Chapter 9 How To Read Literature

n chapter 9 of How to read literature like a professor, Foster goes into the topic of myths. There are three kinds of myths that Foster mentioned beforehand :shakespearean biblical,and fairy tale myths. In this chapter however, he goes more deeply in myths from the Greeks and Romans. According to Foster, myths shape and sustain power of a story the and its symbols; show our ability to to explain ourselves; myths are so deeply ingrained our cultural memory that they both shape our culture and are shaped by it. For example on pg.72, he takes the Fall of Icarus as an example.The Fall of Icarus is about a boy named Icarus who gains the ability to fly when wings are attached to him using tar by his father. However, his father Daedalus warned him not to go too high or he will simply plunge to his death. During his flight later on, he does go too high and ends up plunging to his death. This myth shows a couple of symbols and
Another would be Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce which has a character called Leopold bloom that parallel Odyssues who also falls into a human struggle by trying to maintain his dignity in what he believes to be noble. In conclusion, myths such as the ones created by Homer represent human themes and they clearly shape contemporary literature and