1. Introduction
At times, people would borrow words and ideas from other works to fit specific situations and purposes. Whether conscious or not, they are using intertextuality. Originally coined and developed by the poststructuralist Julia Kristeva (1986) in 1966, the term intertextuality has been widely accepted and used in the field of modern and postmodern literary criticism. In their Introduction to Text Linguistics, De Beaugrande and Dressler (2002) state that intertextuality “concerns the factors which make the utilization of one text dependent upon knowledge of one or more previously encountered texts”. In other words, it denotes the interconnection that exists within texts, which not only include literature, but embrace all kinds of contexts.
The technique of referring to other works is frequently used in Willy Russell’s Educating Rita and Alan Bennett’s The History Boys. Both set in England, they tell different stories under the same broad theme of education. Educating Rita follows the development of a young working class hairdresser Rita and her relationship with her middle aged professor Frank. Dissatisfied with her current life, Rita signed up a course in English Literature at Open University, in order to discover herself and become civilized. Through almost a year’s course, the two experience profound change under the influence of each other: Frank is highly impressed by Rita’s enthusiasm and unique perception of literature, which leads to his attitudinal
By reading “How to Read Literature like a Professor” and “The Kite Runner”, the reader is aided in his or her ability to understand the true meanings behind the text. One is able to decipher how the act of coming together to eat can mean anything from a simple meal with family, to an uncomfortable situation that leads to anger or stress in an individual character. The reader is able to understand the use of rain or other weather in a novel to transform the mood and tone of scene, or understand the cleansing or destructive qualities that weather may have on the overall plot of the story. The use of illness can be transformed, as it can lead to the reader discovering veiled means behind tuberculosis, cholera, a simple cold, or even cancers such
In the introduction of “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” , Thomas C. Foster focuses on the grammar of literature and the qualities of a professorial reader. He asserts that practise is crucial to learn how to read literature in a more rewarding way. In addition, he defines main elements of the context such as pattern , symbols, and conventions. The purpose of Foster appears to be informing students who is beginning to be introduced to literature. Although Foster’s style is slightly condescending, he utilizes the conventions of literature quite well, and mentions the arbitrariness of these conventions in a sensible way.
In the midst of all the turmoil and cynicism in the current media, one can find that there is some good beneath it all, like a flower that blossomed from a sea of concrete. Victor Villaseñor acknowledges the fact that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel when he reflected upon his keynote address, where he criticized on English teachers, bashed, smacked, and tortured, their students. Based on the novel, Burro Genius, by Victor Villaseñor, the story displays Villaseñor’s education and his struggles with abusive teachers. In an excerpt from his book, Villaseñor affects the reader emotionally through the use of stylistic devices and imagery to depict the intensity of afterthoughts of his keynote address. Villaseñor uses these rhetorical
How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids Correlations to Eragon Literature in all forms can be connected with each other. No matter the type, genre, or author all stories have underlying meanings that can be linked with another. These connections can be categorized and applied to all varieties of written composition. In Thomas C. Foster’s book How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids, he dictates various aspects that can be found in pieces of literature. There are many instances from Christopher Paolini’s bestselling novel, Eragon, that correlate with Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids; the most prominent of these occurrences are coincident with chapters fourteen: “Marked for Greatness”, sixteen: “It’s Never Just Heart Disease… and Rarely Just Illness”, and eleven: “Is That a Symbol?”.
Everyone has a birthday, that’s the way it is. Some might not know when theirs is, but they have one. Every year on the same day, you turn a new age, but don’t you still feel like you’re still that previous age? That is how Rachel feels in the short story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros uses figurative language, repetition and imagery to characterize Rachel as a young child who wishes to grow up and be stronger.
What is the word believability? To me, believability is the ability to relate and empathize with something or someone. I am more likely to believe a person if I can relate to them and their experiences. In the story, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter the readers experience the death of an old woman named Ellen Weatherall, while in The Storm by Kate Chopin a woman called Calixta has an affair with her former lover whilst her husband and child are stuck in a storm. Both stories offer vivid details about the experiences these women go through, but which character is the most believable?
Estrella was eager to get academic knowledge but unfortunately her teachers were more concerned in her hygiene and her appearance than in giving her the education. “Teachers were more concerned about the dirt under her fingernails.” “They inspected her hair for lice…”
In Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta there are not only many allusions from various cultural origins given but the graphic novel can even be described as cultural pastiche (cf. Keller 4). These allusions are not limited to textual references (cf. Keller 7) and create intertextuality “which argues that other cultural artifacts and processes resemble language insofar as they refer only to other cultural products” (Keller 4). Keller also refers to the intertext as the shadow text (cf. Keller 10).
Some may say that educational systems are superior, however, some can argue that the educational system needs a change. Francine Prose’s purpose in “I Know Why The Caged Bird Cannot Read” stood out clearly, to inform parents on how the current system of education is ineffective to young learners. Her use of words, ethos, logos and pathos appeals to educators and students to inspire change in their education standards. Prose wittingly begins her essay with a shocking opening paragraph; her strong language in which attacks the various works of literature.
Skip Hollandsworth’s “Toddlers in Tiaras” argues the negative effects of participating in beauty pageants for young girls. Hollandsworth supported his argument through the use of the following techniques: narratives, testimonies, logical reasoning, appeals to emotion, facts, and an objective tone that attempts to give him credibility. These techniques are used to help persuade his audience of the exploitation of young girls in beauty pageants and the negative effects that pageants will have on their lives. Hollandsworth begins his article with how a typical beauty pageant runs and describes the multiple steps Eden Wood, a pageant contestant, goes through in order to get ready for a competition (490).
The Power of Education Education can be for both better and worse. Several different views of education are located everywhere in A Lesson Before Dying. While most people would say education is what helps people get somewhere in this world, being too educated can lead people to becoming selfish individuals. Whether it is about black v. white education, book smarts v. street smarts, or how education does not mean everything, Ernest J. Gaines novel is bleeding with ways on how education affects the events in the novel.
Minerva’s father cheats on his wife with a woman named Carmen Maria. With Carmen, he fathers four girls, who live a life of poverty and no education. After realizing the lack of schooling the children receive, Minerva asks their mother, “The girls are not in school, are they?... May I enroll them when I get back?” (105).
Miss Ferenczi not only tries to instill a love of learning, but teach them to think about things complexly. Miss Ferenczi says things like, “’Do you think,’ she asked, ‘that anyone is going to be hurt by a substitute fact?’ … ‘Will the plants on the windowsill be hurt?’… ‘Your dogs and cats, or your moms and dads?’
This is shown when the characters in this novel speak out against a concept they know nothing about. Therefore, the literary terms an author uses can make an immense impact to the connections the reader makes to a novel, and help to shape a theme that is found throughout
Knowing education was the way out of the neighbourhood, and having the inability to receive it is crushing blow, but the book gave them a secondary option. What would have been just a book to most children became a lifeline for the girls, introducing the hope that even without direct education, the girls could learn through one another. While Elena is going to school, Lila is borrowing library books a learning in unison. Even when Lila resigns herself to staying in the neighbourhood, she remembers the luminosity learning created and wishes for Elena to continue studying, saying “No, don’t ever stop: I’ll give you the money” (312). If