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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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18 comments:
Well since it been using books for most of my previous blogs, I have decided to incorporate some good film literature and use The Matrix for my example. Our curious protagonist, Mr. Anderson, is approached my some shady figures promising answers. He, being his intuitive self decides to listen to their little explanation for life. Morpheus promises to show Mr. Anderson (who these shady figures call him Neo) the truth, if only he would take the red pill and see how far the rabbit hole goes. (And might i add that i am a fan of Morpheus' very cliché Alice in Wonderland allusion.) Neo takes the red pill and starts tripping out on whatever the pill did to him. Next thing he sees is the inside of this little pod with wires attached to him. The wires are snapped off and he is ejected from his fluid filled pod into the sewer below. he is completely submerged in water. Neo, being weak and unable to support his own body weight by nature of the story, cannot swim and is therefore helpless. he is pulled forth from the water by a giant mechanical claw to be resurrected and given new birth. He is then brought aboard the ship that is crewed by the shady figures from his past life. They care for him and nurse him back to strength, much like a baby at the hospital being born for the first time. It's time for a short recap before we move forward. First he is at his old life, living as Mr. Anderson. Next he is met by shady figures who walk him through this process to land him completely submerged in a sewer. next he is resurrected into this new world surrounded by new people who know him as Neo. The name change is an apparent sign of an identity change, and of him becoming a whole different character completely. With that his personality is altered and he evolves from Mr. Anderson, a timid true believer in "the system" to Neo, the bold one who is sent to end the system completely. He also makes the biggest transformation of all from being a loner in his previous life to being a leader with the hope of a whole people upon him.
In chapter 10, Foster writes about how weather is significant in many literary works. I used the example of Heathcliff running away while it’s storming and Katherine going crazy and sitting outside in the rain. I also talked about how when Heathcliff was walking out in the rain, it changed him into a better person, kind of like a baptism. I am going to use this example again because the water on Heathcliff really does signify something besides him just getting wet. I used to think it represented his bad temper and undignified character being washed away but at this time I hadn’t read that far into the book. Now I believe that when Heathcliff was running away in this storm, the metaphoric chain that Catherine had around him, was washed away. He always listened to her, respected what she did, and followed her every command. When he comes back two or so years later, his attitude towards her looks like it would be the same, but this is not true. Katherine’s sister-in-law is in love with Heathcliff. Katherine just being her rude, impetuous self, decides she will mock Miss Linton for loving Heathcliff. Katherine says that he will never love her back and they will never become of anything and just because she says this, everyone expects her demands to be met. Previously in the book, Heathcliff wouldn’t have had thoughts about Miss Linton unless Katherine allowed him to. But now, after he has been somewhat “baptized” his demeanor towards her is changed and Katherine catches Heathcliff getting close with Miss Linton in the garden. Once again, it’s hard to believe that one little rainstorm can change a person’s whole outlook.
Fahrenheit 451 is not only about burning, its also about rebirth. Guy Montag is in the midst of his rebellion, and a tracking dog is sent after him. Guy get some clothes from Faber and heads off toward the river. Once Guy reaches the river, he jumps in. He quickly loses his clothes and puts on the new pair Faber gave him. Guy comes out on the other side somewhere down the river. This baptismic scene represents Montags rebirth. He was stripped of his previous life, (clothes and all) and started fresh somewhere new (the otherside of the river). Guy had a new life ahead of him from that point on. Being "baptised" is fresh start. Montag can now lead the life he always wanted, being a free man from the over powering government.
In the beginning of the novel, Fahrenheit 451, Montag is viewed as a law abiding citizen who doesn’t second guess why his world is the way it is and just lives his life day by day. One evening Montag walks home with the neighborhood’s presumed ‘crazy’ girl, Clarisse, through the rain. The rain is a type of baptism for Montag because Clarisse makes him stop and notice things that he’s never realized were there before. Clarisse also asks Montag very thought provoking questions that Montag doesn’t quite know how to answer. Clarisse leaves Montag walking home in the rain pondering her last asked question, “Are you really happy?” After that walk in the rain, Montag realizes that he is not happy with his life at all. He doesn’t love his suicidal wife as much as he thought he really did, and he suddenly realizes that he has always hated his job as a fireman. He begins to make drastic changes in his life, such as breaking the law and reading books, quitting his job at the fire department, and, finally, trying to instill books into a future generation so that books will always live on, even if that means in secret.
If you remember back to my entry in Chapter 10 you’ll remember this statement: “The Joads will always be doomed to starting over again though they will forever hold on to the hope that this fact isn’t true.” By the end of The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads begin yet another new life through their baptism in the flood waters.
While beginning to escape their boxcar to flee to higher ground, the members of the Joad family entered the flood waters without any possessions besides the clothes on their backs. As they first stepped into the water they thought of all they had lost and everything they were going to lose (their vehicle, the boxcar, the possessions they could not carry) but soon after and as they waded and trekked through the water they could only focus on the task at hand as well as themselves and the other family members. When they all emerged from the water, they were washed away of their past lives and began anew, thus baptizing them. They no longer cared about their vehicle, the boxcar, the fear that they may not have jobs by the time the flood cleared, and even left the memories of those in the family who had left for one reason or another, for the good of fellow men as in the case of Tom Joad or for the grave as did the baby, Grandma, and Grandpa Joad, slip back to the far corners of their minds. When a baby or new life is born, their only need is to have a place in the world with people who will care and provide nourishment for them, even if that child is in the cruelest place imaginable, and that’s just what the Joads did after they were baptized and understood that they were equals and companions in the troubles that they knew would soon test them even without consciously knowing it. Even if the Joads are doomed to forever try to start anew, at least they are those who know how to survive from the beginning.
When I think of a “baptism scene”, I think of the Bourne Ultimatum. Jason Bourne starts to remember how he came to be the person he is. He remembers his training. It shows him being dunked into a tank of water. They do this repeatedly to him until he changes and takes on the new ways that he needs to for the job. This is symbolic of a baptism in the way that he is a changed person afterward. Jason Bourne wasn’t Jason Bourne before the baptism; he was just a normal person. After the baptism, he took on a new name, Jason Bourne, and he became a tool for the government. His job was to assassinate anyone the U.S. government wanted dead without asking questions. He agrees to anything that they want him to. Before the baptism, he was hesitant to do the things that they wanted him to do.
As soon as I hear the term baptism, I immediately think of the bible, so I have chosen the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale. Before Jonah was thrown to the big fish, he was given a task to travel to Nineveh to speak to the wicked city. Instead of obeying God’s command, he decided to try to run away from God on a boat. Storms arose while Jonah and the rest of the crew were at sea. Jonah knew God sent the storm, and the only way the winds would stop was if he was thrown into the treacherous waves. Once the storm became life threatening, the crew decided to throw Jonah out into the sea. They all watched as Jonah struggled to swim and then get swallowed by a whale. During the time Jonah was stuck in the belly of the big fish, he became aware of his own selfishness, cowardice, and disloyalty to God. After three days, Jonah was freed from inside the stomach. He was symbolically reborn again following the incident, so when he was thrown into the sea he was baptized. Once back on shore, he went to the city of Nineveh to preach. Jonah was no longer a selfish coward; he was a confident obedient servant of God. This baptism scene was a rebirth of a person.
While a baptism usually involves water, it is not necessary. It can imply a name change. This type of baptism is evident in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although destined to be the king of Gondor Aragorn simply goes by strider at the beginning of the first movie and everyone thinks he is just a creepy, mysterious character who is trying to help out Frodo with his task. He later reveals himself as Aragorn yet he still does not except his role as king, even though the other soldiers give him more respect because he is the rightful king. The first time he actually accepts his role is when he goes to the ghost king and presents himself as Aragorn king of Gondor and heir to Isildor. This lets him command the ghost army and lead Gondor to victory over the orcs. Although his name may not have changed he added the title of king to his name which meant that he learned that he must fulfill his duties as king and save Middle Earth.
Baptisms change people, although they may not always be in ways that we have in mind. In the novel "Hatchet" the plane Brian is in crashes into a lake. He almost drowns and dies on his way to the shore, and I feel like this changed him. He knew immediately that he had to survive. He went from a young boy on the way to see his family to a hardened man that had survived int he wilderness. I believe his near drowning helped to start this transformation. He used his instincts and what he knew to survive that crash and to get to safety, which he would soon have to rely on to survive as long as he did. He changed after the crash and he would never be the same because of it.
When reading the criteria for this blog, the first thing that came to mind was the movie A Walk To Remember. This movie starts out with a group of friends trespassing on some factories property. They dare the newest member of the group to climb up this water tower and jump into the water. Once the boy jumps he lands on the pipe just below the water, he comes up unconscious. The former member of the group, Landon Carter, jumps in after him and gets him ashore. Once he does the security comes and all the members of the group begin to flee. Just when you think he is going to be the only kid to stay with the hurt boy, he too runs. Since he decides to leave at the last minute he is the only one caught and forced to pay the consequences. Rather then expelling him his school makes him join after school activities and do community service hours. As you would probably already assume Landon’s not a well-behaved kid and tends to get himself in trouble. One of his after school activities is being part of the school play. He gets the lead part along with Mary. Mary is a girl who is the complete opposite of him and does not fit in. Long story short, the two of them fall in love. Mary has cancer and is scheduled to day anytime. She also has a list of goals and ambitions of things to do before she dies. Landon makes sure she does each of these, and makes her happy. After his incident at the factory he had changed completely. Now he too has life goals and married a woman that use to not be noticed. It was as though his jump in the water to save the guys life also saved his. It was like a rebirth for him because he never would of changed his ways and become the man he was at the end of the movie if it weren’t for the scene at the beginning.
The importance of “baptism” scenes is very clear in a lot of literature. It symbolizes a washing away of the old, a new start. Sometimes this doesn’t result in a good way, or in favor of the character at the time. A good example of this is in the movie Pearl Harbor. The story is of two best friends, Rafe and Danny, who are pilots of fighter planes. Rafe has a girlfriend, Evelyn, who is a nurse. Unfortunately, Rafe’s plane is shot down and lands in water, where he is submerged to what appears to be his death. When Rafe is submerged in the water, he doesn’t realize his life is changing around him. When his best friend and girlfriend hear of his death they become close, and end up forming a relationship themselves. Danny and Evelyn don’t realize until later that Rafe didn’t die in the plane crash. The crash was, in a sense, Rafe’s baptism, as a new life has been laid out before him (though he doesn’t know it yet). Rafe, upon his return, is expecting his life to continue as normal, with his best friend and girlfriend. Little does he know that Danny and Evelyn have formed a relationship, and when he finds out, he feels he’s lost both of them. (The story tends to change quite a bit though, and this is a movie I recommend everyone seeing at least once.)
Baptism. In my religion, baptism is very important, so I’m going to share a bit of LDS culture for a minute. As stated in John 3:5, “except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Something that Foster pointed out is that the symbolic baptisms that occur in literature are rebirths or major changes in a character, which is an excellent point! When one is baptized by proper authority, that person makes covenants with God, namely to keep His commandments and always remember Him. Basically, baptism is a symbol of beginning a life devoted to God (a symbol that is required to enter into His kingdom) or in other words, being reborn in Christ. This is a very significant act, and it’s something that I for one take seriously. However, the literal act of being baptized itself doesn’t make a person perfect. It doesn’t ensure that the person has total faith--just enough belief or trust to be baptized in order to keep a commandment from God. Faith comes over time, and bit by bit, people turn more to Christ (truly being reborn is more of a process than a destination). There are a few phrases we use for the time when a person really, truly turns his or her life over to the Savior, and they are: a mighty change of heart, becoming fully converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a baptism by fire (fire often is a symbol for the spirit of God, so the baptism by fire (as well as these other phrases) usually isn’t a one-point ordinance. It’s a receiving, an accepting of God’s truth).
I’m going to switch gears now start talking about a fictional character’s symbolic baptism by fire in a science fiction/fantasy series that I’ve mentioned before. Artemis Fowl starts out in the series named after him as a youthful criminal genius who decides that if fairies exist, he’s going to exploit them for their legendary wealth. He manages to find the fairies, and he kidnaps one. As his contact with this underground group of races continues, he has a baptism by fire into a new life that he doesn’t want to be so focused on crime. As the books progress, he has a change of heart that causes him to forsake his life of crime for the most part, and he becomes a truly good person as opposed to the criminal protagonist he once was. At one point in time, his memory is erased, so he returns to his former life for a while. Eventually, his memory (and with it, the life that he had just recently started) is returned by something he put on a CD in case he was ever ‘mind-wiped’ (as the fairies call it). So, if you’re looking for a specific ‘baptism scene,’ there you go! Although water wasn’t really involved, none is required for a literary baptism, and Artemis was most definitely reborn into a new life.
Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, is a book about the rebirth of a young teenager named Liz. Until I read this chapter, I didn’t link the water with rebirth. I just figured it was just the chosen way of transportation. Liz dies in a car accident at the age of 15. She is taken, by cruise ship, to Elsewhere. Although Liz didn’t actually go under the water, she was changed during her journey over the ocean. She learned everything she needs to know about Elsewhere and the cruise ship. Liz was stripped of her previous life to live a new life in Elsewhere. In Elsewhere, your life goes in reverse. Once you reach the age of zero again, you’re wrapped up and placed into the ocean to be reborn on Earth. By the time Liz can’t speak anymore, she became a new person. She understood everything about life. Because her tine in Elsewhere was up, she was put back in the ocean to be reborn, literally. When she reached Earth again, she will be a completely new person. From reading Foster’s explanation on baptism, the book, Elsewhere, instantly came to my mind. I didn’t realize how obvious Zevin’s baptism scenes were until now.
Chris, I really liked your comparison, it was one i was planning on using myself until I saw that you had already written it. It's very good.
Garret I actually intended to use the Jason Bourne example but I saw that you beat me to it. Nevertheless great example.
Leah – Most people chose a story that had nothing to literally do with baptism. I like how you stuck to religion and chose the story you did. Although it’s obvious that Jonah was “reborn”, I liked reading your analysis of the actual water Jonah is “baptized” in.
I have been using Harry Potter for a lot of my posts, so I will continue to do so. In the sixth book, The Half-blood Prince, Harry finds himself on a scavenger hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes. When Dumbledore takes him to get the locket, Harry in pulled under the water by reanimated corpses that were protecting the locket. Dumbledore, having just drank the potion to get the locket, is weakened and barely saves Harry from the grasp of the corpses. When Harry breaks the surface of the water and reaches safety with Dumbledore, he realizes how powerful Dumbledore really is and how difficult it will be to find and obtain the rest of the Horcruxes.
When I imagine a "baptism scene" I think about the movie called The Thirteenth Year. It’s a video about when this boy, Cody, turns thirteen he finds out that he is actually a mermaid. I think I'm reminded of baptism because he begins a whole new life half human, half mermaid. Cody receives a fresh start, although he did not ask for one, unlike the tradition Catholic baptism which symbolizes the freedom from original sin and the entering into the Church. Once Cody realizes he's growing scales and a tail every time he touches water he finds out who is true friends are. Also, baptisms are almost always associated with water (which causes him to become a mermaid). The water is used to wash away the impurities that the human body has at birth, also in The Thirteenth Year the water starts the life of Cody as a mermaid.
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