As you are reading this text, you may have the tendency to sometimes think, "Well, duh!" I mean, some of this is common sense and some symbolic elements like the seasons are so archetypal that they are almost ingrained in our intellects. However, for the purpose of AP literature, these are all ideas of which you need to be carefully aware as you read. For the first week of posts, I would like for you to choose at least two different chapters and apply the ideas presented in those chapters to works you have previously read. On the AP exam when you discuss works, they must be works of literary merit, typically the classics that you've been reading throughout high school in your English courses. For this discussion, however, you can extend your discussion to works of popular fiction; for instance, I imagine some of you will connect the chapter on vampires with ideas in the Twilight series, and that's ok. My focus here is to get you thinking about the ideas in Foster's book and to stretch your analytical skills without overloading your brain too much (it is summer, after all). Hopefully this book will live up to its subtitle and you will find it "lively" and "entertaining." I look forward to reading your responses. They should be posted by June 13th.
A couple of reminders:
1) I'm looking for careful thought in terms of the ideas I ask you to consider. Remember that although this blog is set up to encourage a dialogue, you are being graded, so the focus and language should remain academic.
2) In addition to addressing the ideas I've posted, you may also find it beneficial to read others' posts and comment on what your classmates have said, but I'm looking for extensions or rebuttals of others' comments, not a simple "agree" or "disagree."
3) The inevitable question..."How long does this have to be?" Well, I tend to be long-winded because I love to talk about literature, but let's just say that your post should take between 20-30 minutes to compose each week - kind of like an abbreviated essay, but not so tight in terms of form or structure. I want to see that you have been engaged in the reading and that you are making sense out of what you have read, and I obviously want to see evidence that you are making connections with things you've read before.
Please feel free to ask questions of me within the blog, or if you'd rather do so privately, email me at williamsholly@hotmail.com. I look forward to "talking" with you all this summer.
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Mrs Hollifield,
ReplyDeleteI will be out of town for the next two weeks. I will be going to the beach and then to Palmetto Boys State. I will make sure to catch up on all of my work when I get back. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks
Caleb Ruppe
Mrs. Hollifield,
ReplyDeleteI will be out of town for three weeks but will try to do the assignments while away. I will be going to Boy's State, Scout camp, then to church camp.
Thanks
Austin Hedrick
Mrs Hollifield,
ReplyDeleteI will be leaving for boys state on the 13th but will try to post this weeks blog before I leave. Next week and the week after I have boys state, then Drum major camp, but will post my work as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Landon Masters
While reading Foster's book, Chapter 1 really jumped out at me. This chapter discussed how main characters in various works of literature are on some form of a quest. Foster explains how the quest is usually not related to what the character initially planned, but comes along during the process causing the character to learn something about themselves. The first book that came to my mind while reading this was Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. In this novel the main character, Santiago, is a Cuban fisherman that has struggled with his fishing luck in his older years. One day while he is fishing, he hooks a fish which he knows is an incredibly large marlin. It appears to the reader that Santiago's quest will be to reel in this huge fish but as you continue to read you realize that this is not what his journey is about. Santiago's quest is not just about catching the fish, but about proving to himself that he is still able to fish like he once did. The Old Man and the Sea is a perfect testament to Foster's description of a character that develops by means of a journey or quest.
ReplyDeleteI also found the chapter on biblical allusions and references in literature easy to make connections with. As Foster explains in his text, there are countless examples of religious allusions in famous works of literature. One biblical reference that I made in my reading was in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In the novel the main character, Gatsby, has a strong desire for his old love Daisy. He has the same desire and temptation for Daisy as Eve did for the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. When Gatsby's temptation was fulfilled he experienced the same problems and troubles as Adam and Eve did in The Bible. There are many other stories in which the bible is alluded, but this is one of my favorite connections.
Looking through the tenth chapter, I begin to wonder, "Does rain and snow always have to be a symbolic event?" Then, again I thought to myself that it is not really the case. Recently, I have read the 'Wizard of Oz,' and have seen on weathering event that had caused a change in Dorothy's life, a twister. Indeed, the twister is a symbolic element that Dorothy is going through an ultimate change, (or as we realize in the end a dream) that will impact her. As she is looking out the window during this horrible storm, she sees the same lady who had tried to take away her dog Toto, in the beginning chapters of the novel. As she is staring at this lady manically laughing at Dorothy, the author begins to use her as an alternate character, Elphiba, or as we all know her, "The Wicked Witch of the West." When the twister lands, Dorothy ends up on Oz. While in Oz, Dorothy meets characters that help her realize what she has been lacking, in order to find her way home. A heart, a sense of hope she must have in order to find the path and safely return home. A brain, she realizes she makes many mistakes, following the red path to the witch, though she knows its her duty. Then finally, courage, Dorothy realizes in the end that she had the courage to defend what she had been fighting for and she knows she can handle it. Though, I have notified these characters as symbols, which is discussed in chapter twelve, the are all changing events that Dorothy has gone through, meeting the twister. In the end, on realizes it doesn't always have to be rain or snow, a twister, or hail, or any other weather, can effect a character.
ReplyDeleteReading back to the first chapter, I realize reading through that all characters go through a quest, even though the reader won't always see it that way. The 'Lord of the Rings' was mentioned at the end of the chapter, though it was not dicussed in large detail. Frodo Baggins, was on a quest with Gandalf to the Eleven Lands, as he was yet to take quest to destroy an evil power. Though everyone, knows the story of Frodo, but what of Sam Wise? Sam, volunteered to help Frodo on his quest, and didn't know what to expect on this journey. Imagine, if your bes friend said you were going on a trip, and he asked you to go and you accept. Would you except dead kings, a manical riverfolk, orcs at the millions, a spider that can almost kill you? No, and that's what Sam didn't expect. Reading from Tolkien's details, Sam was a brave person in accepting along with Frodo, yet this is also a quest for Sam. Looking bad at Foster's elements of a quest here's what we have:
(a)The Quester: We have Sam Wise, along with his other friends and allies.
(b)A Place to Go: Though Seperated in the Third novel all characters had a place to go, but Sam's was to travel to Mordor with Frodo and destroy the ring.
(c)A Stated Reason to Go There: In order to save the mythical world, Sam must help Frodo destroy the ring in order for the biggest war of time could unfold, and so that their leader, the first bearer of the ring, doesn't have it in his hands.
(d)Challenges and Trials en Route: As stated before Sam, with Frodo, encounter Golum, a manical riverfolk, the Past Kings of Man, the millions of orcs, Saruman, the Evil Wizard, and many more.
(e)A Real Reason to Go There: In the end, Sam tells Frodo as they are giving up, the true hope they must bring, not only to save the lives they love, but to defend their homeland the Shire. By doing this quest, they can return home, and go back to what they used to do, and if they succeed they would be treated as heros.
As shown above, these are the elements of a quester, and yet Sam Wise is one of them. Throughout a novel, a main character doesn't always have to be the quester, the friends can be questers too.
Mrs. Hollifeild,
I will be at Furman Music Camp all next week, but will try and post on Saturday, and the next week I will be at a Conference in Mrytle Beach, and I will try and hopefully post.
Thank you,
Ty Good
After reading the first chapter of Foster’s novel, I realized that quests are very common in American literature. An example would be Steinbeck’s novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, which is the story of a family during the Dust Bowl and Depression traveling from the barren land of Oklahoma to what the family alludes to as the “promised land” of California. Tom Joad, the protagonist in the novel, arrives back from prison to find his family already gone. Tom starts his own quest to find his family and to join them on their journey to California. Like Foster stated, a quest is always about self-knowledge. The Joad family experiences different events that in the end cause them to stick together and rely on each other to survive.
ReplyDelete(a) The Questers: The Joad Family who leave their homeland due to drought, dust storms, and crop failure.
(b) A Place to Go: The Joad family is going to California in their car, which is full of all their possessions and family.
(c) The Stated Reason to Go: The family heard rumors of California’s jobs and prosperity, and they alluded to it as the “promised land.”
(d) Challenges and Trials: The Joad family travels on Route 66 to California, where they face prejudice, greed, poverty, and disillusionment. They family could not find work that would help improve their living. The only jobs the family could come across were poorly paid and physically exhausting jobs. Another obstacle was the greed of bosses who took advantage of the poor families, trapping them in dead-end work.
(e) The Real Reason to Go: The family forms self-knowledge by realizing that they can accomplish more by sticking together, and that this journey is survival-of-the-fittest and they have to trust each other in order to survive. The key to survival is the family’s continued hope in the midst of despair.
Reading through the third chapter, I noticed that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ has characters that are “vampires.” The character Daisy, a selfish, rich girl, treats her old love, Gatsby, like a pet. This is one of the qualities of a “vampire” that Foster describes in his novel. In other words, Daisy exploits Gatsby’s love and uses him for her own entertainment. One of the reasons she took advantage of Gatsby could be because Tom, her husband, was having an affair with a woman in New York. The woman in New York was Myrtle, who was really the gas station attendant’s wife down the street. Daisy could have felt the need for revenge against her husband, so she used Gatsby for her selfish revenge. Tom was also a “vampire” because he used Myrtle for his sexual desires and he used Myrtle’s husband, Wilson. When Myrtle is hit by Gatsby’s car, Wilson thought it was Tom’s car until Tom blamed the event on Gatsby. Wilson ends up shooting Gatsby and himself. Tom ended up getting rid of his wife’s lover and his recent mistress’s husband, while Daisy unconsciously hit Myrtle in Gatsby’s car. The themes of this novel were carelessness and selfishness. These are examples of traits of the “vampire.”
Mrs. Hollifeild,
I have enjoyed reading this novel so far.
Maggie Elsey
In chapter one of How to read Literature Like a Professor, Foster focuses on the appearances of journeys in literature. Whether you are told it’s a journey or not, there are certain elements that are present to indicate a journey. In the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, one of the main characters travels to visit a close friend of her’s, Charlotte, who has recently married Mr. Collins. Although the stated intent of the journey is to visit her friend, by the end of the visit we discover that the author’s true intentions were to give Elizabeth a chance to learn more about her “love interest”, Mr. Darcy. This journey also includes a “dragon”, in the form of Lady Catherine, who has nothing good to say about anyone, who is not a part of her family. At the beginning of the trip, Elizabeth thinks of Mr. Darcy as a dreadful man; however, by the end of it she and Mr. Darcy are able to get to know each other much better, this ends up becoming the trip where Elizabeth falls in love with Mr. Darcy. The main point of chapter one is “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge.” (Page 3) This passage from Jane Austen’s novel includes the quester (Elizabeth), a place to go (Rosings Parks’ parsonage), a stated reason (to visit Charlotte), challenges (Lady Catherine), and the real reason (learn more about Mr. Darcy). These are the five components that, according to Foster, all journeys include.
ReplyDeleteChapter eight of Foster’s novel can be applied to a much newer work by Julie Kagawa, The Iron King. In this novel Meghan Chase, the main character, is leading a rather normal life. Until, on her sixteenth birthday she discovers that her father is not who she thinks he is. In truth her father is none other than King Oberon, “Lord of the Summer Court”. In addition to that, her best friend, Robbie, a boy who she has known for years, turns out to be the infamous Puck, a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow. The world that Kagawa has created was made drawing from one of the most famous writers of all time, Shakespeare, who wrote A Midsummer’s Night Dream. For anyone who has read or seen this play, it will be easy for them to pick out the connections; however, if you haven’t read it, the connections are still extremely clear. Kagawa has managed to create a story, that in itself is both strange and new, as well as being familiar. Foster’s book states that this is one of the biggest things that readers are looking to find in literature. Because of the basis of this story, chapter six of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare...” can also be applied to Kagawa’s novel.
In chapter five of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the author talks about "meeting old friends"(pg. 28). He specifically addresses the fact that when he reads books, he can't help but notice that some of the characters are very similar to characters he has read about before. He finds a character in a certain situation that looks very familiar. It is like he has seen that person somewhere before. This concept that he illustrates proves his statement that all literature is connected into the "one story"(pg. 32). As we read literature we find similar attitudes, worldviews, and struggles that exist in other works.For example, in the book Eldest, the main character,Eragon, is constantly confronted by his own conscience about ending lives. He hates killing things because he comes to believe all life is sacred. He consistently makes himself sick over the fact that he has killed things even if they were for good reasons.
ReplyDeleteIn Charles Henderson's Marine Sniper, the same concept is illustrated through Charles N. Hathcock II who is a trained killer and one of the best in the business. But in the book he is confronted with the morality of his job. Although he is good at his job, Hathcock has morals and states that anybody who would kill for fun is basically insane. He struggles with the same responsibility that Eragon did. Was it right to kill that man even though he was going to kill me? Is that my decision to make? Both of these questions are running through the minds of both characters and it helps the reader to connect with the emotions of the character.
In chapter two, Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion, Foster mentions the significance of meals in literature. He explains that in literature if people are eating together it means there is a connection between the people, a display of community. He also mentions it is a sign of peace. In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck places a meal in chapter 8 after Tom Joad and Jim Casy have arrived at Tom's uncle's house. That night they share a meal, the first meal that Tom has been to in a long time due to his jail sentence. The family has been brought back together again. But there is also a new addition in the fact that Casy is there also sharing. Here in this moment, Casy and the Joad family form a bond that is evident throughout the book. They welcomed Casy peacefully into the family as a member and it all started at the meal.
Mrs. Hollifield,
ReplyDeleteI have been out of town all week, and am leaving again for 2 more weeks, so i won't be able to report the assignments on time. Thank you for your understanding.
DK
Hey Mr. Hollifield,
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading this book, I have to say that it's much more interesting than I thought at first. The first chapter really caught my attention in that, I never truly thought about a "quest". I would sarcastically use quest in saying, "I'm on a quest for a Fruitisa Freeze", yet I know how delicious they are, so it's not really... Anyway, The Grapes of Wrath is not only a quest for the promised land of California, it's a growing experience for Tom Joad and arguably as well as Connie Rivers, because he finds out, he is a scum bucket and leaves his pregnant fiancee. Furthermore, Tom learns the power of a family bond, as Ma sneaks him food outside the migrant camp. Also the "Grapes of Wrath" have to do with a biblical allusion, which deals with chapter seven in "How To". I'm reading East of Eden and I thought it was funny, how Forster briefly talks about "East" in chapter seven. I knew through a combo of Mrs. Hall and Sunday School that "East of Eden" was straight out of Genesis. Going along with the biblical theme, Aron and Cal are Cain and Abel, which most of us learned about in Sunday School. Although, I don't think Cain and Abel's mother abandoned them, and became a full-time prostitute again. Maybe that part was because of Steinbeck's second divorce.
~Alex Williams
I will be at Boy's State next week, so I may not have completely read my assignment by Sunday. Thanks again, Alex.
While reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster, I was thinking back in my head to many of the works of literary merit that I have read over the years, while also thinking about books that I have read as a younger kid and in my free time. This book has really got me to think of things that I haven't before and would otherwise set aside as just another part of the book. I have come to realize that over the years, reading is not just reading and things can get so analytical and in depth sometimes!
ReplyDeleteThe Grapes of Wrath can be used in many examples taken from devices and symbols that are talked about in this novel. As discussed in chapter one, "Every Trip is a Quest (Except when it’s Not)", each story will most likely include some sort of quest. This helps evolve the plot and push a character's personal growth. The Grapes of Wrath includes everything that Foster said a general "quest" would entail; A quester, the Joads, a place to go, California, a stated reason to go there, for work, challenges and trials, don't we all know that there were many, and the real reason to go, which is always self-knowledge. The self-knowledge that is taken from this novel for the characters is the realization that everyone needs their family, because it can help them through anything.
Another great example taken from The Grapes of Wrath is the scene set up for Rose of Sharon's impromptu birthing of a still born child. Chapter ten, "It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow", discusses the significance of the weather in a novel. The rain, which can be a sign of giving life and cleansing, is, ironically in this case, used in a situation where life is taken away. The still born child died and was sent down the river in a makeshift casket. This, as discussed in chapter seven, "…Or the Bible", is a direct allusion to the story of Moses and how he was sent down the river as a baby.
In the novel, Jane Eyre, as discussed in chapter three, "Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires", there is a scene where Mason is physically bitten by Bertha. Bertha, who is kept locked upstairs, is mentally ill, but still married to Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester, though inevitably a good character, ( seeing as though he ends up with the girl in the end ), can be called a vampire of a literal sense; he is more than twice Jane's age, he lusts for her, and tries to get her to marry him while he is still married. He puts his needs above others for that instance, but comes around in the end after Bertha commits suicide in burning down Thornfield Manor. In that fire, Mr. Rochester is injured, causing him to be blind. His blindness can allude back to Tiresias, the blind Greek prophet. While reading chapter 9, "It’s Greek to Me", I thought more about Mr. Rochester's blindness and how the blind prophet was wise. This means that Mr. Rochester's blindness could have been what made him learn from his mistake, thus becoming more wise, and able to be with Jane in the end.
I have enjoyed the start of this book and I am excited to continue with this novel. This novel really makes me think back to what I have read in the past and reflect about what I may have missed in the process. Though, as Foster said, whether or not an allusion or symbol is caught, may not change the way the story is interpreted, I bet you this will surely help us on the AP Exam!
Hope your summer is going well and I just wanted to leave a reminder that for the next two weeks I will be at Boy's State and Drum Major Camp. I will get my work posted as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Landon Masters
In chapter 2 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster speaks of the importance of communion. When Foster said that communion is an act of peace and sharing, I immediately thought of The Grapes of Wrath. Throughout their journey, the Joad's have experienced harsh conditions, including lack of food and money, and chapter 20 is no exception. After taking Granma's body to the coroner and sparing five dollars to have her buried, the family stops at the first campsite they find to find shelter. It is there in Hooversville that Connie decides to leave the family, never to return. As the family slowly breaks apart, so does Ma's heart. The chapter concludes with Ma making stew for what is left of her family. However, when it is time to dish out the stew, she gives her family only what is necessary, and leaves as much as she can for the starving children in the camp. This kindness and compassion for children that aren't her's shows that Ma has a sense of community. While they may not have sat down to eat, Ma still shared a meal with complete strangers simply because it was the moral thing to do.
ReplyDeleteFoster's chapter on biblical illusions reminded me of The Scarlet Letter. As most people know, Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit. This is very similar to Hester and Dimmesdale. Even though Hester and Eve were both banished for their sin, they each had additional punishments: Eve began to wear clothes while Hester began to wear a scarlet A on her chest. This physical change was a constant reminder of the sin they committed. While Dimmesdale committed the same sin as Hester, much like Adam did with Eve, Dimmesdale's punishment was self-given unlike Hester's. Dimmesdale's actions were unknown to the puritans in the village, but he allowed his guilt to tear him apart, much like Adam and Eve did. While there are many more biblical allusions in The Scarlett Letter, those were the boldest to me.
In concordance with the theme of the first chapter, that every trip is a quest, the most memorable and comical quest to me is in William Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying. This trip which seems simple enough at first transforms into a treacherous ordeal, in which, not everyone will return from. A) A quester: The entire Bundren family. B) A place to go: Jefferson, Mississippi. C) Stated reason for going: Thanks to Addie's death bed desires, the family is to bury her body (what's left of it). D) Challenges and trails in route: The river has been recently flooded, washing out bridges and subsequently making it impossible to cross the river without a major concern of health. E) A real reason to go there: Almost everyone in the Bundren family has an underlying purpose of going to town for something, whether it's and new wife and teeth or a much needed abortion.
ReplyDeleteIn another reference to As I Lay Dying it hold one of the largest allusions to the bible out of the many books I've read. As I motioned earlier the Bundren family faced possibly the biggest task early in the novel; to make it to the other side of the flooded river. In Joshua 3 and 4 Joshua lead the people to the Jordan river which had to be crossed in order to gain the land. The only problem was that the river is at flood stage. The bearers of the ark of the covenant go and stand in the water and wait till the miracle is preformed and God dries up enough water for not only the Ark of the Covenant, but for all his people as well. This is exactly like the story of the Bundren family except they had no Ark of the Covenant to lead the way. In fact, the novel never really implies that they had God to lead the way. Therefore, one may conclude that the missing Ark from the story is an indirect symbol of the Bundren having no one to lead there way, no God.
Mrs. Hollifield
As many of these other "old sports", i'll being attending Boys state this week. But I will turn in our next assignment promptly upon my return.
As I was reading the Every Trip is a Quest chapter I began to think about the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Foster says in his book that each quest needs certain things 1.) A quest or Steve's journey from being arrested through the long trial. 2.) The destination in Monster isn't a place it's more of a thing that thing being his freedom. 3.) A Stated reason for the quest is that he is being accused of Murder. 4.) The real reason for the journey, or Steve wanting to show his innocence and to prove the people against him wrong.
ReplyDelete5.) The Challenges faced in Monster are the people testifying against Steve and the prosecuters prosecuting Steve himself.
While continuing my reading lalalala I found another chapter that got me thinking, this being non other then the, Hanselee and Greteldum. As I read this I began to think about the short stories containing morals within them and how they are used in books all the time. For example in the book After by Francine Prose is about a school shooting that rocks everyone and leads to some quite radical changes like the sudden power surge of the administration who now control everything the students do whether inside or outside of school. Now this pertains to the short story moral of He who holds the power can change the terms. The fable is about a lion and a wild ass who hunt their food and share it together until the powerful lion decides otherwise. That is exactly what happens in After. So far I have enjoyed this book and look forward to continue reading.
How to read Literature like a Professor
ReplyDeleteThomas C. Foster
Reading log 1
Claire Wyse
Reading chapter one about Quest, of Thomas Foster's book, I instantly think of Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carrol's Alice starts her quest as soon as she spots the rabbit and follows it through wonderland to the red queen, with many adventures in between. I'm sure Alice does not think of her time in wonderland as a quest, and before I read Foster's book neither did I. Foster stated Alice's mission in bold when he said "The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge." Alice, herself, is young and sheltered, and looking for something to sate her curiosity.
Like in chapter seven, I wanted to find a biblical reference in the books I have read. Most of my books are...lets just say I didnt think I would find one in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber, but I did. In Sweeney Todd, Todd is married to the love of his life and happy with a new baby girl. Judge Turpin who is invious of Todd, sends him to jail unjustly and takes everything from him (lovely wife and child). Judge Turpin is just like King David in the Bible. King David fancies a married woman named Bathsheba. Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, is off at war. King David sends word for Uriah to be sent to the front line of battle, where he is killed. David then takes Bathsheba as his wife.
In the first chapter of Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster explores the idea that every trip taken in a literary work is a quest that has a definite structure. His idea of a quest’s structure requires the following factors: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there. Foster expands upon his viewpoint even further by saying that the real, underlying purpose of a quest is always self knowledge for the quester(s). While reading this chapter, I could not help but think of Mark Twain’s (or Samuel Clemen’s) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn has nearly everything required to be a textbook example of a quest according to Foster’s definition. Huck Finn himself is the quester, his place to go is, after meeting up with runaway slave Jim, the northern free states, his stated reason is to help Jim because he saved his life, the challenges faced en route include the duke, the king, the threat of discovery, robbers, murderers, and slave traders, and the real reason Huck is going with Jim to the free states is because he has no where else to go. As Huck travels with Jim, he discovers that his racist tendencies and assumptions that were taught to him by a prejudiced society are incorrect and inapplicable to kind of person Jim is revealed to be. Huck sees that Jim is just like any other white father when he discovers Jim crying over his lost children, and even decides that, if helping a runaway will send him to hell, he would still do it because of his newfound appreciation and respect for Jim. This drastic change in perception and knowledge flawlessly illustrates Foster’s idea of self knowledge; Huck, while on his quest, has his preconceived racist notions stripped away and is granted a better understanding of life as a whole.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the third chapter of How to Read Literature Like a Professor that talks about vampirism, I was reminded of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Foster describes vampires as not only physical and mystical creatures but also other less literal things such as exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of others, and selfishness. He even says that “the really scary bloodsuckers are entirely human.” An excellent example of this principle is the evil character Roger Chillingworth; he, after suspecting that the young minister Dimmesdale is his wife’s lover, moves in with him under the guise of being a doctor who can help treat his ailments. All the while Chillingworth’s mind is on nothing but revenge, and he slowly watches and assists in the psychological torture that begins to encompass Dimmesdale’s entire life. The continual persecution of Dimmesdale by Chillingworth came to fruition as a result of Chillingworth’s selfish desires for revenge and his complete lack of respect for Dimmesdale’s personal demons. This character is uniquely suited to be a “vampire” according to Foster’s definition.
I actually am enjoying this book :) It definitely provides a deeper insight into how to view literature.
After reading the first chapter in Foster's book, I begin to realise that most American Literature involves quests. For instance, Stienbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men". In this novel our 1.) questers are: Lenny and George,2.) they are going to different towns to find work, and hide from the police. 3.) The place they go is a farm, and is far away from the previous town where Lenny got in trouble. 4.) Challenges and trials: Lenny is mentally handicapped and needs Gearge's guidence, plus there's a sleeze on the farm who happens to be the boss man's wife. 5.) the real reason they are travelling to this place is to find work, but the money from the work goes towards their dream home, which is a farm of their own, with rabbits included.
ReplyDeleteIn the second chapter of Foster's book you really think about the significance of meals in literacy. I made a connection with Stephen King's "It", in one chapter Stanley Uris and Patricia Uris are eating dinner in the living room. The television is on and there isn't much conversation going. Patricia's head is in the cloud's worrying about whether she can concieve or not, and what is going on on the t.v. too. Stanley isn't really thinking much, and the phone rings. Here, the dinner shows how empty their relationship is, they aren't communicating and both are very absent.Communion really does show relationships among people.
While reading about quests in chapter one of Foster’s book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn seemed to embody the real reason a character goes on a quest. At the beginning of the novel Huck had low self esteem and didn’t have very much of a conscience. When he embarked on his “quest” down the river he explored feelings within his conscience and by the end of the novel he held himself higher, and even though he believed his conscience was wrong, helped Jim, a slave. As Foster states, the quest is to find self knowledge; in Huck’s case he learned that he’s going to do what feels right. The quest includes a quester, Huck Finn, a place to go, down the Mississippi, a stated reason to go there, to get away from his father, challenges and trials that included a king, a duke, and his black friend getting captured, and finally a real reason to go there, Huck learns more about his inner conscience through many of his internal battles.
ReplyDeleteChapter two really got me thinking, because Foster explains how eating together, or communion, happens often in books for specific reasons. I started thinking of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the first time Nick meets with Tom, Daisy, and Jordan since he moved to New York. They have communion together and Nick learns a lot about the characters by sharing a meal with them. He comes to find that Daisy is rather charming, and Tom is arrogant. He also learns that more about Daisy and Tom’s social life. For example, he learns that Tom has a mistress. Through the act of communion, Fitzgerald makes the character Nick become interested in these people and become closer to them.
Surprisingly I enjoy this book! It makes me think about the way I read and I actually often relate it to stories I’ve read.
Nice responses! Thanks for the insight. I look forward to reading your ideas more carefully in the morning. I was getting worried as I was checking the blog all week from the beach and I didn't see any responses to the literature. I feel better now. Mrs. Hall would be so proud to see all your references to American literature. After I read your comments more carefully tomorrow I will post another question or idea to contemplate as you read the next set of Foster chapters. I'm really pleased that some of you are actually enjoying the book. I like Foster's writing style - very conversational.
ReplyDeleteCh 1- Quests
ReplyDeleteJohn Steinbeck’s story in The Grapes of Wrath is certainly centered on a journey. (1) Our questers are the members of the Joad family, or Tom Joad in particular. They are independent and resourceful people, open to subtle change. (2). The Joads travel to California (3) in search of berry-picking jobs, as advertised when the bank foreclosed their Dust-Bowl farmland. (4) Along the way, both grandparents die, a vehicle breaks down and has to be fixed, and the eldest Joad son departs for a simple life by the river. Continuously moving to new camp sites and competing for jobs, the remaining Joads are left in poor, unsanitary conditions. (5) The real reason that the Joads must travel to California and throughout is to display and receive kindness through generosity (sharing meals and vehicles with other Okies), sympathy (in reasons to come and living conditions), humility, and sacrifice. In the end, a man sacrifices his health to provide food for his son, and Rose-of-Sharon sacrifices her reputation and integrity to provide for the man.
Ch 10- Weather
I would like to apply this chapter to the Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. One night the minister went out in the town for a late vigil. Although there was no precipitation and this may be a stretch, but the midnight sky was laden with dark, ominous clouds initially. After Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold joined by Hester and Pearl, he notices a meteor shoot through the sky. Just as “a dark and stormy night” can foreshadow terrible events in a story so can this meteor lighting up the nearly-solid night sky. When an A seems to appear on this luminous background, some take it as the traditional adulterer’s mark, while others see Angel. This astrological phenomenon shows a feeling of forgiveness, in the case of the beliefs of most town people, that can also be brought by rain. However, Hawthorne keeps to his novel’s theme, the A.
(I will be gone next week to Girl’s State.)
I agree completely with Alex Williams when he said that this book was actually interesting. I, along with Alex, did not think that this book was actually for high schoolers. I thought one had to be an english professor to understand this book. I also did not know that every piece of literature was linked to some sort of text written before it. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the Bible. I think that it is fantastic that the Bible is still associated in current literature, which can reach out as a text and as a witness. In conclusion, I am anxious to continue to read on and see what other links literature has within itself.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this book, the first chapter definitely jumped out at me. So many stories that I have read fit the description of a quest. One of such stories is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. In this book, the main character, Christopher McCandless decides to leave society for the Alaskan wilderness to forget the foolish and deceitful ways of society. He believed in the transcendental theories of Henry David Thoreau and his followers. Thus in this story, the quester was Chris McCandless himself; the place to go was the Alaskan wilderness; the stated reason to go was to get away from society and instead to find the peace that nature had to offer as opposed to humans; the challenges that he had to endure initially were the judgements of society, but in the end he suffered and died in the wilderness from hunger and malnutrition; and his real reason for the quest was that being such a perfect person of society (with his father's persistence) he got tired of being pushed around by his father and left society for good in search of a better kind of happiness.
ReplyDeleteWhen I continued on with the reading, I found that many books also had (unofficial) references to the Bible. One such example is in the story of the Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, where Arthur Dimmsedale, a (very) respectable man, tries to hide his sin from the eyes and ears of all of Boston. He committed adultery with Hester Prynne, and although he tried to confess his sin publicly, he just didn’t have the guts to do so. At the very end of the story, when the minutes of his life were numbered, he finally confessed in front of all of Boston and then died. Resembling this very closely is the story of Achan, son of Carmi, who stole the cursed things from the ruins of Jericho and tried to hide his sin under his tent. When he was finally caught in his sin (and the minutes of his life also numbered) he also confessed, but his final confession did not save him, for a wrong deed is followed by a punishment.