...In Thomas C. Foster’s Chapter 11 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “...More Than it’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence,”compares violence in literature to violence in the real world. Violence in literature can mean a lot of things and be a lot of things like “symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, Romantic, allegorical, transcendent,” etc. while violence in the real world is exactly as it sounds, aggressive and mean (Foster 95). Joseph Conrad killed off his characters by having them kill each other, but all for absurd reasons. Mr. Jones kills Lena because he has a very strong hatred of women, regarding them as “wriggling vipers” of “horror” (Conrad 64, 65). He also shoots Ricardo, his secretary, because he wants the money that is nonexistent to himself. Wang, Heyst’s servant, kills Pedro, Mr. Jones’ slave,...
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...too late. Throughout the book, Dickens uses symbolism in the ghosts that visit Scrooge. After reading Thomas C. Foster’s book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I have also been able to recognize that the book might also be somewhat political. In Dickens’s book, the first ghost that visits Scrooge is his old business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, who was once like Scrooge, essentially begs him to become a better, less selfish person. Now, Marley’s character is full of symbolism. It is even stated in the book that the thick chains that weigh down his body are representative of the “chains he forged in life.” They represent his greed and his wrongdoings that keep his locked down. When his physical appearance is described, it even says...
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...the assigned reading within the first two weeks of the school year. AP English IV (11th grade students entering AP IV in 2016-2017) Seniors should create a synopsis card for each novel read of literary merit. Your teacher will explain how this will prepare you for the open questions for the AP Literature exam. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C, Foster Complete writing assignments from the chapter sheet that accompanies Foster. See Assignments on the back of this sheet. Access this link for tips on dialectical journal entries: https:www.YouTube.com/watch?v=CBsJTqfB1Ws AP English IV Writing Assignments Directions: Complete assignments for chapters 1-10 as you read Foster’s work. Writing Assignments for How to Read Literature like a Professor By Thomas C. Foster (Adapted from Donna Anglin by Sandra Effinger) Introduction: How’d He Do That? How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern. (200 words) Chapter 1 – Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5. Chapter 2 – Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion Choose a meal...
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...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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...Simon & Schuster New York • London • Toronto • Sydney • Singapore To my parents, my husband, my daughter and all the good souls around the world whose inspiration, prayers, support and love blessed my heart and sustained me in the years of living history. AUTHOR’S NOTE In 1959, I wrote my autobiography for an assignment in sixth grade. In twenty-nine pages, most half-filled with earnest scrawl, I described my parents, brothers, pets, house, hobbies, school, sports and plans for the future. Forty-two years later, I began writing another memoir, this one about the eight years I spent in the White House living history with Bill Clinton. I quickly realized that I couldn’t explain my life as First Lady without going back to the beginning―how I became the woman I was that first day I walked into the White House on January 20, 1993, to take on a new role and experiences that would test and transform me in unexpected ways. By the time I crossed the threshold of the White House, I had been shaped by my family upbringing, education, religious faith and all that I had learned before―as the daughter of a staunch conservative father and a more liberal mother, a student activist, an advocate for children, a lawyer, Bill’s wife and Chelsea’s mom. For each chapter, there were more ideas I wanted to discuss than space allowed; more people to include than could be named; more places visited than could be described. If I mentioned everybody who has impressed, inspired, taught, influenced and...
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