Analysis Of Thomas C. Foster

In “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, chapter 18, Foster speaks on the topic of rebirth and renewal. He says that when a character's body is submerged into a body of water there is a symbolic meaning behind it. If the character arises from the watery depths ,then there has been some form of transformation whether it be internal or external. This is actually one of my favorite motifs to speak on, or think about. It shows the change and development of a character, how they grow, and their thought process has changed. This stage of rebirth in a literary work is the background, or building blocks, to the character's new persona/attitude.

4. The next key words were identified in the chapter and serve as an informal outline of the chapter. At the beginning of the chapter, Foster gives a brief example of a quest: a knight (Kip), a dragon road (German shepherds), Holy Grail (wonder bread), one dragon (’68 ‘Cuda), evil knight (Tony) and a princess (the laughing girl). In other words, each story has a quester, a place to go to, along with stated reason to go there and unknown challenges and trials en route; however, at the end there is a real reason for the whole trip - self-discovery (Foster 3). The stated reason is

The first chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s guide to finding symbolism and motifs in literature, How To Read Literature Like a Professor, details the literary plot device of a quest and how to identify one in a novel. He introduces the chapter by explaining how a seemingly normal trip to the grocery store is a quest because it is structurally a quest. The hero, a boy named Kip, like every other hero in a quest, confronts various trials (his jealousy of another boy and his rejection by the girl he likes) in search of a “Holy Grail” (a loaf of bread). According to Foster, there are five components of a quest, all of which can be found in Kip’s story. The first structural component is the quester, or the character who is undertaking the quest, consciously or not. This character is known as the hero or heroine of the story, which in this case is Kip. The second and third elements are the “declared” purpose of the quest: a location that the hero must travel to and a reason to go there, which would be Kip’s search for a loaf of bread at the grocery store. Sometimes,

Thomas C. Foster utilizes various allusions and forms of symbolism to apply a multifaceted meaning or message to any piece of literature. In “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” Foster theorizes how an author can assist a reader in getting a better grip on the message or purpose of a work using figurative language including symbolism, tones, allusions, and techniques. The chapters “…Or the Bible”, “It’s Never Just Heart Disease”, and “Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion” all demonstrate how Foster’s theories can be applied to the way authors have written and will continue to write.

The five aspects of the quest are; (a) quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials, (e) and the real reason to go. I pick the play Oedipus the King by William Shakespeare. (a) The quester of this play would be Oedipus and is also the main character. (b) Oedipus left his parents and traveled to Thebes because he is trying make sure the oracle was wrong about his fate.(c) He left his hometown without his “parents” because the oracle told Oedipus that his fate is to kill his father and marry his mother. (d) Oedipus faces challenges when he gets to Thebes. When Oedipus first got to Thebes the Sphinx, a terrible monster, asked him to solve her riddle and he was able to solve it. Which freed Thebes of the

“The real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason” (Thomas Foster). A quester may not even know that they are on a quest. A quester gains self – knowledge on a quest. Additionally, a quester’s true reason of the quest may change throughout the story. Crispin, from Crispin: The Cross of Lead by AVI is a hero on a quest due to many factors.

In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonist Janie is on a quest throughout the novel because she overcomes difficulties in the form of social prejudice, sexism, and racism in order to achieve self-worth and self-knowledge. This directly corresponds with Foster’s criterion of the five essential components a quest involves.

The Odyssey recounts the legend of Odysseus, voyaging home from the Trojan War. After encountering many monsters and trials, he reaches home to destroy the threat of suitors that reside in his house. In culture, to teach lessons of moderation and humility physical desires are commonly shown to cause a downfall. Lack of control affects people in several instances, so by the end of a journey, the character is changed. Sating worldly desires may be satisfying at first, but reckless actions can lead to consequences later on.

I wonder why Mr. Foster or anyone involved in this development experiment would be happy to have humans mature faster. Because it sounds to me that the faster humans mature the more birth defects possible. In the book it says that in the result of maturing faster humans aren't as intelligent because they don’t get as much oxygen has a regular maturing human would get, and if there isn’t enough you can get dwarfs or even eyeless monsters. Which the department doesn’t want so I just wonder why they would risk the chance of not giving enough oxygen to get human to mature faster if there is a chance to have these bad birth defects. (115 words)

Stephen Collins Foster was born on July 4, 1826 by the Allegheny River in Lawrenceville, PA. Stephen was not a big fan of school, instead he preferred to indulge himself in music rather than other subjects. Stephen was tutored and then went to private academies in Pittsburgh and north-central Pennsylvania. He eventually became a well educated person for his day. Stephen was also very literate in music. It is said that he received his formal music training from a German immigrant, Henry Kleber. Henry Kleber was very accomplished and versatile and would eventually have a major influence on the musical life of Pittsburgh.

It has come to my attention that there seems to be some sort of rumor going around talking ill about my candidate, Brady Foster. And that very rumor would be that he has done some sort of sexual harassment around the office. This is a disgrace to talk ill towards my candidate for he has done none of the sort. It would seem that the information that you have received is misleading and a misunderstanding. For you can see, Brady Foster is an innocent patriotic man who is quite supportive around the work place. He is a very hand on kind of person, and though it may sound bad, it really is not. He is a man whom gives us the necessary pat on the back when we are down, shake up when we are having a moment of panic, and even give us the Heimlich maneuver

When examining various cultural myths, one archetype keeps repeating—the image of the quest. This archetype functions with various different mythologies as a method of learning about the world, both its external features and what is inside the self. The quest comes from ancient origins and is found in Classical Western culture, but has been fine tuned through the generations. In its most modern interpretations, there are continuing elements of the age old myth, where extenuating circumstances or hubris, place the hero in turmoil and needing to find an answer. Having additional sexual charges, it is clear that through the quest, adulthood is not only reached but embraced. This answer represents a completeness of being,

In chapter 25 of Foster’s novel, he states that books were written in a time period and that period affected how the book was written. A person that wrote a book during the civil war does not have the same perspective of a 2015 teenager. Foster explains that the reader must enter the perspective of the author and how the book is written. The perspective must fit in with the history of the story. It also must understand that the book may have been written against the society of the world at the time or the culture it was written in. As readers, Foster tells us that we must recognize the values of what is written in the story. However, he also tells us that as readers we do not have to accept and follow the values that the stories represent,

Beginning with the character of Oedipus, while the physical journey lasts the course of a day, his mental journey originates at his own birth, where his own internal passage spans all the way back to his origin. The conflict that arises from the circumstances surrounding this lead into the encompassing self-tribulation that will be the theme of his journey, with his inner shifting subconsciousness affecting the outer events of his journey. The journey’s catalyst was his decision to seek the murderer of the prior king, leading into his confrontation with the elderly seer and planting the first seeds of doubt. Going from his assuredness in addressing the people prior, we now have insight to the depths of his pride at even the slightest hint that all is not well with his identity, progressing him in having to turn his search inwardly and preparing

The deviance from detective rules contributes to the chaotic nature and disordered society Oedipa is living in. For instance, of the novels read this quarter, all included an answer to a crime or a solution to a mystery. Characters like Phillip Marlowe and even Robert Reun are able to string together events and clues, a staple of detective fiction. Oedipa is the one detective who doesn’t find answers, as Pynchon writes, “Either Trystero did exist, in its own right, or it was being presumed, perhaps fantasied by Oedipa, so hung up on and interpenetrated with the dead man's estate” (88). The question regarding whether the Tristero is real or not continues throughout the narrative, never having a definite answer. Additionally, S.S. Van Dine writes on detective stories, “The truth of the problem must be at all times apparent…” (“Some Notes on Poe”) This, of course, is not true in the Crying of Lot 49, because both Oedipa and the reader aren’t sure if the Tristero is imagined or reality. Therefore, the unsolvable case and its questionability reinforces themes of confusion and craziness within Oedipa’s world. The more she tries to establish order, more questions emerge, drastically differing from most detective rules and