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Thomas C. Foster
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Thomas C. Foster
How to Use This Blog
The purpose of this blog is to assist you in the analysis of your summer reading assignment for AP English. As you are reading and annotating How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, you will be required to post your study guide responses for each chapter for a minimum of 25 posts. Additionally, you should try to avoid repeating your classmate's examples; therefore, those who wait to complete the blog assignment will have a more difficult time trying to find creative and original examples. If you do utilize the same example, you must expand and look at the work in a different perspective. Finally, you will need to respond to at least five other individuals' posts. Aim for 100-200 words per response for each post, depending on the type of question you are asked to answer. Focus on facts and specific details in the novel/movie rather than making judgments or summarizing. Pay attention to the movies/TV shows you are watching and think about novels you have read. These ideas will hopefully help everyone think outside the box and dig deeper. I'm looking for the WOW factor!
Blog Archive
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2009
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May
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- Introduction: How'd He Do That?
- Chapter 1 - Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It'...
- Chapter 2 - Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion
- Chapter 3 - Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
- Chapter 4 - If It's Square, It's a Sonnet
- Chapter 5 - Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?
- Chapter 6 - When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare ...
- Chapter 7 - ... Or the Bible
- Chapter 8 - Hanseldee and Greteldum
- Chapter 9 - It's Greek to Me
- Chapter 10 - It's More Than Just Rain or Snow
- Interlude - Does He Mean That
- Chapter 11 - ... More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: C...
- Chapter 12 - Is That a Symbol?
- Chapter 13 - It's All Political
- Chapter 14 - Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
- Chapter 15 - Flights of Fancy
- Chapter 16 - It's All About Sex; Chapter 17 - ......
- Chapter 18 - If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
- Chapter 19 - Geography Matters...
- Chapter 20 - ... So Does Season
- Interlude - One Story
- Chapter 21 - Marked for Greatness
- Chapter 22 - He's Blind for a Reason, You Know; C...
- Chapter 25 - Don't Read with Your Eyes
- Chapter 26 - Is He Serious? And Other Ironies
- Chapter 27 - A Test Case
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May
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25 comments:
The five aspects of a quest are; (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route such as a dragon or dark knight, (e) a real reason to go there. Though this structure may be more obvious in certain literary works and less obvious in others, it is almost always the structure of a quest. Because of the infinite examples of this in literature, i thought i would pick my favorite book, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
(a) The quester is the protagonist of the story and the character for which the story was named, the orphan, Oliver twist. (b) The place to go, for Oliver, changes throughout the book but usually involves going to London or getting away from those who abuse him. (c) He thinks he is doing this in order to eat and acheive freedom and not be opressed anymore. That would be considered the stated reason for his quest. (d) Oliver's troubles and trials along the road are numerous. And the "Dark Knight" roll changes from time to time but was primarily filled by Bill Sikes, Fagin, or Monks. And if you want to throw a dragon in there too, you could count Sike's dog, Bull's-eye. (e) In the end, it is discovered that the real reason for Oliver's quest is, as it should be, self knowledge. He, being an orphan, knew nothing about his family. During the resolution of the book he discovers his mother's sister, his aunt. Also, through all his abuse, he believed that nobody could love or care for him. However in the end, he discovered Mr. Brownlow, who loved and cared for Oliver as a son.
A quest consists of five things: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go,(c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route and (e) a real reason to go there. This quest formula is followed in most literature works, and I find The Odyssey to be a prime example of a quest. (a) Odysseus is the quester and also the main character of the novel. (b) Odysseus is headed home from a ten year military expedition. (c) He is coming home to ruinite with his beloved wife and son. (d) Many challenges hinder Odysseus from getting home; the cyclops, sirens, poseidon, calypso, the scylla and a few more. (e) Odysseus' quest was not only to ruinite with his family, but to discover his true self as well. Throughout the early pages of the book, Odysseus is full of greed and strives for glory. Even with defeating the dreaded cyclops, Odysseus boasts and reveals his identity, casting him and his crew to a rough voyage home curdisy of poseidon (the cyclops' father). Towards the end of the book Odysseus takes on a whole new personality; he is more humble and noble. He gets disguised as a beggar and indures the shame and humilation for the sake of seeing his family,not for pride. He learns the lesson of family is more important then money or fame.
When talking about quest, a person is referring to five aspects. These five aspects are; (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials, (e) the real reason to go. Nearly every story revolves around the idea of quest. It is the structure of most stories. The Seret Life of Bees is a book that uses quest incredibly well. (a) The quester is a teenage girl named Lily Owens who doesn't get along with her father and has no mother because she accidentally shot her when she was younger. As the story progresses, Lily's "stand-in mother", Rosaleen, gets into some trouble. Lily decides that they need to leave town and travel to Tiburon, South Carolina, the name of a town on the back of one of Lily's Mother's belongings. This is (b) a place to go. (c) The reason to go to Tiburon is so Lily can discover more about her mother and so Rosaleen is safe. Lily also has no reason to stay at her home because she is miserable there and her father doesn't treat her very nicely. (d) On their way to Tiburon, Rosaleen and Lily run into some challenges and trials. They have nothing with them so they have to wonder how they will eat, where they will go once they reach their destination, where they will sleep, etc. (e) Towards the end of the book, the reader discovers the real reason for traveling to Tiburon. Not only did Lily travel to find more about her mother but she also needed to find herself and that is exactly what she accomplished. She learned about her mother and for the first time in her life had a motherly figure. Therefore combining all of the aspects of quest in one story.
The five aspects of a quest, as presented by Thomas C. Foster:
• A quester
• A place to go
• A stated reason to go there
• Challenges and trials
• The real reason to go
I have chosen to apply these aspects to the Eragon series (or, more properly named, the Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini.
1). The 'quester' is Eragon, a boy in his mid-teens who lived with his uncle and cousin before leaving to go questing.
2). Eragon is fleeing from the village of Carvahall, his home, due to the fact that some dark figures are after him because a dragon egg hatched from him.
3). His goal as he leaves is to find the ra’zac (the afore-mentioned antagonists) and avenge his uncle’s death.
4). Eragon has to deal with all sorts of trouble before he takes on the ra’zac (which doesn’t actually occur until the third book). He endures the death of an old man who became his mentor and very close friend, does battle with various monstrous characters, saves a mountain full of dwarves and men in a monumental battle, puts up with the oh-so-frustrating shenanigans of a jealous elf, gets creamed by a family member who has been twisted by dark magic, and many other unpleasant (to say the least) 'challenges and trials.'
5). Unbeknownst to Eragon, Paolini’s plan for Eragon as he left home was not to avenge his uncle right away (or even very close to the exposition at all). Rather, Paolini has Eragon learn about his foibles, overcome a great deal of these personal weaknesses, develop some talents that he didn’t know he had, and all-in-all, learn more about himself than he ever knew there was to learn. Eventually, Eragon does complete his original designated quest, but by then he learns that there is so much more that he is fated to do.
In literary works, quests consist of five aspects: (1)a quester, (2) a place for the quester to go, (3)a stated reason for the quester to go there, (4) challenges and trials on the journey to that place, and (5) the true reason to go. Even though many have not paid attention to it, every great story follows this pattern. A person seeks to find something that will change or fulfill their lives, but during their quest, a more significant quest is achieved. One of my personal favorite books is A Walk to Remember. (1)The quester in this story is Jamie, a girl that was diagnosed with leukemia. (2)Jamie's place to go was not exactly a place to go, but she had goals that she wished to accomplish before the she died. (3) The stated reason for Jamie to complete these goals was to prove to herself she lived a religious, happy, and successful life. Also, she wanted to make her dad proud.(4) The challenges and trials Jamie faced were the people in her life and the reality of death. A rebel boy named Landon began to fall in love with Jamie; however, Jamie's dad, a pastor, strongly disapproved of their relationship. Also, Jamie was ridiculed for her faith and her wardrobe. Things become even tougher when she falls one day and figures out her leukemia is getting worse and her time is running out. (5) The true reason for her to be living was not to finish all of her goals, but it was to inspire and change Landon's life for the better. Because of Jamie, Landon was inspired to become a better person that would follow a path of success and love. Jamie did achieve the goals she thought was her life purpose, but she also achieved a much larger quest which was her true calling.
The five aspects of a quest include: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e)a real reason to go there. Almost every literary work consists of a quest, some more obvious than others. An example of a quest is displayed in the movie, Bride Wars.
Quester(s): two best friends, Emma and Liv, have always shared the same wedding dream since childhood.
A place to go: the Plaza hotel where both yearn to hold their perfect June weddings.
A stated reason to go there: to have their dream wedding.
Challenges and trials en route: both weddings are mistakenly booked on the same day. The best friends fight each other to have the better wedding. Liv's hair ends up turning blue and she can't fit into her wedding dress. Emma turns orange after a tanning incident and can't hire the band she wanted for her wedding cause Liv already booked them for hers.
Real Reason to go there: After all the wedding drama Liv and Emma learn to forgive each other and their friendship becomes even stronger than it was before. They learn how much they need each other in their lives and learn to appreciate each other more.
The five aspects of a quest are; (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, (e) a real reason to go there.
I will be comparing this to a personal movie favorite of mine, Shrek.
(a)Quester: Shrek is an ogre that lives in a swamp by himself until one day Lord Farquaad takes it from him.
(b)A place to go: The destination for Shrek and his tag along partner Donkey is a castle to rescue Princess Fiona.
(c)A stated reason to go there: The stated reason is that if Shrek can rescue Princess Fiona and bring her back to Lord Farquaad then Shrek would be able to get his swamp back and resume his life as it was.
(d)Challenges and Trials en route: There are many of these along Shrek's path to the castle and back. When Shrek and Donkey arive at the castle it is a very large castle and they have to get into it and save Princess Fiona. While doing so they are attacked by a ferocious dragon that nearly kills them until the dragon falls in love with Donkey. More challenges include the trip back to DuLoc and Shrek struggles with his feelings for Fiona that he begins to develop.
(e)The real reason to go there: It started off as a trip so Shrek could get his swamp back and resume his life of loneliness. But Shrek realizes that he is no longer happy alone and he falls in love with Fiona and becomes good friends with Donkey. Shrek discovers himself in his journey and once the movie is over then he is truly happy with life, because he has someone he loves and a good friend. Shrek is a changed ogre.
A quest consists of five things: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is an excellent example of a quest.
1 – Our quester: Guy Montag
2 – Place to go: Home
3 – Stated reason to go there: Montag finished working
4 – Challenges and trials: Montag runs into a very strange girl named Clarisse McClellan. She talks to Montag and bombards him with questions about his life. Montag finds this extremely annoying at the time.
5 – Real reason to go there: The point to his journey from work to home was to meet Clarisse. He begins to reflect on the questions he was asked. She asks the question that starts the story (Are you happy?). Montag realizes that he isn’t happy with any aspect of his life. Without this important quest, the novel wouldn’t have been able to start so smoothly.
The five aspects of the quest are: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, (e) a real reason to go there.
The book Holes by Louis Sachar is a wonderful example of a quest. There’s…
a.) a quester- The main character in the book is Stanley Yelnats.
b.) a place to go- He is sent to Camp Green Lake.
c.) a stated reason to go there- He is sent because he is found guilty for stealing a pair of shoes and has the choice of jail or Camp Green Lake for 18 months.
d.) challenges and trials en route- Stanley struggles first and for most with his family curse. He always happens to be at the wrong place and the wrong time.
e.) a real reason to go there- As Foster writes in his book, “The real reason for quest is always self-knowledge” (3). Little did Stanley Yelnats know there was once a town on what was called Camp Green Lake. It contained a buried treasure that belonged to he himself. All his life he thought his family curse would never be broken, but once he made it to the top of “God’s Thumb” it was put to an end. He went from extremely poor to tremendously rich.
The five aspects a quest consists of are: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there. Almost all literary works as well as movies follow these guidelines for a quest. I have chosen to use The Lord of the Rings Series. (a) The quester is a hobbit named Frodo Baggins. (b) The place to go is Mount Doom. (c) The stated reason is to destroy the ring in Mount Doom. (d) The challenges Frodo must face include orcs as well as his own obsession with the ring. (e) The real reason aside from destroying the ring is for Frodo to form a strong with the rest of the fellowship of the ring. Frodo also must conquer his own inner demons and obsession with the ring. Frodo completes his original quest and saves everyone in Middle Earth as well as forming a bond with the rest of the fellowship.
According to Foster, the five aspects of the Quest are (a.) the quester, (b.) a place to go, (c.) a stated reason to go there, (d.) the challenges and trials our quester will face on their journey, and (e.) a reason to go there. From the beginnings of the written word to present day, the Quest has always been a common theme favored by authors, sceenwriters, and playwrights alike. In one of the most viewed movies in the whole world, The Wizard of Oz, this theme is just as visible. Don’t get me wrong, though filmed in Technicolor, The Wizard of Oz is black and white when it comes to the specifics, so much so that it provides a great starting point for those who are beginning to understand this theme.
(a.) The Quester: The young, innocent, and naïve Dorothy of Kansas who is whisked away to the Land of Oz during a tornado. One could argue that the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion are also questers, and in a sense they are because they too gain self-knowledge, but in the end it is really Dorothy’s story and gain that are most important to the film.
(b.) A Place to Go: Upon her arrival in Oz, Dorothy finds out that the only person who can get her back to Oz is The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz in The Emerald City and the only way to get there is to follow The Yellow Brick Road (a.k.a. her path).
(c.) A Stated Reason to Go There: Dorothy wants to get home and get back to Auntie Em.
(d.) Challenges and Trials: As everyone knows, when Dorothy touched-down in Oz, her house fell upon and killed The Wicked Witch of the East leaving Glinda the Good to place the famed ruby slippers in the care of Dorothy’s feet, making The Wicked Witch of the West less than delighted. Once Dorothy started down the Yellow Brick Road, she met and joined the company of the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion as well as the pleasure of having many encounters with the Wicked Witch of the West and her many evil doings such as the poppy field and setting the scarecrow aflame, not to mention or forget the Lollipop Guild, an array of shrill voiced munckins, and the crabby apple trees. When she gets to the Emerald City she must deal with The Wizard himself as well as take on the mission of killing The Wicked Witch of the West. Plus, she also faces the sudden despair and loss of hope that she will never get home again when The Wizard accidently takes off by himself.
(e.) The Real Reason to Go: Dorothy’s real reason to go on the Quest is just that of Odysseus: to go home. Though in most stories with a quest the message, the main character’s self-knowledge, and the original reason for going on the Quest aren’t combined, this is the story, and the only story I know of that does just that. Even though Dorothy remained ignorant throughout the entire Quest (a trait most writers would have frowned upon or altogether avoided) and needed much help coming to her conclusion (suggesting she is the stupidest quester ever created), it is she who realizes “There is no place like home” as well as its importance to her and her experience.
A quest consists of five things, which are: (a) quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there. These five things are almost always followed by every quest that appears in literature, no matter how great or insignificant the quest is. I find that The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is a prime example of a book that shows these five things in a quest. (a) The quester is the main character, Henry Fleming, who is a young boy who decides he wants to be in the war. He enlists in the Union Army, and will soon find out that war isn’t everything it’s made out to be. (b) The place to go for Henry changes as his regiment changes camps and goes into battle. Henry originally just wanted to go to war, but he later realizes that his main goal is to make it back to camp. (c) Henry’s stated reason to go there is to get into the action of the war. He has read about the great Greek struggles and wishes to become a hero. (d) Henry faces many challenges on his path to finally reaching a battle. He is drilled hard in camp continuously, and he starts to wonder if his regiment will ever see a battle after many months at camp. He talks to an enemy one night while on guard, and realizes he is an ordinary kid like himself. He wonders how he will ever kill someone and if he will actually fight in a battle or run. He runs from the first battle he encounters. He sees one of the guys from his regiment die on the road, and he runs from another guy that is about to die. He then meets up with a regiment that is retreating, and a soldier hits him on the head with a rifle. He rejoins his regiment later at camp, and is ashamed that he ran from the battle. (e) Henry’s real reason to go to war is self knowledge. He has no idea what kind of person he is. He doesn’t know what he will do when faced with an actual battle. He gradually gains knowledge of himself as he fights as part of his regiment and not as a single soldier. By the end of the book, Henry realizes that he isn’t a hero and that he is only a man like the rest of the soldiers. Henry is satisfied with who he is by the end of the book.
Travis - What a fun example of a quester and his quest! It proves true most characters have a "real reason" for going on a journey. Even an ogre can fall in love!
The five aspects of QUEST are a) the quester, b) a place to go, c) the stated reason to go, d) the challenges and trials along the way, and e) the real reason to go. Many literary works follow this pattern, though some vary. The literary work I chose is Arthur Golden’s novel Memoirs of a Geisha. Though the connection to a quest may be harder to find in this novel, it is very much there.
a) the quester would be our main character Nitta Sayuri. b) the place to go is Kyoto, from Yoroido. c) the stated reason for sayuri to go was she was sold to another family, so she had to. d) the challenges in which she faced was separation from her sister along the way, having to do all the work for her new family, being treated like dirt by her older step sister, getting caught running away, having to take the blame for things her step sister did, her step sister forcing her to do horrible things, and trying to keep the fact that she’d fallen in love with someone a secret because in a Geisha house you could not love or marry. e) now the real reason for her to go would be live a better life and have a purpose. Sayuri wasn’t aware that her mother was on the brink of death as was her father, so her father sold both her and her sister in hope that they would find a better life and be happy. Even when she got to the Geisha house as a young girl, she strived hard to make something of herself so she was no longer treated like dirt in her family. Sayuri ended up being the most valuable Geisha ever, and found happiness in the end when her Geisha days ended and she could marry the man she fell in love with as a young girl.
The five aspects of a quest are;
(a) a quester
(b) a place to go
(c) a stated reason to go there
(d) challenges and trails en route such as a dragon or dark night
(e) a real reason to go there
Every novel or movie follows these five aspects in one way or another. The movie, Mulan, is a great example of a quest.
(a) The quester is Mulan, the daughter of a wounded father that is called to war.
(b) The place to go is to the army. She must take the place of her father to fight the Huns that have invaded.
(c) She is the only child of her family and one man from each family must go to war and fight.
(d) First off Mulan is a woman and women cannot fight in war. She steals her father’s armor and cuts her hair. She then steals the family horse and goes to camp. She is followed by the family guardian, a dishonored dragon, Mushu. When her army runs into the Huns in a mountain pass they are greatly out numbered. Mulan has the idea to shot cannon and causes an avalanche. During this time her captain almost dies but she saves his life. She gets hit with an arrow and her true identity is revealed. The captain spares her life because she saved his. She is told to return home, however she sees some Huns emerging from the snow. She goes into the city to warn the army and the emperor. She then helps the army to defeat and kill the Huns. In the end Mulan is honored by the emperor. She then returns home to her family.
(e) When Mulan's quest starts she is at the match makers, but she is told that she is a disgrace and will never find a match. She goes on a quest to find herself after feeling that she is not living up to her expectations. Also, she plays a major role in Mushu becoming an honored ancestor again. Mulan is told by her father "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all".
A quest consists of five parts: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to got there. This type of structure is sometimes hard to recognize, but it holds true to most situations. In the most recent novel that I have read, this structure is almost the entire story. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, (a) McMurphy, the quester, comes to the (b) asylum where most of the story takes place. (c) He says that he is there to get out of work and win money from the people in the asylum through cards. While he is at the asylum, several things try to break his spirit. They are (d) the Big Nurse (who is in charge of the asylum), the staff, other people in the asylum, and the "machines" on the asylum. In the end, (e) his reason for being in the asylum was to help the others see that the Big Nurse was controlling them and that they needed to loosen up and get out, which he also aids them in.
good job collin, this is one of the easy ones, but you seem to be starting a little late dont you?
Travis, good job on elaborating on each aspect of a quest. I have a serious question though, what's up with all the Shrek examples in this post and later posts?
Travis – Although I’m still mad at you for beating me to the Shrek idea, I must admit, you did a good job. I’m glad you chose to do the Shrek for this blog. You covered each aspect of a quest much better than I would have for the movie. Your post proves Foster right. Every story, even ones about ogres, can contain a quest.
Garret - Nice job really going into to detail, so we can see the trials and tribulations the character must face to reach his true quest.
Holly - Great movie, trying to find time to actually read the novel. Nice job explaining what happened to the characters. What else does she learn about herself though from all of her struggles?
Collin - Using the summer reading novel was a good idea and many can see the quest that you mentioned. While McMurphy taught the other patients to stand up for themselves, what did he learn about himself?
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