Does everything in “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” match “The Hobbit”? Breaking down “The Hobbit” will help to further conclude what concepts it does and does not follow in Thomas C. Foster’s book “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” The first step in telling if “The Hobbit” t is a quest‚ is finding out if “The Hobbit” had a quester. A quester as explained by Thomas C. Foster is just a person who goes on a quest‚ whether he knows it or not.The quester in the hobbit is Bilbo Baggins
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How To Read Literature Like a Professor Chapter 1: Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) In Chapter 1 the author explains the symbolic reasoning of why a character takes a trip. They don’t just take a trip they take a quest. Structurally a quest has a quester‚ a place to go‚ a stated reason to go there‚ challenges and trials en route‚ and a reason to go there. Quests usually involve characters such as a knight‚ a dangerous road‚ a Holy Grail‚ a dragon‚ an evil knight‚ and a princess
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In Thomas C. Fosters How to Read Literature like a Professor‚ Foster expresses how every story has a journey that someone or sometimes multiple people go on specific journeys. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus‚ the novel is based on exactly that‚ a journey. One journey is Victor Frankenstein’s quest for knowledge. Foster says that “The real reason for a quest is always self knowledge.” Victor Frankenstein is the perfect example of this; Frankenstein sets out on a journey to
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Heart Problems Within chapter 23 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor‚ Thomas Foster discusses the in-depth reasons authors use heart complications in novels and the meaning it can add to a story. Throughout The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these various heart techniques that Foster talks about to further emphasize character’s personalities and guilt. Guilt is an emotion Hawthorne used to cause pains within Reverend Dimmesdale. At the beginning of the novel‚ Dimmesdale is seen
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In the first chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor‚ Foster discusses the five aspects of a typical character’s quest and alerts all readers that “when a character hits the road‚ we should start to pay attention” (6). To start out the chapter a rather dull scene is set of a young boy commuting to a store to retrieve bread for his mother. Foster reveals that the seemingly unimportant commute is actually a quest. It is determined that “a quester” (3)‚ a destination‚ an
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techniques in How to Read Like a Professor ‘How to Read Like a Professor’ is a book that discusses several broad yet detailed techniques of reading. While I am positive everyone who reads this book knows how to read‚ they may not know how to read to fully comprehend all of a volume‚ even that which is not on the page. One such technique that really helps to reveal much about a story is symbolism‚ or the use of something to represent something else usually not in the story. Symbolism is important
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Life of Pi Analysis With How to Read Literature Like a Professor 1. Chapter 12: Is That a Symbol? A. Example one In the early stages of Life of Pi‚ Martel mentions a place that Pi and Ravi had gone to visit while on vacation. While looking aimlessly through the window‚ they noticed three hills. On top of one hill was a catholic church‚ another a Hindu temple‚ and the other a Muslim mosque. Each hill portrays each of the religions in Pi’s complex faith. The hills represent Pi’s struggles
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every piece of writing have a purpose? Are there reasons why authors choose specific characteristics‚ storylines‚ and plots? Thomas C. Foster‚ the author of How to Read Literature like A Professor‚ would argue yes‚ almost every type of writing has a purpose. More specifically‚ these "purposes" that are written about‚ are viewed as political literature. Authors discover things that interest them‚ or that they have a strong viewpoint on‚ and convey their opinion on this subject through their writing. In
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Conrad uses the accountant as a symbol of greed and conceitedness in Heart of Darkness similarly to how Foster describes the use of a symbol in his novel How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Symbols‚ according to Foster‚ have many meanings. Readers presume “them to mean something[‚...] one something in particular[‚ but] it doesn’t work like that” (Foster); they have multiple meanings. In this way‚ Conrad uses his character‚ the accountant‚ as a symbol of both greed and egotism. When the accountant
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In the twelfth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor‚ Foster analyzes symbols‚ and the great influences they have in literature. To begin the chapter‚ Foster compares and explains the differences between symbols and allegories. Symbolism is a broad category‚ and allegories fit under it’s immense hierarchy. Furthermore‚ symbols “involve a range of possible means and interpretations”‚ while allegories have single and specific answers (105). Foster continues by stating
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