Choose two of the following five chapters and analyze a novel or short story you have read recently. Use these analytical tools to help increase the reader's comprehension of characterization, plot, setting, theme, etc. Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your interpretation gleaned from using these tools. Remember to avoid listing or "pointing out" this information. You should analyze and look for the larger meaning created via the use of this technique.
- Every Trip is a Quest
- Nice to Eat with You (vampires/communion)
- It's More than just Rain or Snow
- And Rarely Just an Illness
- So Does the Season
Recently I have read, "Voices of Dragons", as a pleasure reading. This book can relate to the two chapters 'Every Trip is a Quest' and 'Nice to Eat With You' from "How to Read Literature Like a Professor". Starting with 'Every Trip is a Quest' chapter we can discet how Kay, the main character, goes on a quest. While this quest is pretty straight- foward and simple we can still dive into its meaning based on the outline in HTRLLAP. The outline states that there should be a) a quester b) a place to go c)states reason to go d)challenges en route and e)real reason to go there(3). In "Voices of Dragons" the overall plot is how she creates a forbidden frienship with a dragon. However using the outline we can further examine her adventure. a) the 'quester' is Kay. b)Although she stays in her hometown and doesn't travel a great distance, she still goes on a quest around her hometown and the 'border' between the town and the dragons. c)At first she didn't even mean to become friends with the dragon (that saved her life) but then her curiosity got the best of her and she then wanted to learn more about these forbidden creatures. " She hadn't thought about how the dragons had their own side to the story; now that she had, she wanted to know what that side was," (Vaughn 28) d)Kay does however face numerous trials on her quest...like her father's death, the invasion of the military, the near break out of war with the dragons, and her final act where she exposes herself that she has become friends with a dragon and then sacrifices herself to the dragon to reclaim peace. e)her real reason for her quest however was to not only resolve the peace but to overcome her minisule teenage concerns and create her new confident self. All these situations do thicken the plot line but more importantly enlighten Kay with self-knowledge through her quest. The other chapter 'Nice to Eat With You' discusses how any meal in literature can be related to some form of communion. Although it is a simple example, during the book when Kay and her friends Jon and Tam huddle together for dinner at the local diner(during the time everyone thought the world was going to war with the dragons) they shared a meal together which represents some form of 'final communion' together during these frightening times. "They all fell quiet, and then their food came...Kay shared her fries, but none of them was really enthusiastic about eating, (220).
ReplyDeleteThe two chapters 'Every Trip is a Quest' and 'Nice to Eat with you' from How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster went along with the book Good-bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton. Mr. Chipping, the protagonist of the novel, is a beloved school teacher, who tells about his long career at Brookfield, a boy’s boarding school. In the first chapter, ‘Every Trip is a Quest’ Foster says that a quest consists of five things: 1. a quester, 2. a place to go, 3. A stated reason to go there, 4. Challenges/trials en route, and 5. A reason to go there. In Good-bye, Mr. Chips 1. The quester is Mr. Chips, an aging school teacher reflecting on his career. 2. Chips does not go on a physical journey, but a mental on as he recalls back to his first day at Brookfield, going chronologically from then to the present where he began the story. 3. He goes on his nostalgic journey, going through “a thousand tangled recollections” (Hilton, 23) to sit back and reflect on his live as it comes to an end. 4. Challenges in the actual recollecting of his life were things related to his old age, like losing his train of thought, forgetting names of people and places, physical deterioration, and sickness. But in his life story there were all sorts of challenges, like conquering his inability to connect with his students, overcoming his initial shyness, being able to move on with his life after the love of his life tragically and suddenly died, dealing with the devastating impact of the war on British society, staying calm in the middle of an air raid, coping with the loss of students and fellow masters who have died on the battlefield, and dealing with the horrors unleashed by the war. 5. His reasons to recall his life are to reflect on all of his accomplishments and defeats, to see how far he has come in life, and to recall all he has learned along the way. He looks back on his life to be at peace with all of his decisions so that he may die with no regrets and with inner peace. The second chapter of HTRLLAP, 'Nice to Eat with You' has a strong connection to Good-bye, Mr. Chips. Chips would always invite the new students over to his home for tea and cake so Chips could get to know each boy personally. Chips loved his students and hoped they would feel the same way about him. Thus, the cake and tea is “an act of sharing and peace” (Foster, 8). Also, Foster says that strangers who eat together find something in common: “eating is a fundamental element of life” (10). When the new boys come have tea and cake with Chips they don’t know what to expect, but already they have a common thread, even if they only notice on a subconscious level…
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ReplyDeleteOver the summer I made my own quest and ventured over to the North Suffolk Library, once their I chose Poison by Chris Wooding which relates to 'Every Trip has a quest,' in How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. Poison, the protagonist, vows to find her sister who was taken by a mythical creature into another realm. She begins in the human realm and travel between other realms to retrieve her sister, as she battles with god-like characters as a powerless human in order to go further into her journey. As Poison enters the last realm, she is told her sister was returned years ago and that she was the new keeper of the books, the creator and supreme ruler of all the realms. Her quest was to retrieve her sister, she had a final destination, and a new higher propose in her life while reconnected with her sister. In 'It's more Than Just an Illness' Foster addresses death in literature,and whether or not it was in fact a natural death. Coinciding with this belief, a major character dies in the story, and Poison is chosen to take his place, but his death was no regular death,he was murdered. He was killed so that the apprentice to the fairy lord could take control of all the realms, thus giving fairies power over all the realms. This conspiracy heightened the pace of the book creating a more flustered tone in the characters. The chaos created could only then be subsided by the appointment of Poison as the "Master of the Books" as she restored order and calmed the tone of the book, thus finishing her journey and claiming the knowledge her sister had been returned.
ReplyDeleteThe book I most recently read that wasn't for school was "The Carrie Diaries", by Candace Bushnell. It's about Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, only it takes place during her senior year of high school. (I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and read what you all would deem a legitimate book.) The novel chronicles Carrie's entire senior year, from the first day to a couple of months before she leaves for college at Brown. Carrie has a really solid group of friends and she's dating the really popular new guy at her school. Everything about her year starts out perfect, and the day before she returns from Christmas break, she finds out that things are going horribly, horribly wrong.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, "Nice to Eat You" is about vampires. Dr. Foster writes that vampires can be actual vampires or vampires who feed off of energy, rather than blood. These energy vampires drain people of their energy, dreams, and goals until literally nothing is left. (Ie, Daisy Miller and Winterbourne) Carrie's all of thirteen when her mother begins to die from cancer. While reading the paper one morning, Carrie notices that her mother's favorite author, feminist Mary Gordon Howard, is doing a book signing at the local library. Carrie thinks that this would be a great way to cheer her mother up, so she puts in her best hair ribbons and rides her bike to the library. Carrie has always admired Ms. Howard's work, and so she's hoping that they'll bond over their love of writing and Ms. Howard will give her secrets on how to become a writer. "The head librarian, Ms. Detooten, who I'd known since I was a kid, stood next to Mary Gordon Howard, handing her books to sign...'Carrie's going to be a writer,' Ms. Detooten gushed. 'Isn't that so, Carrie?' I nodded. Suddenly I had The Gordon's attention. 'And why is that?' she asked. 'Excuse me?' I whispered. My face prickled with heat. 'Why do you want to be a writer?' I looked to Ms. Detooten for help. But she only looked as terrified as I did. 'I...I don't know.' 'If you can't think of a very good reason to do it, then don't," The Gordon snapped" (107). Carrie has spent most of her life hoping to become a writer, and a middle aged intellectual has crushed her dreams because of a bad mood. In other words, Mary Gordon Howard is a vampire feeding off of Carrie's energy.
"Every Trip is a Quest" says that no matter how long the trip is or where it is to, some self-discovery or just a discovery in general will come from it. At the end of the novel, Carrie has graduated from high school a little wiser and a lot happier. She convinces her father to let her attend a writing program in New York City before she goes off to college in the fall. As she sits on the train, she thinks about all that has happened in the past year. (She's lost some friends, had a bad break-up, and had a few traumatic fights with her father.) She begins to start her own journey to self discovery. "I have this theory," she says to herself. "If you forgive someone, they can't hurt you anymore. The train rattles and shakes. We pass hollow buildings crowded with graffiti, billboards advertising toothpaste...then the scenery disappears and we're going through a tunnel. 'New York City,' the conductor calls out. 'Penn Station.' I close my journal and slip it into my suitcase. The lights inside the car flicker on and off, on and off, and then black out altogether. And like a newborn child, I enter my future in darkness" (385).
While "The Carrie Diaries" is not exactly the Great American Novel (I really liked it though!), I certainly think that being able to apply Dr. Foster's writings to even the simplest novel proves his point.
I have recently read a post-modernistic novel by Chuck Palhniuk titled Rant. The story starts with a tumultuous beginning for protagonist Buster Casey also known as Rant. He is born on a bus in the middle of a tornado, or while a tornado is within the vicinity. Besides being a near-death experience for Buster, the tornado is an omen for which the rest of his life follows. He starts a business collecting teeth and amasses a fortune, graduates with honors from high-school, without attending more than three classes a week, moves tot the city to run a demolition derby in the city streets, becomes the cause of a rabies epidemic, starts a revolution between the classes, and eventually takes his own life in a car-crash of epic proportions. Rant is anything but orthodox. His hectic lifestyle begins form birth, and this natural disaster may have direct correlation to his innate sense of smell. The tornado is a foreshadowing of the twisting, destructive plot to come.
ReplyDeleteRant is the sole cause of a rabies epidemic that spreads throughout America through the course of the story. Why the author chooses rabies as the ideal disease to disperse is hazy. The symptoms include foaming at the mouth and involuntary movements. This image may be the author’s attempt to give his opinion on human nature. Civilization crashes down on itself as people become frantic with fear of contracting the disease. The higher class that interact during the day begin to fear the lower class of “nighttimers”. The daytimmers begin to shoot anyone suspected of having rabies, including a nighttimer which sparks a full on rebellion between the classes. This disease is a symbol for the decay of mankind due to our own internal fears.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor is a book written by Thomas C. Foster about the many interpretations and symbols one journey, act, or article may have other than its literal meaning. Two of my favorite chapters actually came from the very beginning; Every Trip is a Quest and Nice to Eat (With) You. These particular chapters were an easy read, interesting and extremely relatable to many books that I have read. One book that fits really well in the context of these two chapters is the Harry Potter series (don’t laugh). A wonderful series about the magical journey’s of a young boy, Harry Potter, at the wizarding school of Hogwarts as well as the fight over good and evil.
ReplyDeleteOne quest in this book that really stands out to me is the quest of Harry and his four other friends to find Serious (when Harry believes that he is being tortured by Voldemort) in the fifth book. When Harry starts having these dreams about Serious he ventures off to find him and help him. But the quest turns out not to be only a trip to safe an innocent life but a quest of self knowledge. As stated by the book, “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge”. At the end of the quest Voldemort tries to “take over” Harry’s mind but this is when Harry realizes that he is stronger than Voldemort will ever be because he has love and happiness and friendship, something Voldemort will never experience. This quest relates to the chapter “Every Trip is a Quest” because he not merely trying to save a loved one’s life but also learning an important lesson about himself.
The Harry Potter books, as mentioned, also relate to “It’s Nice to Eat (With) You”. The first part of this chapter can be shown through professor Slughorn because he is notorious for inviting his students over to dine with him. Professor Slughorn does this so the students may socialize and so that he may get to know his students on a more personal level. The second half of this chapter in HTRLLAP is shown through the well-known character, Voldemort. Voldemort is a powerful and evil wizard who seeks to destroy Harry and all good within the world. Voldemort is a perfect representation of this chapter because he exerts “selfishnees, exploitation, and a refusal to respect autonomy of others”.
The Harry Potter series is an intruiging series that can be related to many chapters within the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
I recently came across a short story that I had already read called "The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs. This short story fits into Nice to Eat With You and It's More Than Just Rain or Snow. "The Monkey's Paw" fits into Nice to Eat With You because the people are described to have the appetites of vampires when it comes to the wishes granted by a mysterious monkey paw talisman from India. The greed that the vampire symbolizes is the greed of every person for the things that their hearts want the most. " The Monkey's Paw" fits into the character with the chapter of It's More Than Rain or Snow because of the setting of the story. The rain delays the guest of the main characters and causes their road to become almost inacessible. Once the guest reaches the home, he is travel weary and cold. His miserable appearance is caused by the rain which in this story symbolizes misfortune and hardship.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I read "Geek Magnet" by Kieran Scott. This novel follows the life a teenage girl named Katie Miller as she sets up for the big Spring musical, Grease. The chapters of So Does Season and Nice to Eat With You are easily exemplified. Katie's role as student director starts in the cold days of winter. The troubles with her friends and family take place in the cool days of chaotic rehearsals and her dad, who is a "functioning drunk"(61) reaches his low and crashes his car. Just like described in the chapter, this chaos and trouble takes place when the weather is gloomy. Of course, everything pulls together just in time for the big production and the new beginnings Spring. The trouble with her drunk dad is shown through meals and also falsely amended by meals. Many nights Katie has sat with her tense mother awaiting the arrival of her dad as the question of how drunk he will be that night lingers. The forks are always clattering in the silence and the food is nothing extraordinary. The false sense of hope for her father is covered by the "stomach-grumbling scents of pancakes and bacon"(60)on Saturday morning. Her father knows just the right time to prepare a nice comforting breakfast that will repair the damages from the night before. This meal, unlike dinner the night before, does not expose the troubles within the family but smothers it with more sweet syrup than Katie's little bother's pancakes. The meals are a communion just as explained in the chapter and have the pains laid clearly on the table no matter how awful or prefect the meals taste.
ReplyDeleteRecently i have enjoyed reading buddhist literature in an attempt to gain a new perspective on life and the best possible way to live the one life we are each given to the fullest. I just finished Thich Nhat Hanh’s work The Miracle of Mindfulness. This work relates to the chapters Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) and Nice To Eat With You found in How To Read Literature Like a Professor. In The Miracle of Mindfulness Thich Nhat Hanh reveals the benefits of meditation and being mindful of one’s actions and thoughts. How to Read Literature Like a Professor describes these quests in literature as “The real reason for a quest is self-knowledge” (3), which embodies the buddhist mindset. Mindfulness is about finding one’s inner self and making every action meaningful. The lessons taught in The Miracle of Mindfulness are simple tasks such as cleaning the dishes. If one is mindful one washes the dishes not just to complete the task, but to do it as if his or her life depended on washing the dishes and that washing the dishes is the only thing that should occupy his or her mind. These little lessons teach one to enjoy life to the fullest and learn to be aware of what he or she is doing in order to be in tune with one’s mind and spirit. Mindfulness clearly is a quest for self-knowledge. The Miracle of Mindfulness also relates to Nice To Eat With You. In Nice To Eat With You it reveals that eating is always communion, not necessarily by a Christian standard, but coming together through faith. In Thich Nhat Hanh’s work he describes eating a tangerine with his friend Jim. While it seems silly to read about, he continues on to explain to Jim that rather than engulfing his tangerine and forgetting what he is doing, he should eat his tangerine slice by slice, enjoying and savoring each bite. After being taught how to eat a tangerine Jim is able to apply the concept to other aspects of his life. When he is taken to prison for voicing his opinions against the war he is reminded “You being there is like the tangerine. Eat it and be one with it. Tomorrow it will be no more”, which allows him to concentrate and remain strong internally. The eating of the tangerine represents the sense of communion and coming together of the mind and spirit of two friends that are enjoying each others company. By applying How To Read Literature Like a Professor to a book of lessons rather than an actual story with a plot it proves that all literature has some sort of meaning and is able to be analyzed.
ReplyDeleteI recall reading C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. My favorite of the series was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It tells the story of the Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. They live in England during the days of World War II, when bomb raids and tunnel shelters were common but unpleasant events to experience. They are forced to move to the countryside into the mansion of an elderly professor. While playing a game of hide and seek, Lucy discovers that the large house contains a large wardrobe, which transports her to the magical land of Narnia. Using Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Lewis' famous novel proves two of Foster's chapters: "Every Trip is a Quest" and "...So does season".
ReplyDeleteFoster explains that a quest consists of "a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there" (3). The Pevensie children, the questers, leave London to go to the countryside, a place, in order to escape the threats of war, a reason. The challenges and suprises begin when Lucy discovers Narnia. There she discovers many mythological creatures, including her friend Mr. Tumnus, a faun. He warns her that the White Witch, the cause of evil in Narnia, will kill any human that steps into Narnia, since they are a threat to her crown. Later, Edmund follow Lucy into the wardrobe. He meets the White Witch, whom is referred to as the Queen of Narnia by her followers. She convinces Edmund to bring the rest of his family into Narnia by brbing him with power. The four children all come into Narnia, and with the help of Narnians, discover that they can fulfill an old Narnian prophecy that will rid Narnia of its evil. One of the many challenges the children face is that Edmund betrays them in order to obtain his power that the White Witch promised him, but she takes him as prisoner. Peter, Susan, and Lucy now must fight to free their brother and Narnia of the White Witch's wrath. With the help of the true king of Narnia, Aslan the lion, the Pevensie children defeat the White Witch and are throned as the Kings and Queens of Narnia at Cape Paravel. Even though the purpose of the childrens' journey was to escape war, the true quest was to fight for an enchanted land in order to restore happiness and spring.
In the Bible, the Book of Ecclesiaties states "In every thing, there is a season". As a Christian man, C.S. Lewis made this phrase a very important part of his Chronicles of Narnia. Foster states that "Happiness and dissatisfaction have their seasons" as well (176). When Lucy first enters into the world of Narnia, there are thick blankets of snow covering the ground, and the sky is dark and gray. At first, the snow can be interpreted as a symbol of purity and happiness, since Lucy has not yet encountered any sense of evil. She does not discover the evil present in Narnia unitl she learns of the White Witch and her corruption in Narnia. Spring will only return to Narnie if the Pevensie children fight along with Aslan's army to defeat the White Witch. The longer that the children are present in Narnia, the more the witch's power melts, along with the snow and ice which has restircted Narnia from being the peaceful and beautiful land that it is.
Along with the rest of the Chronicles, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is an entertaining and intreguing read for any person. The novel shows evidence of agreeing with the concepts and ideas shared by Foster in How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
"The Great Gatsby" is an American novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald about the social elite in the United States, specifically in New York on Long Island, and the challenges they face trying to conform to society while staying happy.
ReplyDelete"How to Read Literature Like a Professor" by Thomas C. Foster presents different techniques of analyzing themes and ideas found in literature in a humorous light. Two of these ideas, "Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion" and "Every Trip is a Quest (Except when it's not)" can be applied to "The Great Gatsby" as they explore the deeper meaning to meals in a novel, along with the potential epic nature of traveling to the store.
In the beginning of the novel, Nick, a new resident of West Egg, attends a small dinner gathering at his cousin Daisy's house in East Egg. When Nick arrives before the start of dinner, he meets a young woman named Jordan Baker. Daisy's husband Tom proceeds to make a hasty exit to answer a phone call after reciting from a white supremacist book (foreshadowing the social differences that become more evident later in the book between East Egg, of Old money, and West Egg, of New money.)When Nick learns that the phone call is from Myrtle, Tom's lover, he seems quite stunned, despite the fact of everyone knowing but Nick. The rest of the night becomes incredibly awkward for the entire dinner party, as no one dares speak of what was really happening. Fitzgerald essentially sets the tension for the entire novel in this one scene since according to Foster, "No writer ever took such care about food or drink, so marshaled his forces to create a military effect of armies drawn up as if for battle...[H]e wants to convey the sense of tension and conflict that has been running through the evening" (Foster 13).
Foster states that, “...questers are so often young, inexperienced, immature, sheltered...” and that ultimately, “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster 3). This theory is definitely true within “The Great Gatsby,” as Nick ventures next-door to a party held by Jay Gatsby later on in the novel. According to Foster, every quest has five categories that define it as such:
1. A quester: In the novel, Nick, new resident to West Egg, is the quester.
2. A place to go: Nick is determined to receive an invitation to one of Gatsby's extravagant parties.
3. A stated reason to go there: As a newcomer to the community of West Egg, Nick tells the reader that he wants to learn about his new next-door neighbor and the reasoning behind his lavish parties and lifestyle.
4. Challenges and trials en route: Nick must first get himself invited to the party, which he does mainly with ease as Gatsby is always wanting to meet new people and Nick receives that invitation from Gatsby's chauffeur one afternoon.
Nick also faces the challenge of fitting in at the extravagant function. Nick does not want to displease any of his new neighbors, neighbors of New wealth and power. While Nick does remain reserved during the party, he begins to open up as he becomes more comfortable, especially after running into Jordan at the party. Soon after this encounter he meets Gatsby himself and the two acquaintances begin to get to know each other.
5. A real reason to go there: While Nick says he wants to fit in, he is really inquisitive and desires to know more about this mysterious Gatsby and the reasoning behind his lavish parties. When Nick ultimately learns that the rather simple-rooted man by the name of Jay Gatsby hosts such functions with hopes of reconnecting with his former love, Nick is surprised to find out that that love was his own cousin, Daisy, who is going through her own tumultuous relationship at the time.
While Nick's quest to Gatsby's house to fit in and learn about his neighbors seems rather simple, Nick and Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" prove that simple ideas can lead to new discoveries regarding the complexity of man and society.
While this might sound a bit cliché, the last book that I read for pure pleasure was New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer. I read this book in hopes of finding new insight into the characters before the movie came out, however I was refreshing my memory before Eclispe. New Moon fits well into both the “Every Trip is a Quest” and “Nice to Eat with You (Vampires/Communion) chapters from How to Read Literature like a Professor. While throughout the plot line of New Moon, an un-trained eye would not pick up on Bella’s true quest after Edward had left her. HTRLLAP outlines five key points that show a true quest: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials, and the real reason to go. First, obviously Bella Swan is the quester. While her “place to go” isn’t literal, it is from her state of depression from the loss of her true love to a state of neutrality, as to where she can once again let people into her life. Her reason to try and get over Edward is to once “feel” again. She is looking for a companion, while not on a loving level, but more so on a friendship base. Bella faces may challenges and trials throughout her journey. While she begins to accept Jacob Black into her life, he begins to complicate things by developing a crush on her. Bella must overcome this crush and maintain this friendship, or she will be sucked back into the same state of mind she was in previously. This almost happens when her best friend suddenly begins to ignore her completely, confused and upset Bella begins looking for answers, and she gets them; Bella finds out that her once normal best friend is now a werewolf. If this doesn’t complicate things, she also continuously sees her boyfriend’s “ghost” so to speak, whenever she engages in a dangerous activity. Finally her real reason of going was in fact self-knowledge. Bella may have ended up back with Edward, the vampire in her life that cause her to go on this journey in the first place, but Bella became a different person in the sense that she could let other people into her life and accept them and not be so socially awkward.
ReplyDeleteNew Moon can also refer to “Nice to Eat with You: Act of Vampires”. While the book is literally about vampires, it also breaks down to much more than that. Vampirism in novels usually shows “placing our desires above everyone else’s”. This is found in the entire Twilight series. Edward continually puts his desires first, in the first novel, but it is Bella here who acts erratically to satiate her hunger to see Edward. Bella discovers halfway into the novel that she can see an image of Edward, almost like his spirit when she engages in dangerous behavior. Bella puts her life at risk just to fulfill her desire. She uses Jacob to help her build motorcycles so she can experience the thrill and see her beloved for a split second. Among riding dangerous motorcycles, Bella also cliff-dives and walks up to a very “rough” group of guys. These behaviors are prevalent with “getting her fix” so to speak. Overall, while the Twilight saga New Moon may be a dry read to a pedestrian, the book proved to have meaningful context and fit perfectly into those two chapters from HTRLLAP.
In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the chapter "Nice to Eat WIth You" illustrates the literal acts of vampires throughout literature, "But it's also about things other than literal vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, a refusal to respect the autonomy of other people"(Foster 16). Having read the Metamorphosis by Kafka in class recently, I find it fits perfectly with this concept. AS if the fact that Gregor had transformed into a bug wasnt bad enough, the way his family and his father, especially, treated him poorly. Kafka states, "He rushed over to them and tried with outstretched arms to drive them into their room and at the same time with his body to blck their view of Gregor"(47). Gregor was a victim of vampires. The vampires were his family, and it was 3 against 1. Gregor lost the fight and was qonquered by the selfishness of his family and how they alienatedhim from their lives because he was no longer able to provide for them. The vampires in this situation are not the ones of the literal sort but of the figurative.
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter "and rarely just an illness", Foster states, "It should have strong symbolic or metaphorical possibilities..."(217). In the Metamorphosis, Gregor's condition and weakening strength physically because of his metamorphosis also sybolizes his condition emotionally that was caused by his family's selfishness.The metamorphosis of Gregor in the story could also relate to the author's life, Kafka having died from Tuberculosis. In literature a disease is rarely just a disease.
In Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he describes ways to analyze literature in a very entertaining way. He begins with the chapter titled “Every Trip Is a Quest.” In this chapter, he explains that quests consist of five components. You must have a quester, he/she must have a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials en route, and a real reason to go there. I have found that this is a very effective way to create a basic outline for a story. It really helps me follow the plot of a story. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God this method makes it much easier to trace Janie’s character throughout the novel. In Zora Hurston’s novel, Janie is clearly the quester. Janie, the main character, goes on a quest for true love. The stated reasons for this are for someone to look out for her, and for her to feel a sense of love. Throughout the course of the novel she encounters many challenges. She, first, is stuck in a marriage in which she is confined to exactly what her husband, Logan, wants her to do. This is exactly the opposite of where Janie wants to go. Next she is married to a man who does not treat her much better. She seemingly cannot escape society. However, the real reason Janie is in search of true love is because she is a free and independent woman, wanting true happiness and an escape from society. As a reader, it is much easier to follow the plot when these points are laid out like this in front of me. Clearly in Their Eyes Were Watching God, there is a quest. Another chapter from How To Read Literature Like a Profesor is called “It’s more than Just rain or Snow.” In this chapter, Foster explains hwo weather can have a much deeper meaning than just the physical state of rain or snow or wind. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, there is a very significant hurricane at the end of the novel. For me, this hurricane was a symbol of society. At the time the hurricane strikes, Janie and Tea Cake are living extremely happily on the muck. However, the hurricane comes along and acts as something that is out to disturb their relationship. In this case I draw a parallel between society and the hurricane. In every challenge to Janie’s quest before this one, it is society that gets in the way of her relationships. However, this time the hurricane leads to the eventual death of Tea Cake. However, this time Janie is able to ‘weather the storm.’ This time, Janie is able to walk back to her small town, content because she had finally become who she had strived to become.
ReplyDelete@ Lindsay - super job with going out of the box and seeing Kay's quest with her numerous traits. You were right on with the final communion comment.
ReplyDelete@Virginia - yes, Goodbye Mr. Chips definitely has a mental journey, especially through his "aging" in every sense of the word. The fostering of relationships with students through eating shows a strong kinship.
@Erin - interesting observation regarding Mary's "vampire feeding". Yes, Foster's novel can be applicable to popular literature.
@Haley - many specifics complimented with textual evidence to support Foster's interpretation.
@ Alex - interesting to hear correlations to Foster through Buddhist literature.
@Christiana - great idea to bring in biblical references.
@Dan - excellent observation about the importance and significance of the dinner. I like how you broke down elements of the quest and related them to Gatsby.
@Sarah - Glad you brought in Metamorphosis and @Brooks - Also, glad to see Hurston's novel.
Franz Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" is an example of literature containing themes pertaining to the chapters "Yes, She's a Christ Figure,Too," "It's All Political," and "Or the Bible" in Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor. The hunger artist starves himself for the entertainment of the townspeople, thus he conforms with self-sacrifice. In biblical times, crucifixions were a form of entertainment, as is the hunger artist's form of dying. Kafka is believed to have had anorexia and died from starvation, aligning with the idea that, "Perhaps the parallel deepens our sense of he character's sacrifice if we see it as somehow similar to the greatest sacrifice we know of" (124). When the hunger artist dies, the town replaces him with a panther, which is a fierce predatorial animal, has a "noble body, full to almost bursting with all he needed" (Kafka 145), and the townspeople, while afraid of it, didn't want to stop looking at it. The panther is symbolic of the upper, ruling class and how the rulers have everything they ever want, while the lower class is dying from not having basic necessities. Foster makes a similar comparison with Mrs. Dalloway when he writes, "...ideas were judged on the basis of class...of the person putting them forward" (116). Since the hunger artist eventually has the feeling that starvation is purity, it parallels the story of Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, they are no longer pure. Taking it a step further, the hunger artist deems all food as forbidden. Once the hunger artist eats, he has to restart the starvation process and thinks of himself as a failure, just as Foster writes, "...the reason [loss-of-innocence stories] hit so hard is that... you ca never go back" (50). Everyday, the hunger artist gets closer to dying, so the time for him to make a record in starvation is dwindling.
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