Katy Van Zandt
Mrs. Mary Smith
AP Literature
20 September 2017 How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Analysis!
In the book ‘How to Read Literature Like a Professor’, Thomas C. Foster uses examples of literary devices such as theme, symbols, and irony to give us the tools we need to succeed in analyzing literature on a deeper level. He also incorporates the importance of theme throughout the entire book, by addressing it in almost every chapter. He includes the importance of symbols in literature and helps us establish a base for interpreting them in text. While doing this, he also stresses the literary significance of irony.
In his first chapter Foster starts the book off by discussing theme. in this chapter ‘Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)’, he talks about the theme of quests and what that means for not only the character is going to go through but, the storyline in general. He talks about what exactly a quest entails. He starts his explanation with, “the quest consists of 5 things: a) a quester”, he …show more content…
First is dramatic irony, which is where the reader or audience knows something about the character that the character themselves doesn’t know. For this he used an example of Oedipus a character in Greek mythology. The story involves a young boy who is kicked out of his home when his father learns that he is to be killed by Oedipus. After growing up, Oedipus does end up killing his own father, due to the precautions that his father took in order to avoid that exact scenario: Irony. He also discusses situational irony, where the situation turns out different than expected. He uses the example of Alex from Clockwork Orange and how he was a sadist and as a result of his violent acts, the government executes him publicly, turning him into a martyr. Finally, he discusses verbal irony, or when the character does or says something
Mrs. Mary Smith
AP Literature
20 September 2017 How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Analysis!
In the book ‘How to Read Literature Like a Professor’, Thomas C. Foster uses examples of literary devices such as theme, symbols, and irony to give us the tools we need to succeed in analyzing literature on a deeper level. He also incorporates the importance of theme throughout the entire book, by addressing it in almost every chapter. He includes the importance of symbols in literature and helps us establish a base for interpreting them in text. While doing this, he also stresses the literary significance of irony.
In his first chapter Foster starts the book off by discussing theme. in this chapter ‘Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)’, he talks about the theme of quests and what that means for not only the character is going to go through but, the storyline in general. He talks about what exactly a quest entails. He starts his explanation with, “the quest consists of 5 things: a) a quester”, he …show more content…
First is dramatic irony, which is where the reader or audience knows something about the character that the character themselves doesn’t know. For this he used an example of Oedipus a character in Greek mythology. The story involves a young boy who is kicked out of his home when his father learns that he is to be killed by Oedipus. After growing up, Oedipus does end up killing his own father, due to the precautions that his father took in order to avoid that exact scenario: Irony. He also discusses situational irony, where the situation turns out different than expected. He uses the example of Alex from Clockwork Orange and how he was a sadist and as a result of his violent acts, the government executes him publicly, turning him into a martyr. Finally, he discusses verbal irony, or when the character does or says something