...Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect handbook to help students understand literature. It is meant to help you see past the story and into what the story means. It also helps in understanding what different symbols stand for and finding common themes and patterns across different works of literature. One of the most helpful ideas in his book is “Every trip is a Quest (Except when it’s Not)”. This chapter focuses on how to recognize when a character goes on a quest and what a quest actually consists of. One of the most important rules of a quest is that whatever reason the character says they are going on a quest for, is never actually what ends up happening and “the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster, 3). The reason “questers” are usually so young and naïve is because the whole point of the quest is to become wiser and more mature. A second note-worthy idea from Fosters book is “Don’t Read with Your Eyes” (Foster 232). What he means by this...
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...written by an unknown monk sometime in the 11th century. In the story, Beowulf completes multiple quests; however, despite there being multiple quests, all of them follow multiple archetypes commonly seen in epic poetry. The first quest that Beowulf must complete is slaying Grendel, a hostile monster that is terrorising the Danes. Second, he must kill Grendel’s mother who took the head of one of Hrothgar’s closest friends. Finally, Beowulf is tasked with slaying a dragon that is aggravated that someone stole his treasure. In Beowulf’s first quest, he is tasked with killing Grendel, a monster said to have the strength of thirty men. Beowulf takes the quest to show that he is one of the...
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...can infer that Dorothy is not an epic hero in the Wizard of Oz. Most epic heroes are charged with a quest that they have to complete in order for them to return from their voyage. Dorothy’s quest is to follow a yellow brick...
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...Jane Eyre is a spectacular book written by Charlotte Brontë which allows many readers to connect and feel as if they are part of the book. Charlotte Brontë uses various types of styles in her writing making reading feel like home. The main theme of the book is trying to find a place where you feel loved. Jane is on a quest to find love, family, and a place where she feels she belongs. Jane’s life events are written in chronological order. Through this process, we watched Jane Eyre come from a traumatic childhood and turning into an independent, strong women. Some of many different styles found throughout the reading are symbolism, syntax, and imagery. The contribution to the main theme of the book is tremendous giving it more meaning. Each symbolism...
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...Nicollette Digmi A hero is someone who is brave, trustworthy, and reliable. This is the kind of person we look up to. Some of them may be legendary, while others are everyday life-savers. Heroes are typically on quests often to help others, they are ethical and strong and responsible leaders. A hero could be anyone who has these qualities. Beowulf and Martin Luther King Jr. both meet their criteria because they share the same heroic characteristics: they were both on quests, ethical, strong responsible leaders. Beowulf and Martin Luther King Jr. were both on a quest. For example, in Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, is on a quest to help Hrothgar save his village by defeating Grendel. This means that Beowulf came from Geatland to save a village even though he wasn’t guaranteed a reward. Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. was on a quest to stop racism and segregation between white and colored people. For example, he stood up to the white people and makes it as public as possible that he wants to change the way society is for the good of other people. In other words Martin Luther King Jr. and Beowulf share a heroic characteristic in that they both go on quests to create change for the benefit of others. Beowulf and Martin Luther Jr. were also ethical. For example, in Beowulf, Beowulf is a good king to his people and ends up fighting a dragon and dying for his people. This means that he was ethical and it contributed to him being a great hero. Likewise Martin Luther...
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...that Frankenstein becomes more than synonymous with “monster” and “crazy inventor” but is in fact a cautionary tale of the monstrosity capable by man. It’s the universal themes of Frankenstein such as what it means to be human, medical ethics and the darker natured tendency of man to achieve ultimate glory. The events that occur in the text stem from Victor Frankenstein’s want and desire for glory. Dr Victor Frankenstein embarks on a futile quest to create and sustain life where he constructs his nameless monster from various dead matter. Here is where the nameless monster comes to life through being electrified into a conscious being. However, when the experiment is finished, Frankenstein is petrified by what he sees and flees the scene. However, for Frankenstein, time and space are unable to separate himself from his creation where the text delves into a cold and thrilling...
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...For Christians the cross takes on specific representation of Christ’s crucifixion. Nuance – These objects take on symbolic meaning in the work in which they appear. Modern writers often create their own symbols by repeatedly using the object in meaningful ways. For example, Golding used the conch shell to represent order and governmental control. NOTABLE ARCHETYPAL SYMBOLS, CHARACTERS, AND STORY PATERNS Characters: Hero (Epic, Classical, Romantic, Realistic, Anti-Hero) Outcast, Scapegoat, Trickster, Platonic Ideal, Monster, Temptress, Star-crossed lovers, Clown/jester, Prophet Story Patterns: Rite of Passage/Initiation, Creation, Fall, Expulsion, Death & Rebirth, Journey, Quest Symbols: (Archetypal symbols have duel nature and are often objects that we find in nature) Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, All colors, Snakes, Birds/Flight, Trees, Gold, Iron, Silver, Sun, Moon, Cross, Seasons Why study myth & symbols? 1. They enrich our encounters with art & literature as we discover the layers of meaning they hold. 2. We understand the values of cultures different from our own and at the same time discover...
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...found me there and took care of me before a band of hunters cared for me until I was a fully grown woman. I was well known for loving to participate in male activities, like hunting. Others knew me from my participations in the Calydonian Boar Hunt and the Quest for the Golden Fleece. Before the quest for the Golden Fleece, Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, tried to get me to leave the quest because I was a woman However, I stuck around and was wounded in battle and the witch Medea healed me....
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...Mythological and Modern-Day Heroes Paper Over the years, there have been many heroes embarking upon quests, overcoming odds that are extraordinary for the common person and triumphing over evil. Each hero has shared many of the same characteristics as other heroes before him/her. From literature there are the tales of Odysseus, Beowulf and Sherlock Holmes. From popular culture, the tales of Harry Potter and Hogwart’s Castle, Frodo and Bilbo Baggins from the shire and Korben Dallas and Leeloo from the movie “Fifth Element”. Starring Bruce Willis (Korben Dallas), Milla Jovovich (Leeloo) and Gary Oldman (Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg), the modern day hero complete with quest, lady fair and evil provides a pop culture version of the mythological hero and the mythological quest. Korben Dallas’ Hero’s Journey starts off as a regular joe taxi driver in the year 2263. Strong, compassionate, gruff, kind, skilled, intelligent and determined, Korben is the epitome of a hero. The strength of character, will and heart are characteristics shared by all heroes. The skills Korben possesses as well as the keen intellect, seen in his witty repartee, are true standards for a hero. His Achilles’ heel is the inability to express softer emotion. His one failing is not calling his mother. Korben Dallas exemplifies a mythological hero almost solely by his Heroic personality. Throughout the movie, the charisma and manly aura Dallas possesses in great quantities is exhibited by the hero with an...
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...Rodman Philbrick, about two teenage boys that are the complete opposite of each other are the best of friends. They go on quests and always stick together. The friendship between the two main characters is a bond that changed their lives and when Freak the Mighty was formed everything changed....
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...tend to reach perfection. Because other metals were thought to be less perfect than gold, it was reasonable to believe that nature created gold out of other metals found deep within the earth and that a skilled artisan could duplicate this process. It was said that once someone was able to change, or transmute a "base" chemical into the perfect metal, gold, they would have achieved eternal life and salvation. In this way, alchemy turned into not only a scientific quest, but a spiritual quest as well. Although the purposes and techniques were often times ritualistic and fanciful, alchemy was in many ways the predecessor of modern science, especially the science of chemistry. The birthplace of alchemy was ancient Egypt, where, in Alexandria, it began to flourish during the Hellenistic period. Also at that time, a school of alchemy was developing in China. The writings of some Greek philosophers may be considered to be among the very first chemical theories, such as the theory that all things are composed of air, earth, fire, and water. Each of these were represented by different elements, such as sulfur, salt, mercury, and, ideally, gold. Other ideas held by alchemists were that each of the known elements were represented by heavenly bodies. Gold was earth's representation of the sun, silver for the moon, mercury for...
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...don’t need to deal with a ring that could possibly destroy them all. The dark world and the eye controlling as they are its annoying enough for anyone to even explore any certain lands of sorts. All in all, I would destroy the ring. Unless you have a desire to destroy all of humanity (and especially the elves) I don’t think you want the ring. The ring holds nothing but complete evil and darkness. The ring thankfully was destroyed like it should be. Essay 2 The quest succeeds because of friendship, loyalty, heroism, and courage. Without these key components the quest most likely wouldn’t have been complete. There were many of time where Frodo should have died but he didn’t. Not because of “luck” or “fate” it’s because friendship and love for Frodo kept him alive. Being courageous and having bravery in them all causes this quest to have a higher chance of success. For example in the last film, Sam and Frodo sit halfway dead up to the fire to destroy the ring. Sam knows that Frodo can’t go anymore and instead of giving up sam takes Frodo and carries him all the way to boiling lava to destroy the horrid ring. Sam was a hero, he chose to keep going instead of giving up. He was the one who made it possible for the ring to be destroyed once and for all. People can say it was fate or luck but it wasn’t. It was Sam’s choice to keep going and that’s what he did. Another thing sam had done was protect Frodo from the vicious...
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...I open my eyes. Im sitting in the back of a cart and my hands are tied. There are three other people in the cart. One appears to be in armor, the second in ragged clothing and the third dressed in finery with a gag over his mouth. The cart moves down the road we arrive at a small town and were made to exit the carts. The man in rags panics he makes a run for it. Fwoosh, the sound of an arrow striking him in the back. There’s a group of other prisoners and another group of people, mostly soldiers but there's also a priest and ohno an executioner. One of the soldiers yells something it takes a minute to realize there calling me up i walk towards the block my heart racing. The axe raises. This is it the end.The I see it. Swooping through the...
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...Bilbo Baggins, a shy and reluctant hobbit in J.R.R Tolkein's The Hobbit, who was protected from the perils and dangers of the real world in the comfort of his hobbit-hole. In his journey, Bilbo has to make many judgments that leave him torn between his loyalty to his friends and doing the right thing. But it is these obstacles that fully initializes him as a true hero. In the beginning of the story, Bilbo seemed like the most unlikely hero when Gandalf and thirteen dwarves came and asked for him to join them on the quest, but in the end, Bilbo faces many situations, challenges and develop traits like selflessness, courage ,and wisdom that is essential to all heroes and will ultimately determine and define who he is, and whether if he will succeed as a hero or not. A hero will rise when there is a call for a challenge and they could accept two choices: fight or flight. For Bilbo, the challenge comes when Gandalf and thirteen dwarves come and asked him to join them on a quest and play the role of a burglar to vanquish the terror of the countryside, Smaug. But more importantly, get back the treasure that rightfully belonged to them. When he first heard of the news, Bilbo seemed confused and he doesn't know what to do. Bilbo has to sides to him; his...
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...eldest brother, god of fire. Zephyr can start fire and harness extreme heat. The goddesses are: Atalanta, the eldest sister and goddess of water. Atalanta can cause rainfall, flood, and drought. Keanna, goddess of storms. Keanna can cause...
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