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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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19 comments:
Okay so everyone has watched or read about a fairytale. They are probably the most popular genre of literature, especially for younger kids. Well, the idea of a fairytale is used in all kinds of different pieces of work. A fairytale can be described as having a hero in the story and a lovely girl who the prince wants but can't exactly get or something else along these lines....either way, all fairytales pretty much revolve around one plot structure. People interpret literature differently than others and so when an author writes a novel or creates a piece of work they want it to be understood. What is one thing an author uses for parallels, analogies, plot structures, and references that most of their readers will know? Fairytales (aka kiddie stories). People can relate to these no matter who you are. In some stories, a ball may symbolize a school dance or a nice car can be interpreted as a carriage. In my favorite movie ever, Grease, you can see some similar characteristics of fairytales throughout the movie. Johnny is the prince and Sandy the princess. They both want to be together but something is preventing them from doing so. There is a dance that takes place during the movie so that could be considered the ball. All through the movie the guys are obsessed with cars and they ride around with their chicks in the cars so these would be considered carriages. Not to mention it has music and what fairytale doesn't have music? The movie is a lot like Cinderella and the fact that Sandy and Johnny weren't really supposed to be together kind of falls along the lines of Beauty and the Beast. I think the similar structures allow viewers to get a better understanding of the movie (or book) because all age groups can relate to it. The fairytale aspect allows younger children to understand it just as well as adults or teens. To me, the whole situation deepens appreciation because not only is the story easier to relate to, it gives it a "wholesome" feeling. Parents think fairytales are great for children, so if they feel like a movie or a book relates, they are all for their kids watching it.
It is easy to connect some films and movies to fairy tales because the plot lines are identical. Personally I believe reading or watching fifteen remakes of Cinderella gets quite monotonous after a while. I believe the subtle and minute similarities between stories allows you to appreciate the story better, without making it a repeat. Robin Hood is a wonderful story for children and even adults. There are so many remakes and versions told of this story, from long novels to short cartoon films, that it has to be burned into everyone's mind. Because of this, I saw similarities, whether they were there or not, when reading Fight Club or watching Ocean's 11, or any other movie where the thief is the protagonist. Robin Hood and his merry men are working to steal money from the king and relieve all the poor people from their debt. Tyler Durden and his gang operation named "Project Mayhem" are set to do one thing. Besides disturbing society, they are planning on demolishing all the credit card companies and relieving everyone from their debt. Sure that is a small similarity since Tyler doesn't actually hand anyone bags of coins like Robin does. Both stories still have the same aspect of stealing from the rich to help the poor. That deepened my appreciation for the story because then i really understood that Tyler and his gang weren't all about violence and chaos. They were also about the good of mankind, even if it was in an odd way.
Everyone loves those classic fairytales that were introduced to us when we were children. And believe it or not, many of the novels we read now follow the same basic plot line of those famous fairy tales. For example, the Harry Potter series and the classic Cinderella tale share many of the same plot structures. Both Harry and Cinderella are mistreated by their step family and hate the lives they are enduring. Cinderella becomes friends with small little animals while Harry becomes friends with other wizards like himself, whom both families strongly disapprove of and look down upon. And who could forget the magical moment when Cinderella’s fairy godmother comes to save the day? Well in the Harry Potter series, Hagrid is sort of the fairy godmother figure because he opens Harry’s eyes to a world he never knew, just as fairy godmother does for Cinderella. Finally, both stories have a ‘Prince Charming’ that makes the character’s lives better. In Cinderella, the prince takes Cinderella away from her evil step family to his castle and Harry Potter is taken away by Dumbledore, to the castle of Hogwarts. Although these two stories are very similar they also are ironic. The irony is formed because Cinderella goes and lives happily ever after when reaching the castle, whereas Harry never reaches his 'happily ever after.' He continues with struggles even after reaching the Hogwarts castle.
Fairytale's are always entertaining to hear. Young kids will always remember the bedtime story of the evil stepmother, or of the beauty and the beast. They are symbols that children can link to things in everyday life. The movie A Knights Tale, starring the beloved Heath Ledger, links to a well known fairy tale character. Prince Charming is a lot like the brave warrior Heath Ledger protrays. He eyes a young princess, who is astonishing and beautiful. In order to gain her love, he will do anything for her, even lose in a jousting match. He is a "charming" young lad that does anything it takes to win the princess' love. It is the classic Prince Charming. Batman is also faintly related to fairytale. In all of the Batman movies, there is a villain who wants to kill Batman. They strive for his death because of hatred and jealousy. Batman is stronger, better, and more powerful. All of these villains want Batman dead, so they can be the best. This type of story plot is similar to that of Snow White. The Queen is jealous of Snow Whites beauty and wants to kill her so she can be the fairest of them all. With both of these movies having a relation to a fairytale, it adds a deeper appreciation to it. They both end up like the fairy tales, with Prince Charming getting the girl, and Batman beating his enemies. You gotta love Heath Ledger as the Joker!!!
Fairytales are all about the princesses, princes, and heroic characters conquering evil or having happy endings. Fairytales give everyone hope for magical endings in life. When I observe and pinpoint stories with parallels to fairytales, I grow a deeper appreciation for the morals of the story. Any books or movies finishing off with a pleasing ending can reflect a fairytale in some way. The Phantom of the Opera's storyline has certain connections that resemble Beauty and the Beast. In both of these works, there are men that have physical imperfections making them hideous creatures. The town ridiculed the men causing the men to be filled of anger; therefore, people became frightened by the men's outrages. In both stories, the men hide away from society's cruelty. The Phantom falls in love with the beautiful girl, Christina. In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast falls in love with Belle. Christina is one of the few that is not terrified in the presence of the Phantom just as Belle is not afraid of the Beast. In the end, Belle and Christina open the Beast's and the Phantom's eyes to love. Christina kisses the Phantom to prove that someone cares about him and he is not a hideous creature. In Beauty and the Beast, Belle loves the Beast and marries him to turn him back into a loving human. The stories do not end the same, but the morals and storyline of loving others can change another’s heart of stone into a warm heart. The message the story is sending out is what I appreciate the most.
Fairy tales are very common. What kid hasn’t heard of any? When I was a kid I use to base my dreams off of them. Even now I hope that my fairy tale comes true. Along with people basing dreams off of fairy tales, many writers do the same with books, and producers with movies. A good example I already used in chapter five is the movie She’s the Man and Mulan. Another example is on my favorite television show, Friends, there’s a guy named Ross who fell in love with Emily. They fall so deep in love they wish to be married, the only problem is Emily is from England and Ross lives in New York. Before they marry Ross has to decide whether or not he wants to spend the rest of his life with the one he loves, or if he would rather stay in his hometown with family and friends. Now what fairy tale does this remind you of? The first time I watched it I thought of the Little Mermaid. The mermaid, Ariel, fell in love with Prince Eric who lives on land. She has to make the choice of becoming human or staying a mermaid. Either way she’s leaving a loved one behind, this is the same with Ross. After watching my favorite show over and over I developed a deep appreciation for have knowing so much about the Little Mermaid. It helped me to better understand what Ross was really going through and how hard it must have been.
Fairy tales have created very basic storylines that many works in literature can stem off of. Obviously many love stories stem from fairy tales, but there are also horror movies that can stem from them as well. The connection from Hansel and Gretel and the characters in Wrong Turn and Wrong Turn 2 are very pronounced. Just as Hansel and Gretel were wondering the forest and left bread crumbs so they could find their way home later, the characters of Wrong Turn 2 wander around finding a place to shoot a television show and leave cameras around the forest so they can keep watch and to mark the boundaries of the show. When the characters finally start the show they run into the cannibal inbreeds that live in the forest and are trying to kill and eat them, which is almost exactly the same trouble Hansel and Gretel ran into with the witch that wanted to eat them.
Figuring out the connections between the two works, I came to appreciate Wrong Turn and Wrong Turn 2 more than I had the first time I had seen them. It created a deeper meaning in both the movies once you could see elements beyond all the gruesome scenes.
Fairy tales are a basic part of literature that anyone in the world could relate to thanks to the importance of myth and lore that is a part of every culture and time period and largely because of the Disney Corporation. Before I give away what work of literature I’ve chosen, as well as what fairy tale I’ve chosen, I’ll give you a few hints: hunter meets the prey, hunter falls in love with the prey, prey falls in love hunter, hunter leaves prey by mistake, hunter returns to prey, outer forces threaten the lovers, and they all live happily ever after in their afterlives. Well, this is the basic boy/girl story of Edward and Bella in the Twilight novels and Siegfried and Odette in Swan Lake. While most everyone knows that Edward is a vampire who could easily kill the all too mortal Bella, Siegfried is a prince who goes to hunt a swan, because he is upset that he must declare a wife by his birthday and when on his trip and then finds out that one of the swans doesn’t look fully swan, thus discovering that she is Princess Odette. It is the special qualities of each (Edward’s lack of being able to read Bella’s mind and the strong scent of blood and Odette’s physique and back story) that makes it possible for their relationships to blossom. Though most of the details in between are pretty self-explanatory, both works’ conflicts and conclusions are more interesting to look at. In the course of the tale or the series, at least one member of each couple ends the relationship for a time or even explores tests other relationships even if they aren’t aware of it. In the Twilight Saga, Edward ends his relationship with Bella in hopes to protect her and Bella unknowingly puts herself in an unofficial romance with Jacob Black. Siegfried is the only offender in Swan Lake because he mistakes Odile (the daughter of Von Rothbart who cast the spell on Odette to turn her into a swan) for Odette and proclaims he is going to marry her. It’s too bad he realizes that he has chosen the wrong person a moment later. To make matters worse, the only way for Odette to turn completely human again was for Siegfried to proclaim his love and proposal for her. Now it isn’t possible for Odette to be fully human ever again or for the two to longer be together. The conclusion is much less complicated; in order to have any hope at having a fully “natural” relationship they must either die together in a double suicide (as in Swan Lake) or live together and forever as vampires. Either way, to love each other fully, even if there didn’t seem to be an obstacle, they must all die in one way or another. If you don’t fully think that Meyer though to model her story after this fairy tale just look at Bella’s last name: Swan. Coincidence? Surely not. Because the two pieces are so similar, the outcome of this silent correspondence between the text actually deepens the appreciation of both and also helped me to understand why the characters go about doing what they do, make the choices they make, and why they sacrifice some things over others even if it seems silly at times.
I can remember when I was a little kid and really enjoyed fairy tales. Now that I'm older I have realized that ideas from fairy tales are everywhere. The movie The Incredible Hulk reminds me of the classic tale Beauty and the Beast. In The Incredible Hulk Bruce Banner and Betty Ross love each other, they cannot be with each other due to the fact that Bruce is the Hulk. Not only does he pose a threat to Betty, the military is constantly chasing the Hulk in an attempt to harness his power. In Beauty and the Beast the Beast is in love with Belle and when the town’s people and Belle's suitor Gaston learn of this they become outraged and try to invade the Beast's castle. The townspeople in Beauty and the Beast are similar to the military in The Incredible Hulk because they don't think the two couples should be together due to the men's appearances and behavior. The Beast and the Hulk are similar because they are both seen as horrible, grotesque creatures when in reality they are just misunderstood. Neither can control the way they are; the beast was cursed and the Hulk was involved in a freak accident in a nuclear testing facility. Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Betty in The Incredible Hulk also share similar traits. They both are close to someone who causes the trouble in the Beast's and the Hulk's lives. Gaston who is one of Belle's suitors attacks the Beast's castle and Betty's father leads the military operation to capture the Hulk. The major difference aside from the setting in the two tales is that the Beast turns back into a human and lives happily ever after with Belle. On the contrary for the Hulk there is no cure and must continue to run from the military and can never be with Betty. In my opinion this deepens my appreciation for the story because it shows that even violent, action-packed movies like The Incredible Hulk have similar ideas to wholesome fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast.
I’ve chosen to discuss the parallels between Robin Hood (fairytale) and The Court Jester (awesome movie). The storyline of The Court Jester in a nutshell is this: A good royal family has been killed, and another man has usurped the throne. Rumor has it though, that one member of the rightful reigning family survived—an infant who is said to be in the care of a band of rebels in the forest. The band is known as the Black Fox. The goal of the Black Fox is to get this infant in the seat of power (or at least in a position where he can assume it later in life) and replace the usurper. Two agents of this group (whose names are escaping me, despite the fact that they’re the main characters), an ex-circus performer and the daughter of a prominent member of the Black Fox, leave with the child to fulfill this goal. They’re trying to figure out how to get access to the castle when they happen to come across Jacamo (iffy spelling), who they learn is going to be the new jester for the king. The knock him out and steal is stuff, and then the male main character goes in his place, as the new court jester. A fun series of events happen (which if I tried to describe, I’d probably butcher the story, and this would go on for too long), and he eventually is enchanted to be a master swordsman (reason being that the person who charmed him was ordered to keep him alive by the daughter of the false king, who previously fell in love with him), which allows him to beat one of the main villains. A little further still, the story is completer when the infant is recognized as rightful heir to the throne by all (because of a birthmark: the ‘purple pimpernel’), including the self-established king, much to his chagrin.
This comedic movie parallels the story of Robin Hood in a number of different ways. First off, someone (the usurper) has assumed command while the proper authority (the infant member of the royal family) is absent (Prince John taking charge when King Richard goes off to the crusades). There’s a band of people outside of the villain’s reign (merry men :: Black Fox) who elect to live in the woods, where they gain more members (such as circus performers!). The ‘jester’ is an interesting combination of Robin Hood and a goofy prince charming (making for specific and generic fairytale relation). He uses a disguise to get where he needs to be (as does Robin). He lives off of the castle’s wares for a while (like stealing from the rich), and in living there, he is able to restore proper authority to the kingdom (similar to giving to the needy; needy here meaning people who need a better king). At one point in time, the ‘jester’ becomes an incredible warrior, and isn’t Robin Hood an incredible archer? Lastly, he does battle with a big-time villain (such as the sheriff of Nottingham). Whether these connections were planned or not, they’re definitely there, and because of them, appreciation for The Court Jester is deepened because of its relation to a famous fairytale.
Fairytales are old, everyone loves them. Most people can remember having them read to them as kids, and falling asleep to them. These fairytales also seem to findthemselves in todays movies and novels. They may not be very obvious, but the basic outline and structure is always the same. Such as in the movie Shrek, it may not be ovious but the connection is there. The hero, Shrek, has to rescue a princess in danger from a dangerous castle. There is even a curse involved that can only be broken by loves true kiss. Sound familiar? It sounds like every princess story out there to me. This reflects an irony because there is a lot of humor in the movie, and the movie is also making fun of the whole process in a way.
Fairytales have the capability of taking imaginary things and making them come to life. A talking wolf, witches, princesses, and loves true kiss all take shape in this priceless genre of literature. Many forms of media are based off of fairytales. May it be the latest pop song about prince charming or the most recent movie release about a fantasy world, each individual can relate to this topic. In the movie Ever After a modern take on the classic fairytale Cinderella takes shape. With the sudden death of her father, Danielle De Barbarac becomes a servant for none other than her evil step mother and step sisters. Classic, right? While the plot progresses Danielle crosses the path of a soon to be prince, Henry. She dresses up as a noble woman and meets him again and this time his feelings grow for her. Unlike the standard Cinderella story Danielle manages to rescue herself from her horrid family and save the prince from gypsies. In the end Prince Henry and Danielle wed. And they lived happily ever after…
Hillary – your connection between Harry Potter and Cinderella is a very good one. Although they are different sexes, they do have a lot in common. Actually, most of your connections are different sexes. It was clever of you to completely ignore the sexes of the characters you compared. It shows that connections don’t have to be exact.
Everyone is familiar with fairy tales. To make a story more interesting and intriguing, authors often use ideas from fairy tales to create connections in the reader’s mind. Although I’ve watched multiple Cinderella remakes in my 16 years on this wonderful planet, Ella Enchanted is the only one I distinctly remember. Every little girl, or just every girl, wants a story like Cinderella. I mean, really, what girl doesn’t want her own Prince Charming? Like Cinderella, Ella’s father remarries a wicked woman. Because of the marriage, both ladies are forced to live with two stepsisters. Although Ella’s sisters are more on the mean side than the evil side, they still aren’t nice. Ella also has a fairy godmother. Hers isn’t as nice and understanding as Cinderella’s. In the end of Ella Enchanted, she ends up married to her Price Charming and they live happily ever after. Besides all of the previously listed similarities, I’m sure it isn’t coincidental that the name Cinderella and Ella are so closely related.
There are many works of literature that reflect fairy tales. The movie Shrek 2 has a great reference to a fairy tale. It reflects the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. Princess Fiona is Sleeping Beauty in a way. She is trapped in ogre form until she kisses her true love. This reflection of the fairy tale makes the movie a little ironic because her true love is actually Shrek, who is also an ogre. Prince Charming is the one who kisses Sleeping beauty to wake her up in the fairy tale, but this is why Shrek 2 is ironic. Princess Fiona will stay in ogre form when she kisses Shrek, her true love, by midnight. Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother try to trick her into kissing Prince Charming, but it doesn’t work. Princess Fiona ends up staying an ogre with Shrek. Although Shrek 2 isn’t exactly like Sleeping Beauty, it has many parallels to it.
Jack - I like your connection between The Incredible Hulk and The Beauty and the Beast. I never thought of The Incredible Hulk resembling The Beauty and the Beast until now. But, when I think about it, they really are similar. There is a beast that loves a woman, but can't have her because he is a beast. This is a very good connection that I never would have noticed.
The Crucible is just like Pinocchio is the way that lies change the story. When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows longer until he corrects it. When he tells the truth, he doesn't need to worry about his nose growing. In The Crucible, a man is asked to a contract saying that he gave the devil his soul. By signing, he would live but go to hell, but by not signing, he would be killed and go to heaven. This goes more than a growing nose, even more than life or death, but eternity. All based on lies.
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