How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster, gives the reader insight on how to look at a novel in a different perspective. This book truly changes the way the reader views a book. In Chapter 11 of How To Read Literature Like A Professor, the topic of death is introduced. Every death in a novel has a deeper meaning which helps mystify the plot. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, has 3 significant deaths that occur in the novel to develop the story. Death had a significant impact on Mikage’s life. She lost both her parents as a child. After that, she went to go live with her grandparents. Unfortunately, she lost her grandfather when she was in high school. Soon after that, she lost her grandmother. After suffering all these losses …show more content…
After Mikage’s grandmother's death, Yuichi Tanabe welcomes Mikage to stay in his home with him and his parent as a gesture of politeness in her time of need with the recent events that happened to her. Yuichi knows Mikage because her grandmother bought flowers frequently for her house from a flower shop that Yuichi was an employee at. Once he received the news of her death, he wanted to help Mikage out. Eriko was a very busy, as she was an owner of a busy night club. She was in and out of the house a lot when Mikage was staying there. Mikage and Eriko speak to each other informally, showing that they have got closer during the time they had spent together and have a relationship more like family members than just acquaintances. “I felt like my insides had been gouged out. And now she is no longer here. She isn’t anywhere anymore”(45) says Mikage after Yuichi tells her about Eriko’s death. When Eriko passed away, it hit Mikage hard, adding another loss to someone that was close to her. After Eriko’s death, Mikage and Yuichi became closer and started to develop feelings for each other. They began to feel like they were made for each other, relying on the other for support during the tough times they
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
As a reader has one ever thought about what Fosters key idea is for this chapter “Don’t Read with Your Eyes” well here it is from How To Read Literature Like A Professor Foster emphasizes on “The formula I generally offer is this: don’t read with your eyes. What I really mean is don’t read only from your own fixed position in the Year of Our Lord two thousand and some. Instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background” (234). Foster uses the example of the teacher whose brother is a drug addict from one’s perspective he might be considered a bad person and gross.
In Thomas C. Foster’s How To Read Literature Like a Professor For Kids, readers have the ability to identify certain elements from chapters “Nice To Eat You; Acts of Vampires”, “Is That a Symbol?”and “Marked For Greatness”, which Laura Hillenbrand puts to action in her book Unbroken. In Laura Hillenbrand’s novel Unbroken, the characters in the story show and play out the chapter 3 “Nice to Eat You; Acts of Vampires” from Thomas C. Foster’s How To Read Literature Like a Professor For Kids. In the novel Unbroken there is a general named Watanabe who was the leader of discipline at Omori POW camp in Japan. Watanabe was known for his brutality within the camp because his purposeful standing around waiting for someone to make one tiny mistake, so he could beat them until they were unconscious.
In the book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster, in chapter 13 he talks about how each story can be interpreted as being political. This addresses social and political problems in the world. He used many examples of different stories to express each one of his points further. Firstly he pitches his thoughts on how A Christmas Carol is actually political.
In the beginning of Chapter ¬15 of How To Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas C. Foster first introduces the very known fact that humans cannot fly. So if a human is able to in a piece of literature, it belongs to the categories he lists later on. However, the categorization is an superficial analyzation of flying. He introduces the history of flying and how humans have strived to defied the laws of gravity forever. Foster analyzes Morrison’s Song of Solomon and explain how when Solomon flew off to Africa it is an act of returning “home” and “casting off the chains of slavery on one level”(Foster 92).
Thomas C. Foster states in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, that there are three main items to understanding literature. The first item is memory; Memory helps a reader connect works of literature with other experiences as a way of possibly better understating the writing at hand. Symbolism is the second item noted by Foster. Symbolism can be used to open a readers mind to the big picture being painted. Not all works of literature are as complicated, as to where symbolism is splattered through the pages.
Thomas Foster’s book, How to Read literature Like a Professor, teaches many readers the importance of reading and understanding a book. He includes points in his book that are easy to connect to books that the readers have read, making it easy for readers to understand the meaning of each chapter. Thomas Foster’s book obviously connects to the book, Wonder, readers can identify a questor, the importance of a meal scene, and
In the novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C Foster elucidates the significance of sharing a meal with others, and how who is included in the communion directly clarifies what type of situation is occurring, whether it be peaceful or not. It is said that whenever people eat or drink together, it is considered to be a communion. In chapter one “Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion” Foster states that the most common assumption that readers make when contemplating the subject of communions is that they assume the gatherings are religious, however that is not always the case. Generally communions are situations where intimate thoughts and feelings are shared primarily because the process of eating is particularly a personal
As Stated by the author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor For Kids, by Thomas Foster, authors use certain varieties of weather conditions in order to set a mood in the story that’s relevant to the scenario present. Foster explains this action as saying, “But an author doesn't have a quick shower of rain, or a flurry or snow, or a flood or a blizzard, for no reason at all (Foster, 59).” What the author is trying to remark is that authors don't put unnecessary weather unless it contributes to the plot or the mood, sometimes even using it as means of ivory. One example of weather being used in the movie clip from Toy Story is rain. The rain didn't start until Sid was just about the release a rocket outside with Buzz attached, which
“Paper Towns” is a story that is all about adventure, and therefore has a quest as the main (advancer) in the story. It results in the loss of innocence while pushing boundaries during the exciting time of adolescence. It possesses all of the five key elements of a quest as stated in “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” by Thomas C. Foster. It starts with (a), a quester, which is in this case the main character Quentin, the protagonist of the story. Then (b), a place to go, which ends up being Agloe, NY.
The book I chose to read for my book review was “ Killing Mr.Griffin”. It is about 5 high school students who hate their english teacher Mr. Griffin and come up with a plan to kidnap him. Their main purpose is to just torture and make Mr. Griffin think he is going to die. The plan takes a tragic turn and results in Mr. Griffin's death. The plan simply falls apart in a domino effect of terror and grief.
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.
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.
In enduring these complex emotions, this section was the most remarkable part. One of the first apparent emotions the boy experiences with the death of his father is loneliness to make this section memorable. The boy expresses this sentiment when he stays with his father described as, “When he came back he knelt beside his father and held his cold hand and said his name over and over again,” (McCarthy 281). The definition of loneliness is, “sadness because one has no friends or company.”