Behind each movie lies the meaningful aspects and significant features worth noticing. All movies and books can be carefully examined and interpreted. Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor provides a new view on interpreting literature. In the novel, Foster identifies and analyzes common patterns, themes, and motifs found in literature, many of which are also present in Disney’s film, Maleficent. This movie showcases several of his ideas, including quests, flight, geography, and symbolism. These are only a few characteristics that shape the movie into an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience for the audience. Foster notes that most stories and movies follow a pattern concerning quests (Foster 6). A character’s quest …show more content…
This film features massive thorns, tangled tree roots, landscapes of trees and waterfalls, and the mystical creatures that inhabit the land. Foster states that “...landscape and architecture and weather … merged as neatly with mood and tone to set a story in motion” (Foster 166). In the movie, the thorns and tangled roots immediately set a foreboding and gloomy tone. Foster mentions that geography not only includes physical surroundings, but also the people that live there. The creatures living in Maleficent’s kingdom resembled her imagination. In addition, geography served to isolate Maleficent’s kingdom from King Stefan 's kingdom in this film. The geographical isolation adds tension to the plot by establishing the apparent enemies and hatred toward each other. Foster also states that “Geography can also define or even develop character” (Foster 167). After Maleficent’s wings were removed, there were ominous skies, little sunlight, and few signs of life. These sudden changes in Maleficent 's kingdom reflect her dark and evil soul. Geography in literature doesn’t always pertain to just the setting. It also serves as a symbol to represent the character’s
In How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C foster he explains how works of literature are similar and how everyone of them have meaning. In Chapter 12 “Is that a symbol can relate closely to Catch 22. The overall meaning of the novel Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is freedom leads to death.
Nick Shepherd How To Read Like A Professor Chapter 2 I like to eat food. But there is also something more powerful behind the wanting to stuff your stomach. Eating with others is a fun enjoyable event.
Wharton uses her setting for much more than a mere setting. Her cold and icy setting is the perfect place for her tragic tale to take place. “The village lay under two feet of snow, with drifts at the windy corners” (11). This frozen atmosphere creates a sense of isolation; it adds to the tragic elements of the story. “The ubiquitous snow makes the New England farmhouses even more isolated, and the chain of despair seems frozen into place”(White).
Thomas Foster, a professor at the University of Michigan, taught literature and writing. He was born in West Cornfield, Ohio, and living in such a small town caused him to become very associated with books. In 2003, Foster published a book, How to Read Literature like a Professor, written in second person. The book is written as a guide for readers to know the parts of nonfiction books. It teaches young readers how to include important elements into their stories.
Thomas C. Foster’s novel How to Read Like a Professor teaches readers how to deeply analyze literary works to be able to understand deeper meanings in the work, and to be able to predict what will happen later on in the literary work. The Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire contains many of the aspects Foster goes over in this first ten chapters, which mostly include quests, referencing well-known literature, weather patterns, and the gathering for meals. According to Foster, a journey is never just a journey. It is a quest to discovering some sort of Holy Grail, whether it be an object, an idea, or self-discovery.
In the novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster discusses the importance of Geography in literature, particularly the idea that “ when writers send characters south, it’s so they could run amok” (Foster 179). This idea emerges in Zora Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God as Janie travels to discover her identity. Janie feels tied down by the people in her life, particularly her husband Joe in Eatonville. She comments that he “wanted me tuh sit wid folded hands and sit dere.
In Thomas C. Foster's How To Read Literature Like a Professor, he describes the setup of the adventure of the protagonist, dividing it into five parts: Our quester, a place to go, a stated reason to there, challenges and trials, and the real reason to go. A protagonist must experience all of these things in order to accomplish their goals and learn their lessons. In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily Owens, the main character, must encounter these things in order to unlock the mystery of what really happened to her mother the night she was killed, in addition to learning about the passion of writing and telling stories, the dangers and foolishness of racism, and female power. Our quester, Lily, is a fourteen year old girl with a passion for writing.
The Outsiders: Compare and Contrast In the novel “The Outsiders,” by S.E Hinton and the movie by Francis Ford Coppola have numerous similarities and differences. Our thoughts on these particular aspects are very diverse as the universe is. Many things have been either left out or diminished from the movie, which makes it less interesting as the suspense lessens as you have finished reading the book. Although this might be the case, there were also many similarities between the two sources.
In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster teaches readers the meanings behind commonly used symbols, themes, and motifs. Many readers of all ages use this book as a guide to understanding messages and deeper meanings hidden in novels. The deeper literary meanings of various symbols in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale are explained in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. By using Foster’s book, readers can better understand the symbols in The Handmaid’s Tale.
How does How To Read Literature Like A Professor applies to every piece of literature? This novel is written by Thomas Foster and he gives the better understanding on many things, including patterns, symbols, and other literary devices. He helps the reader to gain knowledge on how to recognize each small detail of the story. This novel makes the connection with The Scarlet Letter and makes it easier to comprehend. The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne; this novel is about Hester Prynne, who is a young and beautiful woman and committed adultery with town’s minister, Reverend Dimmesdale.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor is a book that shows numerous ways and strategies to understand what their reading. Each chapter shows examples from books and use of literary devices that can help develop the meaning of the story. Think of this book as reading between the lines. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald used people to symbolize objects or things to let the reader have an interpretation on the characters. For example, the green light represents Gatsby's future for him and Daisy to be together.
In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, by Barry Lopez focuses on the topic of human relationships with nature. He believes human imagination is shaped by the architectures it encounters within life. Lopez first starts his essay with the statement that geography is a shaping force for humans. This shaping force is what creates our imagination; the shaping force is found within nature. Everything humans see within nature is remembered, thus creating new ideas and thoughts for our imagination.
Literature is a medium that enables people to effectively express their opinions and perspectives. Being the vast genre that it is, fiction presents writers with the opportunity to utilize literary devices in their pieces. These devices help in communicating the message of the author’s work. Several fictional texts use common literary devices such as metaphors, similes, symbols, and imagery. These devices allow for writers to personally involve readers with the author’s message.
A STEREOTYPE ANALYSES ABOUT ‘‘THE LION KING’’ Disney’s films have unexpected, unpredictible gender based streotypes. If you analyze into all details, you will realize that these films, which are made for children, have unbelievable secluded concepts. These films speak for more than you watch at first sight. In this essay, ‘‘The Lion King’’, one of the Disney’s most famous films, will be examined by stereotypes about gender, race, discrimination and characters. Racial stereotypes are one of the most striking points of the movie.
Geography in stories doesn’t always pertain to just the setting; it can serve as a symbol to represent the character’s