How to Read Lit Like a Professor Chapter Examples

Write your own definition for archetype. Then identify an archetypal story and apply it to a literary work with which you are familiar.

Archetype: the original myth/pattern a story is following Story: child must go on long journey alone 1. Life of Pi 2. Fifth Wave

Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under "geography."

Great Gatsby: 1. Needed to take place in materialistic area 2. Long roads separating areas/ traveling shows the change in type of people (between East Egg and West Egg) 3. Valley of Ashes: reflects working class of the time period and how poor some people were 4. Lake separating West and East Egg: shows how far apart Daisy and Gatsby really are, even though they seem so close Percy Jackson: 1. Camp Half Blood is in a valley in between mountains: shows seclusion and emphasizes how hidden it is 2. Battle on Mt. St. Helens: emphasizes how difficult it was to get to the battle to fight the god; mountain itself is a hospital 3. Sea: many battles Percy fought were at sea because he is the son of Poseidon- also shows percy's conflicting feelings about the world he lives in (half god, half mortal) 4. Tartarus: in later books, Percy and Annabeth are trapped in Tartarus; barren wasteland. Shows how barren and disgusting hell would be and emphasizes dreariness.

Figure out Harry Potter's scar. If you aren't familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.

Harry Potter's scar is placed on his forehead instead of somewhere more discrete because everyone knows of his story. He is famous for being "the boy who lived". It is a lightning bolt because of the spell used to try and kill him; the spell kills quickly in the same way a lightning bolt would.

Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in detail.

Lord of the Flies: the initial plane the boys are on signifies escape. They are put on the plane to leave their homes to escape the war, but it is ironic because they end up stranded on an island and have to endure hardships and suffering anyway. The final book of Fifth Wave series: in the final book, the main character, Cassie, repeats a phrase she told her dad as a child about him making her "fly". At the end of the book, she says this phrase again while taking her ship to destroy the alien ship before it bombs all of Earth. This is Cassie giving freedom to the entire world by blowing up the one thing that would destroy it.

The key idea from this chapter is that "scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense that literal depictions" (141). In other words, sex is often suggested with much more art and effort than it is described, and, if the author is doing his job, it reflects and creates theme or character. Choose a novel or movie in which sex is suggested, but not described, and discuss how the relationship is suggested and how this implication affects the theme or develops characterization.

Mockingjay (Hunger Games book 3) In the final chapter, Katniss and Peeta are finally together in the destroyed district 12. There is not a scene where they are implicitly having sex, but they are described in the bed together and helping each other through their nightmares. Because they focus more on helping each other through difficult times instead of having sex, it makes them seem even closer and it is more intimate. They hint at sex in this chapter and they have children in the epilogue, so it is clear that it did happen. This shows that they finally fell completely in love and were meant to have their happy ending. The Fault in Our Stars On their trip to Amsterdam, the sex scene is more obvious than other works. The scene skips from Gus and Hazel laying in bed together and Gus being afraid of Hazel judging his amputated leg. It immediately begins talking about it not being what Hazel expected. This develops the relationship between Hazel and Gus because even though they went through this milestone together, they decide it wasn't as great as people would expect but it doesn't change their love for each others.

Think of a "baptism scene" from a significant literary work. How was the character different after the experience? Discuss.

Percy Jackson: When he first arrives at Camp Half-Blood, he is ridiculed by other students and is teased and treated badly. During one of the first games he played, he was being chased by a monster and landed in the water. When he stands up, he is "claimed" by his father and is discovered to be the son of Poseidon. After this, he is changed because he now has the responsibility of being a child of one of the major Gods. His classmates begin to respect him more, even if he doesn't gain full respect from them until later. Me Before You: While on their trip, Louisa goes scuba diving when Will signs her up for a lesson. She doesn't want to do it initially, then finally agrees to it. She dives into the ocean and sees how beautiful it really is and when she emerges she tells Will that he never told her how great it was. Lou is changed because she is finally convinced by Will that she needs to go out and explore the world outside of their small town and that there is beauty everywhere.

Apply the criteria on page 126 to a major character in a significant literary work. Try to choose a character that will have many matches.

Ralph from Lord of the Flies: in agony (stranded on an island without any adults, starving), self-sacrificing (tries to help all other children throughout the novel, even when they turn against him), spent time alone in the wilderness (he was completely alone when Piggy died and was in the woods alone being hunted), confrontation with the devil, possibly tempted (Jack = devil; almost joins Jack's tribe and is tempted with boar for food), had "disciples" and not all are equally devoted (had most of group on his side, then all left except Piggy). Harry Potter: self-sacrificing, damage on hands in book 3 by having "I must not tell lies" carved into his hand, tempted by evil (Voldemort telling him to join him to rule the world), "dies" at the hand of Voldemort but is resurrected in the final book by the love of his parents, came to save the world from evil, has "disciples" (Ron, Hermione)

Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)

Robert Frost "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening": mentions winter; uses it in a traditional way. Notices how beautiful and clean snowfall is, but shows tiredness in "Miles to go before I sleep/ Miles to go before I sleep" Robert Frost "The Road Not Taken": fall; traditional; shows the uncertainty of choosing a path, but shows that it is still good he "chose the one less traveled by" because "that has made all the difference"

Assume that Foster is right and "it is all political." Use his criteria to show that one of the major works you've read is political in nature.

To Kill a Mockingbird: entire book is about racism and how a black man was convicted of raping a woman. The man was wrongly accused but the book is highlighting how race issues were handled in that time period. The Giver: shows how an overbearing government isn't healthy. The government suppressed memories and controlled its people so they lived colorless, monotonous lives. This novel emphasized the importance of free choice.

Present examples of the two kinds of violence found in literature. Show how the effects are different.

Two types of violence: character inflicted on each other/themselves, violence that happens without control. Lord of the Flies: Violence without control: plane crashing and pilot dying. This death is the most overlooked in the book. The pilot dies in the plane crash; there no changing the death of the pilot, and because his death was not inflicted by someone else, it is not as important to the reader. Character inflicted: Simon is killed by the boys on the island. This death is described in more detail and is much more difficult to read. It is more harsh because boys are killing one another and even eat each other. This killing is much darker than the death that could not have been prevented, and it has the effect of making the boys seem less innocent and more like monsters. The Great Gatsby: Violence without control: car crash- Daisy didn't mean to run into the woman Tom was having an affair with. She was arguing with Gatsby and not paying attention to where she was driving when she hit the woman. This death was felt as if it wasn't deserved (because it was truly an accident) and everyone hated Gatsby afterward and blamed him for her death. Character inflicted: Gatsby was killed by the husband of the woman Daisy hit with the car. Because Gatsby was intentionally killed, the characters felt as if this was deserved because they thought he was driving the car that killed the woman. Gatsby was hated and his death only affected Nick; his funeral was almost empty. The death was much more personal this time because it was purposely inflicted.