How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Blog #1

Before starting this book I heard mixed emotions about it from my friends. Once I started, I learned that although it may be boring when Foster talks about books I've never even heard of, there are some valuable points he makes which I find very interesting. Out of the first six chapters I've read (plus the intro), I've selected the chapters that have interested me the most.

Intro - Reading is kind of like sports. The more you practice the better you get. With literature, there are so many symbols, emotions, and analyzing that once you read more, uncovering what the author is trying to convey gets easier.

Chapter One - Most "quests" contain a person, a place to go, a reason for going, a challenge(s), and a real reason to go to that particular place. The real reason for a quest is always self knowledge!

Chapter Two - In a story, meals show how characters are getting along or how they are not getting along. If they portray that the characters are getting along, it can symbolize a meaning of trust, peace, and union.

Chapter Three - Although I was scared when first seeing that this chapter was about vampires due to the Twilight craze, it was probably the most interesting to me because it uncovered the real meanings behind evil in literature. Evil sybolizes thing like sex, lust, danger, etc. which I had never even thought of. I also learned that Vampires most commonly represent a corrupt, older figure (male) stripping away the youth of a young, energetic female which made sense to me being that I've seen this in most movies.

Chapter Five - Again the need of practice appears in this chapter about using recognition when reading. When we read we start to recognize elements from other texts and draw comparisons and the conclusion that texts can almost speak (intertexual dialogue)to one another in a sense which sometimes readers dont even notice.