Chapter 26- Is He Serious? and other ironies (Irony Trumps Everything)
Irony is one of the most difficult concepts for a reader to master. And the author tells us that irony can come in an infinite number of forms: comic, wry, perplexing, or tragic etc. To find irony a reader needs to dig deep in literature.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (23-24-25)
Chapter 23- It's Never Just Heart Disease
Heart disease is commonly used in literature to express the character's feelings or society's feelings toward that character. (i.e. "bad love, loneliness, cruelty, disloyalty, lack of determination" just to name a few) These feelings are used with heart disease because they often cause or accompany a heartbreak.
Chapter 24- ...And Rarely Just Illness
Illness, especially in earlier novels, is mysterious, frightening, and dangerous, a force to be reckoned with.There are four aspects to diseases in literature, these include:
-Not all diseases are created equal: each disease has its own literal effect on the character and therefore each has different symbols and implications on the story line (a venereal disease shows evidence towards cheating in a marriage: moral corruption)
-It should be picturesque: we should be able to feel the pain of the character, vividly picturing the sufferer
-It should be mysterious: the origin of the disease should be unknown to the reader, at least in older novels
-It should be symbolic and/or metaphoric: Different diseases symbolize different things
Chapter 25- Don't Read With Your Eyes
The reader is to put his or her self in the character's situation to get the full gist of the story and the characters' view point.
Heart disease is commonly used in literature to express the character's feelings or society's feelings toward that character. (i.e. "bad love, loneliness, cruelty, disloyalty, lack of determination" just to name a few) These feelings are used with heart disease because they often cause or accompany a heartbreak.
Chapter 24- ...And Rarely Just Illness
Illness, especially in earlier novels, is mysterious, frightening, and dangerous, a force to be reckoned with.There are four aspects to diseases in literature, these include:
-Not all diseases are created equal: each disease has its own literal effect on the character and therefore each has different symbols and implications on the story line (a venereal disease shows evidence towards cheating in a marriage: moral corruption)
-It should be picturesque: we should be able to feel the pain of the character, vividly picturing the sufferer
-It should be mysterious: the origin of the disease should be unknown to the reader, at least in older novels
-It should be symbolic and/or metaphoric: Different diseases symbolize different things
Chapter 25- Don't Read With Your Eyes
The reader is to put his or her self in the character's situation to get the full gist of the story and the characters' view point.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Intr-21-22)
9-5-12
Interlude- One Story
All works of literature are all parts of a ONE STORY. Whenever and where ever someone is writing they are borrowing bits and pieces of other stories, movies, and life experiences therefore no work is complete originality.
Chapter 21- Marked for Greatness
Scars or diseases hint towards things in characters' pasts. These marks may make the characters hard on the eyes, but in most cases, these "monsters" have fabulous personalities. This is why many main characters, the "good guys," and questers have scars; just because they look bad doesn't mean they are bad.
Chapter 22-He's Blind for a Reason, You Know
Like other ailments in the last chapter, having blindness as a disability has symbolism too. In most cases, even though blind people can't literally see, they have a gift to see the truth.
Interlude- One Story
All works of literature are all parts of a ONE STORY. Whenever and where ever someone is writing they are borrowing bits and pieces of other stories, movies, and life experiences therefore no work is complete originality.
Chapter 21- Marked for Greatness
Scars or diseases hint towards things in characters' pasts. These marks may make the characters hard on the eyes, but in most cases, these "monsters" have fabulous personalities. This is why many main characters, the "good guys," and questers have scars; just because they look bad doesn't mean they are bad.
Chapter 22-He's Blind for a Reason, You Know
Like other ailments in the last chapter, having blindness as a disability has symbolism too. In most cases, even though blind people can't literally see, they have a gift to see the truth.
Monday, September 3, 2012
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (18-19-20)
Sept- 3
Chapter 18- If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
If a character goes into water and survives under unbelievable circumstances, he or she is symbolically reborn. Baptism is about death, rebirth and new identity normally but it can also be about change of faith. Death also has symbolic meaning of ..."character revelation, development of violence or failure or guilt, or plot complication."
Chapter 19- Geography Matters...
Geography consists things like hills, creeks,and deserts, but also things like politics, history, and economics. The element of geography can be reveal characteristics of other parts of the story: theme, plot, symbol, or define & develop a character.
Chapter 20- ...So Does Season
Using seasons in literature has been used for centuries. Season sometimes refers to age, happiness vs sadness, point of view on life, tone, time of day.
Chapter 18- If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
If a character goes into water and survives under unbelievable circumstances, he or she is symbolically reborn. Baptism is about death, rebirth and new identity normally but it can also be about change of faith. Death also has symbolic meaning of ..."character revelation, development of violence or failure or guilt, or plot complication."
Chapter 19- Geography Matters...
Geography consists things like hills, creeks,and deserts, but also things like politics, history, and economics. The element of geography can be reveal characteristics of other parts of the story: theme, plot, symbol, or define & develop a character.
Chapter 20- ...So Does Season
Using seasons in literature has been used for centuries. Season sometimes refers to age, happiness vs sadness, point of view on life, tone, time of day.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Chapters 15,16,17)
8-28-2012
Chapter 15- Flights of Fancy
Humans have always been fascinated with flight. Flight can be very symbolic, mostly of freedom and letting go. Biblical references can be found in literature flights.
Chapter 16- It's All About Sex....
For many years sex wasn't openly discussed in literature, movies, or society so authors invented ways to subtly talk about this topic. Some authors use every day objects to represent the male and female reproductive parts. (lock and key) Others describe other aspects of sex. Fireworks and sea shore are also related to erotic events.
Chapter 17- ...Except Sex
Usually when an author is describing straight forward sex there is a deeper meaning not pertaining to the act at all.
Chapter 15- Flights of Fancy
Humans have always been fascinated with flight. Flight can be very symbolic, mostly of freedom and letting go. Biblical references can be found in literature flights.
Chapter 16- It's All About Sex....
For many years sex wasn't openly discussed in literature, movies, or society so authors invented ways to subtly talk about this topic. Some authors use every day objects to represent the male and female reproductive parts. (lock and key) Others describe other aspects of sex. Fireworks and sea shore are also related to erotic events.
Chapter 17- ...Except Sex
Usually when an author is describing straight forward sex there is a deeper meaning not pertaining to the act at all.
Monday, August 27, 2012
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Chapter 12, 13 &14)
8-27-2012
Chapter 12- Is that a Symbol...
A symbol doesn't have to be linked towards and actual person or thing, but it can also be an emotion. More often than not though, the interpretation of symbolism is left up to the reader, therefore, there are almost endless ways to analyze a symbol. Allegory is different from a symbol though,
Chapter 13- It's All Political
Political writing comes in a few different forms including discussing specific issues (wars); relations between social classes; financial, racial, and gender equality; or the constant pressure government (maybe just society) places on individuals.
Chapter 14- Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
People who possess some of these characteristics might be depicted as a Christ-like figure: kind, gentle, self-sacrificing, physical suffering, forgiving, redeeming undeserving people, rising from death on the third day, thoughtful, has followers (more specifically 12 apostles of varying devotion.) The Christ like figure doesn't need to fit this criteria exactly though.
Chapter 12- Is that a Symbol...
A symbol doesn't have to be linked towards and actual person or thing, but it can also be an emotion. More often than not though, the interpretation of symbolism is left up to the reader, therefore, there are almost endless ways to analyze a symbol. Allegory is different from a symbol though,
Chapter 13- It's All Political
Political writing comes in a few different forms including discussing specific issues (wars); relations between social classes; financial, racial, and gender equality; or the constant pressure government (maybe just society) places on individuals.
Chapter 14- Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
People who possess some of these characteristics might be depicted as a Christ-like figure: kind, gentle, self-sacrificing, physical suffering, forgiving, redeeming undeserving people, rising from death on the third day, thoughtful, has followers (more specifically 12 apostles of varying devotion.) The Christ like figure doesn't need to fit this criteria exactly though.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Chapters 10-11)
8-26-12
Chapter 10- It's More Than Just Rain or Snow
All elements of weather, are never just what they seem. Rain can symbolize anything from mystery and misery to new birth and cleansing. On the same note, rainbows have their own meanings: divine promise (reference to the chapter 7 about the Bible.) Fog signals some sort of confusion. Snow can bring people together or parallel many of the things rain does.
Interlude- Does He Mean That?
As readers we have to be constantly aware of the hidden references, symbols, and parallelisms that the author has hidden.
Chapter 11- ...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
There are many different types of violence: cultural, societal, symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, Romantic allegorical, transcendent. Those then fall into two categories: one where something specific happens to the character (getting beat up, stabbings, shootings) and narrative violence where the author causes general harm to the characters (death, emotional suffering.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)