Quintan Jackson
Mrs. Mary Smith
Ap Literature
September 20th
How to read literature like a Professor
First Foster starts out by discussing the quest motif, telling us that this feature is often one of the more fundamental conventions of literature. The use of the quest of the can be gauged by the fact that it is associated with any trip or journey described in a text or undertaken by a character. Foster defends this position first by laying out in broad terms the stages that make up a quest, and then describing how any significant trip written about is simply a modification or form of these basic stages. Typical perceptions of a quest involve a knight, a dangerous path, a Holy Grail, a dragon, an evil knight, and a princess. After these …show more content…
For example Foster cites James Joyce's "The Dead," particularly the dinner scene where the family gathers for a holiday meal. So as to appreciate the true significance of the meal itself, the reader should consider it from the perspective of Aunts Kate and Julia for whom the meal is not only of religious significance, but a time of extravagance that enables them to hold on to a fading gentility and memories of the more luxurious comforts of the middle class. Foster also describes the prevailing and even dominating effect of literary irony. If a text is written in an ironic mode, than any symbolism, associations, or traditional uses of meaning go out the window. If the text explicitly discusses a journey or quest, for instance, a literary convention that suggests growth, self-knowledge etc., but at the same time makes use of irony, then one should expect the "quest" to meaning anything but that Often the works we enjoy the most are ones that resonate most with us - literary analysis is a way of understanding how texts can be resonant for others. Such an understanding can in turn enable students to identify with works in novel ways, ultimately fostering appreciation of the work in question, and hopefully for the literary tradition as a
Mrs. Mary Smith
Ap Literature
September 20th
How to read literature like a Professor
First Foster starts out by discussing the quest motif, telling us that this feature is often one of the more fundamental conventions of literature. The use of the quest of the can be gauged by the fact that it is associated with any trip or journey described in a text or undertaken by a character. Foster defends this position first by laying out in broad terms the stages that make up a quest, and then describing how any significant trip written about is simply a modification or form of these basic stages. Typical perceptions of a quest involve a knight, a dangerous path, a Holy Grail, a dragon, an evil knight, and a princess. After these …show more content…
For example Foster cites James Joyce's "The Dead," particularly the dinner scene where the family gathers for a holiday meal. So as to appreciate the true significance of the meal itself, the reader should consider it from the perspective of Aunts Kate and Julia for whom the meal is not only of religious significance, but a time of extravagance that enables them to hold on to a fading gentility and memories of the more luxurious comforts of the middle class. Foster also describes the prevailing and even dominating effect of literary irony. If a text is written in an ironic mode, than any symbolism, associations, or traditional uses of meaning go out the window. If the text explicitly discusses a journey or quest, for instance, a literary convention that suggests growth, self-knowledge etc., but at the same time makes use of irony, then one should expect the "quest" to meaning anything but that Often the works we enjoy the most are ones that resonate most with us - literary analysis is a way of understanding how texts can be resonant for others. Such an understanding can in turn enable students to identify with works in novel ways, ultimately fostering appreciation of the work in question, and hopefully for the literary tradition as a