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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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15 comments:
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, acts of communion, especially those involving meals, happen quite frequently. They are also very important to the structure of the story. The first time that Edmund arrives in Narnia, he is stumbled upon by the White Witch. The first think that she does is offer him any kind of food he wants, and shares it with him. This says that Edmund is on the side of the White Witch, even from the beginning before he knows who she is. He then, being on her side, feels obligated to carry out her wishes and bring the brother and sisters to see her. Later in the story, when all four of the children are in Narnia together, they meet a beaver. They are skeptical about trusting a strange talking beaver, until they share dinner with him and his wife in their dam. The children dine with the beavers as subsequently join the beaver's side; Aslan's side. Edmund however does not dine with the beavers and his siblings. Instead he runs away and makes his way for the White Witch's castle. Through these meals, we see that Peter, Susan and Lucy have all sided with Aslan, the beavers and essentially the good side, whereas Edmund sides with the White Witch and the Evil side.
No matter how flattering or unflattering eating is, taking food into your body is personal. Usually you want to do it with people you are comfortable with. Any meal that you see or read about represents sharing and peace. Thomas C Foster writes, "If you are breaking bread, you aren't breaking heads." When a person eats with somebody they don't trust usually the outcome is tragic. For example, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White eats an apple from an old hag who is really the evil queen. Snow White didn't really trust the old hag and so of course, something tragic happened. The apple was poisonous and Snow White went into a deep sleep. She could only be awakened by her love's first kiss. In the Bible, one of the most memorable and popular events that happened was the Last Supper. Jesus and his apostles had a dinner and Jesus gave his body and blood. This was a tremendously sacred event. A family has dinner together because it helps them bond. Whether you choose to believe it or not, eating is a very personal act and when people eat in books or movies it usually symbolizes something more than just conquering a growling stomach.
There’s something about food that seems to bring people together. This makes perfect sense of course; who doesn’t like being fed? A good few examples of a bond being forged after a meal are in My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Interestingly enough, a few of them don’t deal with relationships between people, but between Sam Gribley (the main character) and some various animals that he meets while roughing it in the Catskill Mountains. One in particular was with a scrawny, slightly cross-eyed raccoon that Sam comes across one day. Upon finding this sad animal, Sam feeds it, and from then on out, Jessie Coon James (as Sam names him) is another wildlife friend to Sam. Yes, there is definitely something about eating together that helps people, and even animals apparently, bond.
Sharing meals with one another illustrates how much we are appreciated and often times helps us form a strong bond with another person. An example that we all can relate to is when we sit down and eat dinner with our family and reflect on each other’s days. We can freely and openly talk about our day without the fear of being judged because these are the people that we trust and know we can rely on. Characters in novel s also employ meals as a form of ‘communion’ such as in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees. The main character, Lily, states “I don’t know what got to me about it, but for some reason that circle of feeding made me feel better about the world.” This is an incredibly powerful connection for a white, 14 year old girl living during the 1960s. Just through eating a simple meal with the Daughters of Mary, Lily realizes that they are all equal, no matter what race they may be. When the three, black Boatwright sisters agree to share their home and food with Lily, it creates a deeper meaning of how much they like her and are willing to share their lives with her. All the problems Lily has been facing while boarding with the black sisters, all seems to fade away as the black women and young white girl all come together into one. After this meal in the novel, you suddenly realize that Lily’s life is going to start to turn around and you now receive the indication that each of these ladies, black and white, are always going to be there for one another, all thanks to a simple, yet meaningful, meal spent together.
I like to eat food. It's as simple as that. But there is also something more powerful behind the glutton madness. Communing with onthers is a special event involving peace and harmony. In the epic novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers, Frodo and Sam are being led to Mount Doom by a slimy creature called Gollum. They have to rely on Gollum to safely take them to their destination. During the journy, Frodo shares some bread with Gollum thus creating a friendship between the two. They become closer and form a bond. Frodo actually defends him from Sam at one point in the book. In the begginning, Frodo treats Gollum as dirt, but after their brief meal together Frodo's view on him changes for the better. All in all, Breaking bread with a fellow comrade suggests friendship and trust. It symbolizes the unity btween man.
Whenever people are eating a meal together, anyone can sense relationships growing closer. Yes, meals can draw people closer, but they can also create tension. For example if a dinner turns out bad, then relationships become broken. To illustrate a happy family, the author would write about the entire family eating together and talking about their day and achievements. Towards the ending in Brabury's Fahrenheit 451, Montag is sitting around the fire eating dinner with strangers. Although the people are strangers, they all have the same vision or determination to know more information that is provided in books. The meal they share is a communion. During this communion, they share their thoughts and opinions, so they get to know each other better. After this bonding time they begin to support one another. People who share similar purposes usually trust each other; therefore, they trust each other and feel comfortable eating together. A communion dinner is a special time when people grow closer together to create friendships which is exactly what occurred in the book.
People eating together has always signified a sense of communion between the people sharing the meal. It represents friendship between the people sharing the meal and the bond that they are creating or have already created. There are many meal sharing instances in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The Joad family eats with other families that are suffering like they are. Despite the families not knowing eachother very well there is still that sense of communion because they are all suffering through the same thing, and they are doing it together. Even if the families are barely surviving themselves, they are still able to help out anyone that needs it, even if it means sacrificing a lot themselves. All of the "Okies" stick together despite the harships.
Everyone loves food. There’s no doubt about it. Some people may like food more than others and everyone’s taste in food varies. Although there are differences in the foods people indulge in, everyone needs to and enjoys taking in food. In Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, the night before Lily’s birthday, her father, T. Ray, yells at her and makes her kneel on grits as a punishment. Lily wakes up the next morning to find that Rosaleen, Lily’s best friend/nanny, baked Lily a cake for her birthday. This type communion reassures Lily that she truly is loved. The cake serves as a type of communion by being a type of peace offering. The cake brings all three characters together because they all take a piece (even if T. Ray does so reluctantly). No matter what, everyone loves to eat. It’s one thing that we all have in common and in literary works, food can reveal important details about relationships between characters.
In my opinion eating food is much more than just satisfying your hunger, it is spending time with people and forming a special type of friendship. When I think of meals in literature and movies one meal in particular sticks out in my mind. It is the Christmas Eve meal in the classic movie A Christmas Story. The main character in the movie is Ralphie. Throughout the day before Christmas, his father tries to eat little pieces of the turkey that is supposed to be for dinner. While the family is occupied a group of dogs manage to get into the house and eat all of the turkey. This angers Ralphie's father and also makes the family find an alternative meal. They end up going to a Chinese restaurant and having a meal that will stay with them forever. The waiters at the restaurant sing (or try to sing) Christmas carols. Through this meal the family becomes more tightly bonded and have a special meal they will never forget.
Sharing a meal in literature has always been an act of communion, but if something goes wrong it means something totally different. People sharing a meal together shows friendship and the fact that they want to be together. On the other hand, when the sharing of a meal goes wrong it means something completely different. If a meal goes wrong then the people sharing the meal aren’t too friendly toward each other. They don’t want to eat in the presence of each other. An example of a meal gone wrong can be seen in the movie Taken. Bryan Mills goes to have lunch with his daughter Kim. His ex-wife, Lenore, also shows up. Bryan wants to have lunch and be with his daughter, but Kim just wants him to sign a paper so she can go to Paris. Bryan isn’t comfortable with Kim going to Paris, so he doesn’t sign the paper. Kim gets upset, and runs out of the restaurant. This shows that Kim isn’t happy with her father, and she doesn’t want to be in his presence. An example of people sharing a meal can also be found in the movie Taken. Bryan Mills is a retired CIA Agent. There is a scene where the guys he used to work with come over for dinner. They grill out in Bryan’s back yard and talk about old times. This shows that they are good friends and like being around one another. Bryan’s friends offer him a job that is in town. They do this as friends trying to help Bryan make some money.
Typically, a meal in a literary work symbolizes the communion between those taking in the meal. Really, in these instances, the meal is a symbol of togetherness and a bond between those involved whether they were once enemies, friends, family, old or young, different or the same, respected or disrespected, or of any other feasible combination or even a new acquaintance. However, the meals in George Orwell’s 1984 are much more complex though they still apply to Foster’s ideas in his said chapter. During Winston Smith’s daily lunchtime at the Ministry of Truth, Winston has to endure the ever-watchful eye of Big Brother. To Big Brother and the true members of the Inner and Outer Party this is a time for the workers of the Ministry of Truth to come together, commune, and praise Big Brother and to hate those who are against Big Brother while guzzling down Victory Gin. The reader knows that Winston is on the fence when it comes to being for Big Brother or being against the idea so for him he feels that he can not take part in the communion but constantly feels the pressure of Big Brother upon him. For those of the Party who completely love Big Brother there are still issues. Take for instance Syme. Winston knows that he’s going to be vaporized because while he sits by Syme, Syme goes on and on about the latest developments in his department, displaying his smarts, and, thus takes part in what we would call a fully normal communion in our world. However for those who love Big Brother, form their communion around Big Brother, and do not exhibit any qualities or thoughts that Big Brother finds troubling, everything is well in Oceania. Essentially, what is a genuine meal and communion in the Ministry of truth foreshadows and demonstrates the goal of what Big Brother and the Inner Party want to lead the people of Oceania towards, making the meals in the book completely interesting and vital to understand in the course of the book.
Sharing a meal with someone can mean many different things, but no matter it seems to form a bond between people, even if it’s brief. A meal I recently watched was in the movie 7 Pounds. Ben and Emily didn’t get along very well when they first met, because of the way Ben went about meeting her (as an IRS officer while she’s in the hospital). Shortly after meeting her the first time, Ben continues to upset her by showing up at her house and feeding her dog meat when he’s a vegetarian. With time they form an unusual relationship though, and have dinner together one night at her house. During this dinner they become close and their feelings for one another become clear. It’s one of the first times in the movie you see Ben truly happy, as well as Emily. Both have been through so much and when they share that meal together they both begin to realize they’re not alone in their suffering and that they are very happy together.
Whoever thought eating could be so important in a book, I know I never did. I didn’t realize meal scenes had to do with getting to know a character(s). Meal scenes allow you to see the interaction between different characters and it’s also a good place for the author to share their ideas. You can tell a characters point of view or even there personality all in a meal, this makes sense because we can also do the same while eating with people. Meals can also be significant in the way that they represent something from other stories or are simply important occasions. One story that I’m familiar with is the Grapes of Wrath. In this book the family begins to travel west, but before they do so they have a very important meal together. The Ma is cooking dinner when Old Tom comes into surprise her; it’s been a while since they’ve seen him and they almost left without him. Also the former preacher comes over and begins to say grace. He gets the whole family thinking about what their future holds for them and everything they’re leaving behind. The rest of the meal is silent while the individuals organized their thoughts and watch the actions of others around them. This meal scene reminds me of the Last Supper (from the Bible). It is the family’s last meal together in their home and is very significant to the story. It shows each of the characters thoughts on their moving west and also represents the importance of their journey.
I never thought that a simple meal in a book could mean so much. Even in The Grapes of Wrath, the ending, where Rose of Sharon is breast feeding the starving man, resembles communion. The man letting his son eat their supply of food brings their family together, but he himself starves. Rose of Sharon's helping the man by breast feeding him doesn't bring a family together, but two families together for the same cause. Communion is about coming together with friends, relatives, and people you don't know, and this is shown throughout John Steinbeck's book.
Sharing a meal can symbolize many things, but any way you look at it is a form of communion. In the short story How the Grinch Stole Christmas the Whos that live in Whoville love to celebrate Christmas. The Grinch who lives right outside of Whoville absolutely despises this time of year and with his dog Max, an unwilling accomplice, he fuses a plan to make sure Christmas won’t happen this year. The Grinch decides to dress Max up as a reindeer and himself Santa and together they will go steal all of the presents, lights, toys, food, and the tree from the center of the city. As the two make their rounds the night before Christmas the Grinch runs into little Cindy Lou Who and she asks him what he’s doing. He simply replies that a light bulb had burnt out on the tree and was to replace it. In the morning the Grinch couldn’t be prouder, but what does he hear? Singing! The Whos have come together to celebrate the idea of Christmas and not the material objects. When he finally understands the meaning of Christmas he takes the sleigh and all of their items back to them. Cindy Lou Who despite having been betrayed by the Grinch invites them to their holiday feast. The meal symbolizes the meaning of Christmas, the acceptance of the Grinch, and the coming to gather of the whole community. The Grinch even cuts the roast beef.
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