From start to finish, English this year had been unlike any other I had. From start to finish, each and every book had a deeper meaning than I, before, could possibly resolve from the text. The exposure I had to this deeper level of thinking forever changed the way I see literature. Less about “what” than “why”, Literature distinguishes a meaningful story from another. While what makes a book “good” is different for everyone, what makes a story meaningful is what it teaches. Each book I read this year had a story and logic behind it. Every story was real enough to have actually happened because the plot points are supported with real speculation backed up by the nature of humanity. I, personally, have never gone as deep into literature as I have this year, giving me a new appreciation for the genius behind the speculation these books present. …show more content…
Though up to this time I had never gotten deeply engaged in a book, the jerkiness of the father actually sparked anger in me. I did not go too much deeper into the book, and any meaning was hidden behind the words that I thought little of. However after spending a week in English talking about the book, I started to see meaning behind it, but only once the meaning was directly stated. At the time, the book did not speak to me in any way, but now looking back, what speaks to me the most is Sarah’s new perception on identity. She asks herself, “can a tree hate the roots from which it sprang? Who gave me the fire, the passion, to push myself up from the dirt?” (286). She states that even though he resented living with her family, she can’t hate them because they made her who she is. I reflected on this, and I realised that the reason I am myself is that I grew up under the family that raised me, and that I was raised the way I
Our cohort is nearing the end of its secondary education and therefore it is important that we reflect on the ways in which it has shaped our attitudes, values and beliefs. For example, over the past five years, we have read, analysed and evaluated various literary works such as novels, plays, poems and films in our English studies. These texts have expressed various ideologies, explored interesting themes and introduced us to fascinating characters. These elements have left a lasting impression on our attitudes, values and beliefs. In addition to this, English literary texts have provided us with historical knowledge as well as a thorough understanding of the role that aesthetic devices
Literature is important to allow readers to escape reality within the pages of a book, and also to preserve the past by reading about personal experiences and understanding the norms of different time periods. It is beneficial to provide a new world for the reader, but it shows our history and how it has changed over the years. Many fiction writers hint at real-world experiences or topics and it is up to the reader to interpret the theme of the literature. Authors write to preserve our past and to show a common theme as well as open the door to allow the reader to delve into the words on the page.
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.
Anzia Yezierska’s 1925 novel Bread Givers ends with Sara Smolinsky’s realization that her father’s tyrannical behavior is the product of generations of tradition from which he is unable to escape. Despite her desire to embrace the New World she has just won her place in, she attempts to reconcile with her father and her Jewish heritage. The novel is about the tension inherent in trying to fit Old and New worlds together: Reb tries to make his Old World fit into the new, while Sara tries to make her New World fit into the Old. Sara does not want to end up bitter and miserable like her sisters, but she does not want to throw her family away all together. Her struggle is one of trying to convince her patriarchal family to accept her as an
When a novel is revealing, witty and whimsical it unlocks the hidden truths about literature as discussed in the book How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster. This book is written in second person so the reader can experience Foster’s personality that is directed towards them. A reader is given a fresh and clear perception on literature to understand what is being read. Foster clarifies the way writers uses symbols and themes. He believes by analyzing the deeper meaning in literature will help foster a better reader.
this book was to show the reader how to look at literature through a wide eye. To see
I have never been as comfortable with people made of flesh and bone than I have been with those made of words. Whatever information I lose in the contours of the human face, I have no trouble locating in the unchanging, permanent text of a book. There is something about literature that felt safe to me; the worlds created within far more welcoming to little girls with problems fitting in than the one outside the pages. For this reason, fiction, from Harry Potter to The Book Thief, has remained my greatest passion ever since I learned to read.
Many pieces of literature are written each year, and each year dedicated high school students come together to read any type of literature ranging from plays, poetry, graphic novels to podcasts. Out of all the pieces of literature the students read, the students will debate which piece they believe is best. Once all these pieces are chosen, an anthology is created, “The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2014”. In the introduction of this book, Lemony Snicket claims, “the most passionate and interesting pieces of writing divide a literary team” (Snicket xii). Literary pieces divide people in their opinions since the pieces allow readers to interpret the pieces differently and gives the readers a sense of mystery.
Throughout all of time, literature has played an important role in people’s lives. Books are more than just stories to laugh at, cry with, or fall asleep to, but books can teach. Literature
Literature tells the stories of people – growth and prosperity, decline and poverty, and most importantly, evolution. Literature reminds us that while humans are intelligent and capable of producing literature, humans are still humans. We are a species evolved from apes, a collection of animals that bear the responsibility of balancing natural and instinctual urges with logic, rationale and morality. Literature is the medium in which instinct clashes with morality – where the true human condition is revealed. English 300 students not only practice the analysis of a variety of complex literature, they also delve into the deeper discussion of philosophy – the basis on which literature functions.
Literature is used by authors to entertain and inform readers as well as to teach important lessons. Readers take pleasure in being swept away to varying worlds as the eloquent words and powerful characters transport them from the reality of one’s daily lives, into mysterious places that entice one to read on. Authors successfully captivate readers because of their dedication and inspiring words that help readers comprehend their beliefs and motives for writing. Lessons are also used in literature to teach readers about issues that could be applied generations later. Many times an author will not come out and tell one what these lessons are, they are embedded deep in the author 's characters and
In the duration of this course, I was more informed on how English literature was started. I became more educated on how the styles and tones the authors utilize have an affect on the readers. Although I had already read many of the stories we studied, I became more enlightened on the background history of the authors of those stories. Becoming more cultivated on the authors enabled me to view their accounts in ways that I wouldn’t have usually considered.
The first moment I had learned our prospective reading assignments, I felt a shadow of doubt intruding on that little cloud of confidence somewhere in my mind. Every year of my high school career, an English teacher has so wholeheartedly and enthusiastically presented a novel to the class that, to anyone who had the privilege of receiving the brunt of their excitement, that novel in particular had to be the most cathartic, astounding, metamorphic novel we could ever hope to lay eyes on. I expected each page to grace my mind with profound knowledge, enlighten with scholarly insight, entertain with the skill of a master artist and performer; and yet, each time my hopes shattered like the windows of a building in an earthquake. The entire foundation, which had been so carefully and devotedly constructed, crumbled within minutes of opening the book.
We have read a lot this past year. Each piece varying in length, but yet each had its own way of showing us something we did not know or have else forgotten. We we shown powerful word choice through the Gettysburg Address said by Abraham Lincoln, we learned about the roaring twenties in The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, and personal strength in The Old Man and the Sea written by Ernest Hemingway. We also learned more about irony in The Lottery and the realistically false tellings of the Vietnam War in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.
Throughout this year, I have read many different works of early English literature. From reading these works and following the rules of Vladimir Nabokov, I have grown tremendously as a reader since the beginning of this year. From reading Alice in Wonderland to now, I have grown to appreciate literature much more. I have developed a better sense of the English language through the use of a dictionary and the difficult sentence structure of works such as the Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, Le Morte D’Arthur, and the Fairie Queene. Because of the difficult sentence structures, the different word usages, and the deeper meanings wrapped in each of these works, I have learned to reread to better my understanding of the text and to see if I