisham’s revenge against men, and Magwitch, the benevolent convict. Exposing himself to such diverse characters Pip has to learn to discern right from wrong and chose

The main storyline has to do with Pip’s expectations of becoming a gentleman. To do this he received help from a secret benefactor. For the first half of the novel Pip is convinced that Miss Havisham is the one doing this so one day he and Estella can be together. Dickens creates a story around Pip’s assumption to make this a very logical explanation. Coincidentally right after Pip realizes and confirms he was wrong about his benefactor, an unexpected character reappears. “You acted nobly, my boy,” said he. “Noble Pip! And I have never forgot it!” (Dickens 248) These words ring out of his benefactor’s name. Who appears to be the escaped convict from the beginning who threatened him, known by the name of Magwitch. Magwitch reveals that ever since that day in the graveyard when Pip returned to give him what he requested he has found a job to help Pip out for what he did for him. By doing this secretly for all this

Memory, symbol and pattern have significant effects on the reading of literature. By recognizing patterns and being able to “distance oneself from the story…”, a reader can look beyond the mere details, draw from memory to a similar experience and understand the symbols. While I was reading The Great Gatsby for AP Lang last year, upon understanding the significance and symbolism of the green light representing “The

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.

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.

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

The first chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s guide to finding symbolism and motifs in literature, How To Read Literature Like a Professor, details the literary plot device of a quest and how to identify one in a novel. He introduces the chapter by explaining how a seemingly normal trip to the grocery store is a quest because it is structurally a quest. The hero, a boy named Kip, like every other hero in a quest, confronts various trials (his jealousy of another boy and his rejection by the girl he likes) in search of a “Holy Grail” (a loaf of bread). According to Foster, there are five components of a quest, all of which can be found in Kip’s story. The first structural component is the quester, or the character who is undertaking the quest, consciously or not. This character is known as the hero or heroine of the story, which in this case is Kip. The second and third elements are the “declared” purpose of the quest: a location that the hero must travel to and a reason to go there, which would be Kip’s search for a loaf of bread at the grocery store. Sometimes,

Jose de Alvare AP LIT Dr. Busse 08/14/17 How to Read Literature Like a Professor: by Thomas C. Foster Chapter 1-- Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It's Not) The five parts of a QUEST are The five aspects of the quest are: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, (e) a real reason to go there. a quester - Percy Jackson a place to go - the underworld and mount olympus The stated reason to go there - to retrieve the stolen lightning bolt from Hades in the underworld for Zeus and to save his mother Challenges and trials en route - On his way to the underworld he has to face Medusa in New York , the Hydra and the Lotus Eaters in a Las Vegas casino. He also has to face Luke attempting to steal the lightning bolt and attempting to kill him.

Pip then goes on to address the reader directly and explains that “[t]hat was a memorable day to [him], for it made great changes in [him],” (Dickens 70). After meeting with Estella several times and becoming extremely fond of her, despite her bipolar attitudes towards him, Ms. Havisham suddenly decides to recompense Pip for his time and then tells him that he no longer has to come back to the Satis House. Everyday after this, Pip continuously thinks of Estella and of how he must become a gentleman in order to be at the same level as Estella and eventually marry her. Another character Biddy (whose relationship to Pip is somewhat complicated) begins acting as Pip’s teacher and Pip says “[w]hatever [he] acquired, [he] tried to impart to Joe,” because “[he] wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common.” Pip’s plans to become a well-mannered gentleman to be worthy of high-society and to be worthy of Estella’s affection are two goals or “great expectations” that Pip sets for himself that ultimately carry the plot of the novel along.

The names of the characters in the story Great Expectations symbolize who they are and how they act. In Great Expectations there is a great deal of symbolism throughout the book as there is in life. There are symbols of isolation, manipulation, and wanting to be something else. These are all seen in the book through the characters of Estella, Abel Magwitch, Miss Havisham, Pip, and Biddy.

Good Intentions One of Dickens’ most celebrated works, Great Expectations, is about the coming-of-age of a poor, young boy named Pip in during the Industrial Revolution. He is faced with danger and unattainable love with the beautiful and cold Estella, along with the hectic nature that is her adoptive mother Miss Havisham. Pip is also given an ample amount of wealth by a mysterious benefactor suddenly, changing his life quickly and moving to the large city of London. He begins his journey with a pure heart, like many of the characters, but it is believed that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Pip’s mindset regarding classes and success in life is drastically altered after his initial visit to the aristocratic Miss Havisham. “She said I was common” (69) spurs the realization in Pip that he is indeed innocent but unfortunately much oppressed. Pip is very distraught with his birth place into society, to the point that he “was discontented” (130) -- he increasingly desires to be a gentleman. He primarily desires this as a means of impressing Estella and winning her over. At this point in the novel, Pip is willing to give away what he loves (Joe – family setting) to obtain a superficial and insulting girl. One day Pip receives word that he now has the ability to grow up to be his ultimate dream, to be a gentleman. Pip awakens to a new world and those he once loved are no longer good enough for Pip. Moving to London, he becomes far more sophisticated, but at the same time loses his natural goodness. (Chesterton 142). Pip is leaving happiness and his real family to attain a life he thinks will make him more content. Before departing, he dreams of “Fantastic failures of journeys occupied me until the day dawned and the birds were singing” (148). This relates the dream that Pip has just before he sets out to London for the first time, with all of his "great expectations" before him. Pip’s dream is permeated with the sadness and guilt caused by his imminent departure from Joe and Biddy and his aspirations for a new social station.

Ambiguity draws across anyone; when they are seeking a coherent meaning in their life. The fabric that weaves together existence can be baffling when one seeks to analyze it. The search for self, as well as knowing and trusting one’s self is echoed through out literature in humanity; it could be haunting and cause great trepidation, to hold on to a vision that could alter their judgement, as well can cause a fierce storm in the supreme realm that is objective truth. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is a coming to age story of a young man named Pip, seeking to establish stability, as well find meaning in his life through love and self identification. The purpose of this assignment is to propose that Pip was personally reflecting upon

Since it was first published over 150 years ago, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations has come to be known as a timeless and remarkably moving work of literature. It is considered to be one of Dickens’ most recognizable works, and is celebrated for its meaningful, universally-believed themes. In order for this novel to be properly understood, a thoughtful analysis of its major themes must be given.