How to Read Literature Like a Professor

by Thomas C. Foster A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

ReviewChapters 10-14

“It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”Chapter 10

“It was a dark and stormy night” (74).“Here’s what I think: weather is never just weather.

It’s never just rain” (75).

So…what IS it used for in literature? • “plot device”'• “atmospherics”• “misery factor”

• “democratic element”

“It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”Chapter 10

“What other things? For one, it’s clean. One of the paradoxes of rain is how clean it is coming down and how much mud it can make when it lands. So if you want a character cleansed, symbolically, let him walk through the rain to get somewhere” (77).

“On the other hand, it is also restorative” (77).

“It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”Chapter 10

• “Rain mixes with sun to create rainbows…While we may have minor associations with pots of gold and leprechauns, the main function of the image of the rainbow is to symbolize divine promise, peace between heaven and earth” (79).

• “Once you figure out rainbows, you can do rain and all the rest…Fog, for instance. It almost always signals some sort of confusion…In almost any case I can think of, authors use fog to suggest that people can’t see clearly, that matters under consideration are murky” (80).

“It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”Chapter 10

Interlude“Does He Mean That?”

Yes

“…More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence

Chapter 11• “Violence is one of the most personal and

even intimate acts between human beings, but it can also be cultural and societal in its implications. It can be symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, Romantic, allegorical, transcendent. Violence in real life just is” (88).

“…More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence

Chapter 11• “Violence in literature, though, while it is

literal, is usually also something else. (88).

“Is That a Symbol”Chapter 12

•“Sure it is” (97).

“Is That a Symbol”Chapter 12

• “…bring something of ourselves […] If we want to figure out what a symbol might mean, we have to use a variety of tools on it: questions, experiences, preexisting knowledge” (110)

“It’s All Political” Chapter 13

• “Writing that engages the realities of its world – that thinks about human problems, including those in the social and political realm, that addresses the rights of persons and the wrongs of those in power- can be not only interesting but hugely compelling” (100).

“Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too”Chapter 14

– Crucified– In agony– Self-sacrificing– Good with children– Fish, water, wine– Carpenter– Spent time alone– Humble transportation

– Outstretched arms– Tempted/devil– Seen with thieves– Create parables– Buried/rose on 3rd day– Disciples– Forgiving– Redeem unworthy world

“…religious knowledge is helpful…” (120)

2009 AP English Literature ExamQuestion 3

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

• A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Symbol• an object, action, or event that

represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning.

AssignmentSelect one symbol from summer reading novel

• sketch the symbol on 8x11 piece of paper – must be hand-generated!

• find at least three quotes from the work that refer to the symbol (write them on the front of sketch)

• explain how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the work as a whole (theme!) (on back of the sketch).