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1、How to Read Literature Like a Professor,Notes from the book by Thomas C.Foster,Every Trip is a Quest,The quest consists of five things:(1)a quester,(2)a place to go,(3)a stated reason to go there,(4)challenges and trials en route,and(5)a real reason to go there.The real reason for the quest is alway
2、s self knowledge.Example,Nice to Eat with You,Eating usually involves something more than food.Breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace.A failed meal carries negative connotationsExamples:(1)“Bella Notte,”(2)Tom Jones,(3)Sopranos finale(4)“Hills like White Elephants”,Nice to Eat You:Ac
3、ts of Vampires,You dont need fangs and a cape to be a vampire.The essentials of the vampire story are:(1)an older figure representing corrupt,out-worn values;(2)preferably virginal female;(3)a stripping away of her youth,energy,virtue;(4)a continuance of the life force of the old male;and(5)the deat
4、h or destruction of the young woman.Example:“Little Red Riding Hood”,Nice to Eat You:Acts of Vampires,Sexual implicationsa trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectlySymbolic Vampirism:selfishness,exploitation,refusal to respect the autonomy of other people,using people to get what we
5、 want,placing our desires,particularly ugly ones,above the needs of another.Example:“The Anatomy of Desire”by LHeureux,When in Doubt,Its from the Bible,Ever read a book with these things in them?Guess what?So have your writers,poets,playwrights,and screenwriters.Common Biblical stories with symbolic
6、 implications are:Garden of Eden:women tempting men and causing their fall,the apple symbolic of an object of temptation,a serpent who tempts men to do evil,and a fall from innocenceDavid and Goliathovercoming overwhelming odds(see example)Jonah and the Whalerefusing to face a task and being“eaten”o
7、r overwhelmed by it anyway.Job:facing disasters(not of the characters fault),suffers as a result,but remains steadfast,When in Doubt,Its from the Bible,The Flood:rain as a form of destruction;rainbow as a promise of restorationThe ApocalypseFour Horseman of the Apocalypse usher in the end of the wor
8、ld.Biblical names often draw a connection between literary character and Biblical character.Examples:(1)Pulp Fiction,Ezekiel 25:17,(2)“David and Goliath”vs.Beowulf(3)Beloved,(4)Pulp Fiction parody(just for fun),Fairytales,Hansel and Gretel:lost children trying to find their way homePeter Pan:refusin
9、g to grow up,lost boys,a girl-nurturerLittle Red Riding Hood:See VampiresAlice in Wonderland,The Wizard of Oz:entering a world that doesnt work rationally or operates under different rulesCinderella:orphaned girl abused by adopted family saved through supernatural intervention and by marrying a prin
10、ce,Fairytales,Snow White:Evil woman who brings death to an innocentagain,saved by heroic/princely characterSleeping Beauty:a girl becoming a woman,the long sleep as an avoidance of growing up and becoming a married woman,saved by,a prince who fights evil on her behalf.Evil Stepmothers,QueensPrince C
11、harming heroes who rescue women(20th c.frequently switchedthe women save the men),Its Greek to Me,Myth is a body of story that mattersthe patterns present in mythology run deeply in the human psycheOdyssey and IliadMen in an epic struggle over a womanAchillesa small weakness in a strong man;the need
12、 to maintain ones dignityPenelope(Odysseuss wife)the determination to remain faithful and to have faithHector:The need to protect ones family,Its Greek to Me,The Underworldan ultimate challenge,facing the darkest parts of human nature or dealing with deathMetamorphoses by Ovidtransformation(Kafka)Oe
13、dipus:family triangles,being blinded,dysfunctional familyCassandra:refusing to hear the truthA wronged woman gone violent in her grief and madnessAeneas and Dido or Jason and MedeaMother loveDemeter and Persephone,Its Greek to Me:Mythological Allusions in Macbeth,Nine mythological allusions can be f
14、ound in Macbeth.Prophecies and Fate are important factors in the play.Classical,mythological prophecy:a prophecy is made and nothing can be done to prevent the foretold events from happening.Think Achilles.His mother tried everything to prevent his death,but her son died anyway in the Trojan war,jus
15、t as was foretold her.,Its Greek to Me:Mythological Allusions in Macbeth,Self-fulfilling prophecy:because of a foretelling a person will undertake certain action in order to make the prophecy come true or to prevent certain events from happening,but in doing so,that person dooms him or herself.It co
16、uld be said the gods themselves trick people in this kind of prophecy,just as the witches will do with Macbeth.Oedipus anyone?He was destined to kill his father and given away in order to avoid that prophecy.Despite this and his own efforts to stay away from his parents,he unknowingly kills his fath
17、er and marries his own mother.Like Oedipus,Macbeth can be seen as a victim of the gods who have made plans for him and nothing can be done about it.,Its Greek to Me:Mythological Allusions in Macbeth,The concept of foretelling is mostly conveyed by the repeated appearance of the Three Weird Sisters(W
18、itches)and with Hecate,the most important mythological allusion in the tragedy.Who do the witches remind you of?Gorgons anyone?,Its Greek to Me:Mythological Allusions in Macbeth,Croesus and the misinterpretation of messagesIn mythology,prophecies were often ambiguous of wording and could be interpre
19、ted incorrectly.Croesus was told by the Delphi Oracle that“a great kingdom would be destroyed,”should he fight Cyrus the Great.Croesus does not realize it is his own empire that will be destroyed.,Its More than Just Rain or Snow,Weather is never just weather.It is used as a plot device.Rain can be m
20、ysterious,murky,isolating,miserable,or restorative(can bring a dying earth back to life).Can also mean fertility and life.Rain is cleana form of purification,baptism,removing sin or a stain.,Its More than Just Rain or Snow,Snownegativecold,stark,inhospitable,inhuman,nothingness,deathpositive-clean,p
21、ure,playful Fogalmost always signals some sort of confusion;mental,ethical,physical“fog”;people cant see clearlyExample:“Aint No Sunshine when Shes Gone”(lyrics and mp3),Concerning Violence,Violence can be cultural and societal in its implications.It can be symbolic,thematic,biblical,Shakespearean,R
22、omantic,allegorical,transcendent.There are two categories of violence in literature:Character causedshootings,stabbings,drownings,poisonings,bombings,hit and run,etcDeath and suffering for which the characters are not responsible.Accidents are not really accidents.,Concerning Violence,Questions to a
23、sk:What does this type of misfortune represent thematically?What famous or mythic death does this one resemble?Why this sort of violence and not some other?,Is That a Symbol?,Sure it is.A symbol cant be reduced to standing for only one thing.If it can,its not symbolism.The symbol should involve a ra
24、nge of possible meanings and interpretations.Actions can also be symbolic.Examples:“The Sick Rose,”“The Mystery,”“The Villain,”and“The Landlady”,Its All Political,Literature tends to be written by people interested in the problems of the world,so most works have a political element in them.Consider
25、the following:Individualism and self-determination against the needs of society for conformity and stability Power structuresRelations among classesissues of justice and rightsinteractions between the sexes and among various racial and ethnic constituencies,Its All Political,Consider these parallels
26、:Big Brother Joseph Stalin,dictator of the Soviet Union;political victims numbered between 8 million and 13 million Society of 1984 based on policies and practices of Hitlers Nazi regime(Nazism)in Germany and Stalins iron rule(Stalinism)of the former Soviet Union:extreme nationalismemphasis on publi
27、c displays of patriotism through parades and large gatheringsfood shortages and rationingcensorship of the mediaforced-labor campsspyingsecret policeconstant war or threat of war,Its All Political,Consider these parallels(cont.):Youth League and Spies Hitler Youth,a Nazi organization that encouraged
28、 young boys to spy on their parents,neighbors,and strangersTerminology of the Party(comrade,brotherhood,proletarian)came from the rhetoric of communism Division of the world in 1984 resembles the power blocs of the Cold War:The US(Oceania),the former Soviet Union(Eurasia),and the Peoples Republic of
29、 China(Eastasia),Its All Political,Consider these parallels(cont.):Emmanuel Goldstein-Karl Marx,the father of modern communism.Marxs Communist Manifesto denounces capitalism,just as Goldsteins book exposes the reasoning behind the ruling ideology(“oligarchical collectivism)of 1984.,Yes,Shes a Christ
30、 Figure,Too,Whatever our religious affiliation,we generally recognize some of the features that make Christ who he is:crucified,wounds in the hands,feet,side,and headin agonyself-sacrificinggood with childrengood with loaves,fishes,water,winethirty-three years of age when last seenemployed as a carp
31、enterknown to use humble modes of transportation,feet or donkeys preferredbelieved to have walked on water,Yes,Shes a Christ Figure,Too,often portrayed with arms outstretchedknown to have spent time alone in the wildernessbelieved to have had a confrontation with the devil,possibly temptedlast seen
32、in the company of thievescreator of many aphorisms and parablesburied,but arose on the third dayhad disciples,twelve at first,although not all equally devotedvery forgivingcame to redeem an unworthy world Must all Christ figures be as unambiguous as this?No,they dont have to hit all the marks.Dont h
33、ave to be male.Dont have to be a Christian.Dont even have to be good.,Flights of Fancy,When we see a person suspended in the air,even briefly,he is one or more of the following:a superheroa ski jumpercrazy(redundant if also number 2)fictionala circus act,departing a canonsuspended on wiresan angelhe
34、avily symbolic.Flight can mean freedom,escape,the flight of the imagination,spirituality,return home,largeness of spirit,love,Its All About SexExcept Sex,Sex doesnt have to look like sex.Other objects and activities(landscapes,fires,seashores)can stand in for sex objects and acts.Female symbols:chal
35、ice,Holy Grail,bowls,rolling landscape,empty vessels waiting to be filled,tunnels,images of fertilityMale symbols:blade,tall buildings,Its All About SexExcept Sex,When authors write directly about sex,theyre writing about something else,such as sacrifice,submission,rebellion,supplication,domination,
36、enlightenment,etc.If they write about sex and strictly mean sex,we have a word for that.Pornography.Thats not something we want to discuss in this class.Why?Before mid 20th c.,coded sex avoided censorshipCan function on multiple levelsCan be more intense than literal descriptions,If She Comes Up,Its
37、 Baptism,Drowning or not has profound implications,as do the means by which a character does or doesnt drown.On some level tossing characters into the river is(a)wish fulfillment,(b)exorcism of primal fear,(c)exploration of the possible,and not just(d)a handy solution to messy plot difficulties.Resc
38、ue might suggest passivity,good fortune,indebtedness.When a character is baptized,it means death,rebirth,and new identity.When a character drowns,they die.Every drowning,however,serves its own purpose:character revelation,thematic development of violence or failure or guilt,plot complication or deno
39、uement.,Geography Matters,Rivers,hills,valleys,buttes,steppes,glaciers,swamps,mountains,prairies,chasms,seas,islands,people.Literary geography is typically about humans inhabiting spaces,and at the same time the spaces that inhabit humans.Geography is setting,but its also(or can be)psychology,attitu
40、de,finance,industry anything that can forge in the people who live there.Low:swamps,crowds,fog,darkness,fields,heat,unpleasantness,people,life,death.High:snow,ice,purity,thin air,clear views,isolation,life,death.,So Does Season,Spring has to do with childhood and youthSummer with adulthood,romance,f
41、ulfillment and passionAutumn with decline and middle age and tiredness but also harvestWinter with old age and resentment and deathExample:The Wasteland by T.S.Eliot(first 9 lines example of irony),Irony Trumps Everything,Everything mentioned in these notes goes out the window when irony comes in th
42、e door.Irony doesnt work for everyone.Difficult to warm to,and hard for some to recognize which causes all sorts of problems.,One Story,There is only one story.On one level,everyone who writes anything knows that pure originality is impossible.Consider two concepts:One is intertextuality.The premise
43、 of intertextuality is that everythings connected.In other words,anything you write is connected to other written things.The second concept is archetype.“Archetype”is a five-dollar word for“pattern.”It develops from a story component a quest,a form of sacrifice,flight,a plunge into water.,Marked for
44、 Greatness,The hero of a story may be marked in some way.He may be scarred or lamed or wounded or painted or born with a short leg,but he bears some mark that sets him apart.There are also doubles and self-contained others,meaning that within each of us,no matter how civilized,lurk elements that wed
45、 really prefer not to acknowledge.Also,a hideous outer form may hide the beauty of the inner person.,Marked for Greatness,MonstersFrankensteinmonsters created through no fault of their own;the real monster is the makerFaustbargains with the devil in exchange for ones soulDr.Jekyll and Mr.Hydethe dua
46、l nature of humanity,that in each of us,no matter how well-made or socially groomed,a monstrous Other exists.Quasimodo,Beauty and the Beastugly on the outside,beautiful on the inside.The physical deformity reflects the opposite of the truth.,Hes Blind for a Reason,You Know,Physical blindness mirrors
47、 psychological,moral,intellectual(etc.)blindnessSometimes ironic;the blind see and sighted are blindMany times blindness is metaphorical,a failure to seereality,love,truth,etc.darkness=blindness;light=sight,Its Never Just Heart Disease,The afflicted character can have any number of problems for whic
48、h the heart disease provides a suitable emblem:bad love,loneliness,cruelty,pederasty,disloyalty,cowardice,lack of determination.Socially,it may stand for these matters on a larger scale,or for something seriously amiss at the heart of things.,And Rarely Just Illness,A prime literary disease should:b
49、e picturesque,be mysterious in origin,have strong symbolic or metaphorical possibilities.Real illnesses come with baggage,which can be useful or at least overcome in a novel.Tuberculosisa wasting diseasePhysical paralysis-can mirror moral,social,spiritual,intellectual,political paralysisPlague-divin
50、e wrath;the communal aspect of suffering on a large scale;the isolation and despair created by wholesale destruction;the puniness of humanity in the face of an indifferent natural worldMalaria:means literally“bad air”Venereal disease:reflects immorality OR innocence,when the innocent suffer because
