Thomas Foster How To Read Literature Like A Professor Analysis

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?”.

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.

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 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. In Atwood’s novel, symbolisms of sex, flowers, and color add to the development of the novel and the deeper meaning of the plot.

This literary tool is used a number of times, most commonly imagery. Bradbury uses imagery in the text to create an image in the reader’s mind to then deliver the underlying message of the plot to the audience. Using such gives a deeper description of what is being told, “Montag had only an instant to read a line, but it blazed in his mind for the next minute as if it stamped there with fiery steel”. (Bradbury, 37) With this statement the reader is implanted with how much of a burning passion that Montag has grown for books and reading. As Bradbury’s hands finish the creation that is Montag, the reader is apt with information about the characters and ideas that run continuously through the story.

Hustis uses several examples of how Nabokov utilizes backshadowing to reference previous parts of the text that you may not have recognized at first glance. Unlike visual perception, to understand a book you may have to read it not once but two, three, even four times to comprehend a deeper meaning. There are many different ways to read and gain a great deal of knowledge about your piece. Hustis discovers both Vladimir Nabokov and Peter J. Rabinowitz different aspects of reading. In Rabinowitz’ chapter entitled ‘A Thousand Times and Never Like: Rereading for Class’, he discusses reading as two

Chief Seattle uses parallels to set a distinct contrast between his people and the English settlers. He claims that "Today is fair. Tomorrow it may be overcast with clouds." The clouds being the "White Man" that will take

We find out that his sudden impulses are what causes Gene to shake the branch causing Finny to fall out of the tree and break his leg. In Gene and Finny's last encounter when Gene brings Finny his suit case Gene finds out that Finny believes him, but all that matters is that they are still friends. So Gene finally comes to where he has peace of mind and body after Finny tells him that he believes him. A Separate Peace is a reference to war and how the school and the kids of Devon have never really experienced war first hand. So the school is a separate peace from war because the war has not made its way to Devon yet, and the kids at Devon are also a separate peace because of the way they have no effect on the war and the war has no effect on them and the way they live there life.

Could you imagine what it would be like if you go to your little cousin’s birthday party, and he or she get upset because there were no balloons? If legislators ban balloons, this imagination could become reality. There is a controversial topic going around that asks if it would be best if balloons were banned in the United States. This controversy was discussed in a video, “California Aims to Ban Metallic Balloons to Reduce Power Outages,” the editorial, “Parties Can Be Fun Without Balloons,” by Natalie Romero, and the other editorial, “Balloons Bring Joy to Millions,” by Theo Lewis. While there were similarities among the sources, there were also many differences as well.

Reflection How to Read Literature like a Professor was definitely a ‘thought provoking read’ like the table at Barnes & Noble said. Although at first, I have to admit that Foster’s writing had bored me a bit, until I realized fact that I had subconsciously been thinking about what certain items symbolize and how they were important to the story. Overall, I enjoyed the work; Foster’s book is truly “A lively and entertaining guide to reading between the lines.” I liked the references Foster constantly gave to novels and movies, that helped me with visualizing what kind of ideas he was talking about, since I personally learn better through visualizations. Finding out about the classic fairy tales becoming modern ones, surprised me a bit;

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.

How to Read Literature like a Professor Analysis This was a very informative book that pointed out a lot of aspects of literature I had never really paid attention to. It really showed me how important it is to find similarities between works of literature. It especially made me realize how while all three of my summer readings were drastically different, they shared common themes, plots and even sometimes character developments. The idea of a “quest” that exists in almost all works of literature was eye opening. This “quest” is present in literature by Shakespeare but also modern fiction as well.

The both fall from great heights, but their fall is cushioned by a snow covered area and Foster brings up that the fact that the characters survived a great fall has more symbolism than the actual flight itself because there is a great connotation of fear behind falling. Foster uses this example to show another common and general way authors incorporate flight into characters and the plot. After, Foster discusses that flying does not limit the literature to the characters that literally fly. In other words, a piece of literature does not need to have a character to literally fly to reference flight. An example that Foster brings is A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) where the main character, Stephen, feels caged and trapped in the beginning of the novel.

In the second section of the book, “Unbroken”, the author talked a lot about the experiences of the crew that Louie was with when he joined the army. Louie ended up with Phil and several other men to form a crew with their plane, a B-24 model, which they named “Superman”. They were all great pals who went through thick and thin together, but they believed the chance of survival was slim. One day, they barely managed to get it back to home base on one mission when the enemy relentlessly attacked their plane. However, one crew member was beyond help and several more had injuries that rendered them unsuitable for battle, their plane was also unrepairable.

How to Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster is a guide to the aspiring advanced literature reader on how to analyze and understand works of literature through the eyes of an individual trained in the specialty. It aims to provide different techniques of delving in to literature in attempt to find deeper meaning within the book. After reading this book, the reader should be able to read a novel and find topics discussed in the book, and then using their knowledge find hidden meanings that add to the underlying theme of the book. In the context of the Lord of the Flies, there are many instances where the ideas discussed in Foster’s book can be found in the novel. The weather, baptism and a Christ Figure are all themes described