How To Read Literature Like A Professor Character Analysis

How to Read Literature Like a Professor is a book Thomas C. Foster uses to expose his thoughts and feelings of many literary terms and devices. Such ideas can be found in James Joyce’s short story, “The Dead”.

In Thomas Foster’s book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor,” readers learn how to look past the surface of a literary work to find a deeper or hidden meaning. Writers use devices, such as symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, irony and allusion to reveal these meanings. If these are overlooked, important aspects of the story can be lost. One literary device that Foster emphasizes in his book is allusion. Every story has elements of another story, and Foster devotes Chapters Four through Seven explaining the meaning of allusion in works by Shakespeare, the Bible, and fairy tales.

Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the

Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman; when you hear the word hero or heroine that is who you think of. The most famous heroes of all time, as well as the not so famous heroes such as Hazel, fit the archetype of a hero; they are all courageous, resourceful, and strong-willed. Most people don’t notice that almost all action/adventure movies and novels are the same. All of their stories fit the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest. A heroic quest consists of twelve steps that the hero completes throughout his or her journey. In this essay, I will be explaining the parallels between Watership Down by Richard Adams and the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest; as well as the parallels between

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.

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

Taking the time to pick apart the hero’s actions and thoughts can make the journey much more interesting and easier to understand. By understanding the basic characteristics and the stages of the hero’s journey we can not only understand the story more but we can also understand ourselves more. We can learn new ways to relate to heroes and our peers we did not know of before. In conclusion, the hero’s journey is a great way to learn a new lesson or two, learn more about yourself, and be entertained at the same

Lastly, he lectures about the real reason of the quests rather than the stated reason; regardless of the initial reason, there is always an underlined reason, which Foster states as self-knowledge. This real reason explains why so many protagonists are young and inexperienced, for they have “a long way to go in the self-knowledge department” (Foster 3). Foster introduces an example of an unlikely quest: Thomas Pynchon’s Crying of Lot 49. The quester in Crying of Lot 49 is a young woman that is stuck in an unhappy marriage and is easily dominated by the men in her life. The destination is Southern California, however she also journeys toward an uncertain future. Her stated reason to go to Southern California, far from her home in San Francisco, is that she has been made the executor of the will for her deceased lover. She goes through numerous trials which include meeting many eccentric and chilling people, taking nightlong voyages through San Francisco, talking psychotic therapists out of shooting rampages, and involving herself in a postal conspiracy. Lastly, Foster tells us the real reason the character, Oedipa Maas, is on a quest. Oedipa is named after a character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, who doesn’t truly realize himself. The great challenge for Oedipa is that her security blankets, the males in her life, are gradually proven to be fake or unreliable. She is given the choice to either break down or forge on, regardless of the

Foster breaks down the aspects of a journey to describe the quester, the destination, the stated reason, the challenges, and the real reason. The character who embarks on the journey, also known as the quester, has a defined reason to do so, whether it is to obtain an object, save one from the lurking dangers, or acquire life-saving knowledge. Along their way to reach their destination, they may encounter various challenges such as a physical barrier, a challenger/defender, or a personal obstacle they must face. Through whatever form it takes, these barriers force the quester to challenge their abilities and beliefs, which ultimately leads to them discovering personal knowledge previously unknown about themselves. Though the quester may have accomplished their stated goal of their journey, they return from their voyage often as a changed person as the real reason for their quest was to gain self-knowledge. After they finish their conquest, the quester realizes that the journey was more important than the destination whether they built upon their relationships with another, conquered a personal fear, or gained new found knowledge about themselves, altering their personality and their identity. Foster believes that every trip is a quest, and the quest is a revelation about one’s

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.

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.

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

The chapter "Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It's Not)" from How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster includes many great points about protagonists going on adventures and acquiring self knowledge. Every trip protagonists take, even if it is just going to the store, is a quest. In every quest there must always be a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials, and the real reason to go. The quester can be anyone in the story who goes on a journey even if that character does not now that he or she is on a quest; this character will most likely be a teenager who still has to learn about himself. Both the place to go and a stated reason to go there is something predetermined my another character

However, since the hero is part of society, the journey is also one of personal development. On a more psychological level, one could suggest that the hero’s quest is symbolic of all personal conflict. Conflict begins when a problem arises that must be dealt with. Most people, at first, refuse to come to terms with whatever this problem may be, and attempt to ignore it. With enough mental determination and/or aid from an outside source, however, one can bring themselves to cross the first threshold, and begin their journey into the heart of the problem. For example, victims of rape or other types of abuse must face what is haunting them in order for it to be exorcised properly.

Every story, according to Thomas Foster, has to have a quest all paralleling to the involuntary search for self-knowledge. An exemplified example comes about in the story when the quester: Sir Gawain searches to encounter and challenge the Green Knight. Initially he thought himself to be of no importance saying “I myself am the weakest… my life will be least missed.” Sir Gawain enters a challenge in darkness in a quest to take on the Green Knight. The darkness however is not a simple emotional adjective adding drama to this Medieval Romance. In fact the mood derives from imagery revealing the actual moral tests the darkness lurks about. Sir Gawain