The chapter “... So Does Season” from How Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster demonstrates the use of season associating with characters and the setting. As said by Foster, spring is associated with “childhood and youth” (186) because of the new birth of flowers and nature; however, the birth of Frankenstein’s creation takes on the day of a “dreary night of November” (Shelley, 56). This quotes foreshadows hardships on the life of the creature because of the on a “dreary night” and the month of November.…
How to Read Literature Like a Professor and Wuthering Heights It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow Weather can be used for foreshadowing and to create emotional atmosphere. In the story, Bronte uses bad weather to underscore the troubling times the characters experience. Even the eponymous Wuthering Heights has significance, it is explained in the book that “ ‘Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather” (6).…
Shivam 1 Shivam Gupta Professor Keith MacDonald Composition 1 20 October 2017 Read Like a Writer In Mike Bunn’s “How to Read Like a Writer” he explains how one can become a better reader simply by trying to understand the article from the point of view of the writer, by analyzing every word, sentence or paragraph with one question in mind, "what effect did the writer intend to have with these words?". I believe it is important for us to have this skill because it gives us a better insight into what we are reading, it helps us understand on a deeper level exactly what the article is trying to tell us and in response, this teaches us better techniques and skills to become better writers. Using guidelines set by Bunn in his article, I will illustrate…
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, and Thomas C. Foster’s novel, How To Read Literature Like A Professor, have several comparisons. Winston Smith, thirty-nine year old worker for the Ministry of Truth, is stuck in a totalitarian environment that he strongly disagrees with. However it is wise for him to keep his feelings to himself because “Big Brother is always watching.” 1984 relates widely to chapter thirteen, It’s All Political , of How To Read Literature Like A Professor. 1984 is a novel with a deeper political meaning behind it.…
Written in 1984, Susan Minot’s short story “Lust” is a tale about a young teenager’s sexual encounters and its effects on her female psyche. In a clutter of unorganized paragraphs, the narrator expresses her sexual history and feelings towards these sexual encounters. She focuses on the gender roles that are the complete opposite of what would be expected during the feminist movement of the 1970’s and the 1980’s, implying Minot’s personal views on the effectiveness of the movement, as well as talking about the pressure and expectations of women by society and how those expectations show signs of lust, not love. Right out the start, Minot creates a very nonchalant tone for the narrator.…
The next era Katz breaks down is the Late Victorian Sex-Love era (1860-1892). He explains the changes in era due to the “growth of a consumer economy [that] fostered a new pleasure ethic” (Katz). This is where the modern idea of a sensual society took root. As more suggestive content began being published in books and movies, “normal” and “abnormal” roles among men and women began to take shape. Medical doctors were also encouraging the new idea of sex as natural and not something that women should be ashamed for partaking…
The “General Review of the Sex Situation” by Dorothy Parker and “Pie Dance” by Molly Giles, provide the readers with a comparison of a woman’s way of loving with a man. Both the poem and short story illustrate the male wrongdoings towards a woman by a woman’s sharp wit, humor, and pointed cynicism. Parker demonstrates the dominance of a man in a relationship. The opening two lines of the poem express the differences of a man’s faith to a woman by the a/a rhyme scheme: Woman wants monogamy; Man delights in novelty Love is woman's moon and sun; Man has other forms of fun. (1-4)…
In the short story Miss Temptation by Kurt Vonnegut, it was made obvious that the prominent theme was the sexuality, and the sensuality, of the main character, Susanna. The story starts with the line, “Puritanism had fallen into such disrepair that not even the oldest spinster thought of putting Susanna in a ducking stool; not even the oldest farmer suspected that Susanna’s diabolical beauty had made his cow run dry.” Vonnegut mentioning Puritanism falling to shambles and cows running dry because of a beautiful girl is, in a sense, a gateway into the overall subject matter. Before Susanna is truly introduced as a character, she is made out to be somewhat of a bad character, saying she had made cows run dry.…
The first three chapters are courtship, treating, and prostitution before World War I, then same topics but during the war, then after the war, during the depression and prohibition, lastly during World War II. Clement uses various sources throughout this book to support her claims. She uses archives, manuscripts, reports, books, journals, and newspapers throughout to solidify her knowledge of women’s, sex, labor, and economic history. The strengths are that she shares a lot of information, discusses every aspect of this sexual revolution, and uses various sources to support her claims. Its weaknesses are that it does not discuss WWII sexuality as the other events and her organization is chaotic, jumping from one topic to another in…
Historically, sex has often been defined as the penetration of a woman’s genitals by the phallus of a man. This Definition is held by a very heteronormative idea of the concept of what is considered as sex. However, sex is not just about penises and vaginas coming into contacts with one another. Sex between two women or two males is different from the standard idea of sex and can include the use other body parts, toys, everyday objects, etc. So, as is comes to show, it is vague what actions count and sex and which ones do not.…
In Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature like a Professor, Foster writes an entertaining guide of how to dig deeper into the metaphorical meaning of every piece of literature in hopes to inspire the minds of tomorrow not only to grow in their understanding of symbols but also to trust themselves and the knowledge they already have. In relation to Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, Foster lends understanding to such common symbols like sex not being at all about the actual act but representing the challenge of one to change what is culturally expected of him. Foster also highlights that while the main character is usually safe from harm, the people around him are the ones that may get hurt in fault of the main character. Foster overall warns…
Sexual attitudes have changed tremendously throughout history. In the 19th century women were seen as inferior individuals and did not equal up to the status of a man. Education and beauty did not at all matter to the superior sex of males. Women’s roles, economic status, and social status were all dominated by the male society. Silence lingered among women during the 19th century.…
Analysing Essay Deconstruction The quality, format, and use of communication conventions determines the effectiveness of a formal literary essay. In the essay Studying Literature in Grade 12, by Mrs. Phillips, the text demonstrates an example of a improper persuasive essay. This is shown through the content, incorrect language conventions, MLA citation and plagiarism, as well as the essay structure. Without these details one cannot achieve an effective essay.…
The first chapter of the book How to Read Literature like a Professor, by Thomas C. Foster discusses the importance of recognizing the quest in every story. What comes to mind when reading the word quest would be a stereotypical medieval setting. This medieval setting would consist of five things, a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials, and a deeper and more meaningful reason to go which is usually not clearly stated. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley meets all of the requirements of a “quest”, the quester being Victor Frankenstein. The place to go in the quest would be more of the pursuit of greater knowledge while the stated reason would be personal satisfaction gained by the protagonist in reaching the desired knowledge.…
The sexuality of women is a topic that is subtly explored in both 1984 by George Orwell and in Jane Austen’s most famous novel Pride and Prejudice. In particular, these two authors represent the repression of sexuality in their worlds, which acts as a social commentary in a way that is not always recognised, as one novel is famously known for commenting on extreme totalitarianism while the other is simply recognised for showing the power of true love in a world of propriety and stoicism. Symbolism of clothing is very prominent in both novels to represent the binds that women are placed in through their social expectations. In 1984, most, if not all, of the women who were members of the party were also members of the celibacy club and as a…