For homework, you should have just finished reading chapter 7, 8, and 9 of Foster's book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
Now, pick one of Foster's arguments that you found helpful, insightful, or accurate and explain why with a piece of literature/example.
If you agree with Foster's claims, what is a piece of literature that can support his claims (besides what he already gives to you as an example). For instance, here is my example:
Foster says that "whenever people eat or drink together, its communion" (8). We see this in The Book Thief when Max first arrives to Rosa's house. Instead of seeing Rosa freak out, or break out into her traditional rants when she sees this mysterious man show up in her home, she offers him soup. It becomes clear that Max will be a important, and welcomed part of Rosa's family because she is willing to share food with him. In an opposite example, we often see instances where "the failed meal stands as a bad sign" (11) in movies all of the time. We often see someone get up and storm out of a dinner, or a character who can't eat and picks at their food--those types of scenes show the lack or peace of unity in the family, and they are almost always depicted around family dinner time.
Answer the prompt above, include examples and quotes evidence from Foster in your response!
In chapter seven of Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he gives his audience an in-depth “sermon” on the significance of the biblical allusions readers often see in literature. One biblical reference, which has been used in countless pieces of literature throughout time, is the loss of innocence. Foster relates this subject to the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, as he says, “every story about the loss of innocence is really about someone’s private reenactment of the fall from grace, since we experience it not collectively but individually and subjectively” (49, Foster). A story which seems to follow nearly the same lines as Adam and Eve is Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. Fox’s three characters portray nearly the same roles as Adam and Eve’s story. Dog and Magpie make a couple—male and female, respectively—who are equals in their relationship, yet are both very reliant on one another. This is a parallel to the rapport between Adam and Eve. They later encounter the sly Fox, who tempts Magpie, much like the Serpent does with Eve; however, instead of the Serpent’s temptation of forbidden fruit, Fox offers Magpie freedom. After some contemplation, Magpie submits to Fox’s coaxing and takes upon his offer. Wild and Brooks end Fox along the same storyline as The Garden of Eden: once the female character realizes she had been deceived by the tempter, must live with the repercussions of her wrongful decision. Like Foster said, Magpie's loss-of-innocence was individual, as her "fall from grace" occurred without the knowledge of Dog.
ReplyDeleteCorrespondingly, Wild and Brooks make biblical references aside from re-creating certain passages. Foster says, “The devil, as the old saying goes, can quote Scripture. So can writers.” (48, Foster); this notion is evident when Fox is read with analysis. References to nature—like forests and sky—are prevalent in Fox, which gives allusion to the beginning of Genesis when God first creates the earth and describes the Garden of Eden. Additionally, fire is both used to describe the color of Fox’s coat and is the cause of Magpie’s loss of freedom in the beginning of the story; fire is employed both literally and symbolically throughout the Bible.
This was a very insightful analysis of "Fox" and something I might have to steal and share with next year's AP group. Very nice application of Foster's theory Maeve.
DeleteIn chapter seven, Foster discusses the importance of biblical references in literature. According to Foster, the use of biblical allusions allows a piece of literature to “become timeless.” (Foster, 56) We see biblical allusions throughout Oedipus the King through the use of the number three. In Oedipus the King, three is a significant number. Oedipus is three days old when his parents receive the terrifying prophecy about his future, he is warned by three people about his past (the prophet Teiresias, the shepherd, and the messenger) and Laius is killed at a three-way crossroad. In the Bible, the number three is used countless times; it represents the trinity, Jesus being tempted three times in the desert, and the three crosses at Jesus’ crucifixion- just to name a few. As you can see, both Oedipus the King and the Bible use the number 3 symbolically.
ReplyDeleteI know you are discussion biblical references here, but you bring up another good point--which is number symbolism in literature. I wonder what everyone else's thoughts are about certain numbers and their symbolism...
DeleteI thought that this was very interesting. I didn't realize how many times that the number three was used in Oedipus Rex. Adding on to what Mrs. Rutan said, numbers can be symbolic in any book. Even if the book isn't necessarily religious, a character could be symbolizing a biblical character. We can decipher this with little clues, such as numbers.
DeleteIn chapter eight of Foster’s book, he describes the connections of fairy tales in literature. When comparing a fairy tale to a more mature piece of literature, “you don’t have to use the whole story” (61). Copying the fairy tale isn’t the point. What you’re doing is adding depth to a prior piece of text by comparing it to the reader’s “knowledge of fairy tales” (62). Jack and the Beanstalk by Joseph Jacobs can connect to A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Walter and Jack are actually very similar characters. They both took money that wasn’t necessarily theirs and gambled it away into a promised land—a liquor store and a magical land high in the sky. Their intentions were also similar. Neither of them thought that bad things would come of their actions; they thought that they were helping their families. Both stories have their ups and downs, but have a happy ending. When reading a piece of literature, if you have a sudden flashback, Foster says to stop for a moment and think, because the story may be reminding you of your favorite book as a child.
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting about what a powerful read A Raisin in the Sun is...and while this isn't exactly AP here, I have also noticed a huge shift back towards fairy tales in popular culture--especially TV and movies. We are seeing the retelling/re-imagining of fairy tales a lot. For instance, "Once Upon a Time," "Snow White and the Huntsman" etc. and like Foster said, they don't completely copy the fairy tale, but reinvent it.
DeleteI liked this response a lot because you talked about the use of fairy tales and how they are adding depth to a writing, instead of just copying the fairy tale word for word. I also really liked the connection between Jack and the Beanstalk and A Raisin in the Sun. After reading the response I can definitely see how Walter and Jack are so similar. I probably never would have made that connection, so it was interesting to see your take.
DeleteIn chapter seven of Foster's book, he talks about how many pieces of literature make biblical connections. A piece of literature that has a "garden, serpent, plagues, flood, parting of waters, loaves, fishes, forty days, betrayal, denial, slavery and escape, fatted calves, milk and honey" (47) is referencing the BIble. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph has an inward battle of good and evil. The temptation to kill and have power often becomes his only thoughts, but Piggy pulls him back and tries to get him to realize what sins he makes. This is connected to when the Serpent tried to seduce Eve and succeeded. Eve betrayed God; Ralph betrayed Piggy. All the boys on the island were innocent, but they left greedy and sinful. Adam and Eve were innocent before the Serpent came along and made Eve question her loyalty. Once temptation takes over, there is no going back, because innocence is a one time thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord of Flies really is a great connection to the idea of "the fall," especially when we see the boys turn on each other, and later kill Piggy. They really do loose their innocence and realize they are no longer boys anymore, somewhat like when Adam and Eve loose their innocence and realize they are naked in the Garden of Eden.
DeleteMadi,
DeleteI really like your connection to The Lord of the Flies. Without AP Lit I never would have even thought of that book as being somewhat biblical, but you're so right! Ralph and Eve both had that same temptation and both ultimately betrayed someone. It is a really good example of that shift when their innocence is lost. We know they'll never be the same after leaving the island, just like everything changed after Adam and Eve.
That was a great connection!
Jenna
Concealed within the plastic-armored cover page and vibrant illustrations of a child’s classical literature tale, are a wide array of complex biblical allusions – mimicking the essential topic of Foster’s seventh chapter in, How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Foster provides us with a plethora of texts possessing biblical plots, symbolism, and characterization - influencing me to ponder the “deeper meaning” of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As this fairytale brings comfort and pleasure to many drowsy toddlers near and far, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs can also be dissected from a Christian dimension. Besides gracefully attracting creatures of nature with her mesmerizing melodies, Snow White possesses a face of innocence, much like the Virgin Mary. Within the plot of every generic storybook comes the antagonist. Snow White’s step-mother can be flawlessly compared to the devil, which plays an extremely significant role in The Bible. Cunningly persuaded by “a snake in the grass”, Snow White eats a single bite from the poisoned apple, causing her to perish – for a brief amount of time. Much like Snow White’s experience, Eve is also slyly swayed by a devilish snake, to eat the forbidden fruit in The Garden of Eden. Throughout chapter seven, Foster commonly refers to “the fall” (50, Foster) and in this situation, Snow White literally endures her fall once she dies, as well as Eve when she becomes banned from the garden. Although some classic pieces of literature cannot close with a resurrection from a mere kiss of the true love, many of those pieces do possess snippets, or are wholly molded around The Bible.
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting in your post how you are blending some of the different "genres" or rather "themes" like fairy tales and the bible together. A lot of people think a fairy tale is a fairy and a bible story is a bible story, but often times they overlap and Christian ideals will shine through on the fairy tale genre more often than not.
DeleteHi, Ben:
DeleteLike Mrs. Rutan said, I also liked how you incorporated two chapters of Foster's book instead of just centering your blog response around one. I found your view on biblical allusions in fairy tales to be very insightful; I had never before thought that plots/themes of fairy tales were "borrowed" from the Bible! However, in hindsight, that makes a great deal of sense since the Bible is one of the oldest and most well-known texts that exists today, and--as we well know from Foster's book--all literature comes from some other form of history/text. Also, we know that both biblical and fantastic literature often deal with good vs evil, which was a good point you discussed.
Nice job!
Maeve
In chapter seven Foster discusses the use of incorporating fairy tales into other pieces of literature. To do this he says "We're not trying to re-create the whole fairy tale here. Rather we are trying to make use of details or patterns..." (61) However there should only be a miniscule amount that is drawn from the fairy tale. If we think about the meat and potatoes of the book being our own words and then using some special seasoning from fairy tale aspects, we will have ourselves a great story. It turns out that a major plot line in Cinderella is used in many other forms of literature; one of which is the first book Harry Potter. The beginning of the book shrinks down the whole story of Cinderella into a few chapters. In the fairy tale Cinderella's father dies and she must live with her evil stepmother, much like Harry must do when he moves in with his Aunt and Uncle when his parents die. Next Cinderella has two step siblings that are treated far better than she is, exactly the way Dudley is treated like the golden child compared to Harry. Cinderella is forced to do chores and work her butt off in her house, and to follow suit Harry does the same thing for his family. In the end of Cinderella she is rescued from her situation through the magic that her Fairy Godmother uses to improve Cinderella. When last but not least Harry is saved from his horrible home life through his own newly discovered magic powers. The connections are clear and in the open. The situation Harry must deal with is the exact same as Cinderella's. Fairy tales are a huge building block of story telling and it is evident tat many writer's uses these blocks when creating their own novel.
ReplyDeleteYes! I love Harry Potter, but I also love your connections here, especially because it may help other students realize that the gender of the protagonist can change with new interpretations of other literature/fairy tales etc, so still look out for these "borrowed" plot structures in writing even though the fairy tale princess might be a boy instead in the new story.
DeleteI know we talked about this during class, but I really think this was a good comparison. This is a great example of the "Memory. Symbol. Pattern." idea. I'm guessing that most people wouldn't see the parallels on their own. I know I didn't. We discussed these similarities, but we also mentioned that there is more to Harry Potter. It shows that patterns are just that. They are not exact recreations of plots, but similarities that we can see between two stories.
DeleteCole
In chapter eight, Foster discusses how plotlines and themes from fairy tales are applied to other pieces of literature to “add depth and texture” (62). It is more engaging to read a story that you can connect with something you already have knowledge of; once we are able to make a connection, we will become much more invested in the story. For example, Jodi Picoult has a book called Between the Lines that very blatantly revolves around a fairy tale. The story has an evil villain, a prince charming, prince charming’s loyal sidekick, and – of course – a princess. There is something about a modern take on old fairy tales that just writes itself – don’t lie, we’ve all seen those Cinderella Story movies numerous times.
ReplyDeleteWhile the story of Between the Lines is very modern and much more humorous than the original fairy tales, it engages a reader because it is drawing from the stories of our childhood. When a piece of literature is able to unearth nostalgia within its audience, the author has done something right. Foster has harped on the fact that no stories are completely original for several chapters now, but nothing is truer than his statement that “we want strangeness in our stories, but we want familiarity, too” (63). As a reader, we want to be able to make connections so that we can get the full effect from a story. We don’t want a story to be the reincarnate of another, but we want just enough similarity so that we can say “hey, this sounds a lot like…”
Using fairy tale allusions in writing is exactly like using biblical or Shakespeare references, only it will make sense to a wider variety of people and will invoke deeper feelings. There is something about a fairy tale that will never get old.
Great point about how we want to make connections and looking at Foster's quote on page 63. Without connections while we read, we may not be able to "get into" a book, or really understand and engage in it.
DeleteAlso, you are very true about the Cinderella Story movies, and I realized there are a lot of them out there--"Ever After," "A Cinderella Story," and more are being made in the theater houses as we speak!
Jenna,
DeleteI like how you made it clear how the "Cinderella Story" has been told and retold throughout generations and how referencing or basing a plot off of Cinderella is a very common thing to do.
I also enjoyed the last paragraph when you say that referencing a fairy tale is just like referencing the Bible its just more of the population understand it. Foster has been talking about this and I think the stories that reference fairy tales are usually more renowned because the common reader wants to feel involved and the only way to do that is to make a reference they will understand.
In chapter eight of Thomas Foster's How to Read Literature like a professor he discusses referencing to fairy tales. What I found interesting a true to a point was when Foster said that, "An added bonus here is the lack of ambiguity in fairy tales" (Foster, 59). What Foster is saying here is that fairy tales give you an exact feeling; generally after reading a fairy tale you know exactly how you feel about a character when in other genres you may not. In The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger and her partner and crime throw my head back into the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In The Book Thief--by Markus Zusak--Liesel leaves with Rudy--said partner in crime--to walk through town to the mayors home on a quest to steal another book, Goldilocks on the other hand is at that point on a quest to just walk through the forest--soon the quest changes for the both of them. Liesel finds herself a plate of cookies in the window and with out guaranteed knowledge of them being for her, takes and eats some for herself and Rudy; Goldilocks travels through the woods and enters a house--like Liesel did--and eats some of the bears' porridge. Liesel and fairy tale character Goldilocks are caught by the homeowners and both share the same exact feeling--anxiety. Liesel stays and talks when she is caught while Goldilocks runs from the three bears, and trust me if Liesel could have gotten away from the mayor's wife, I'm sure she would have. During this moment in The Book Thief, Goldilocks and the Three Bears is the number one story that would come into my mind, and according to Foster, that could mean that there is some sort of reference or connection going in.
ReplyDeleteI really like that your remembered this scene from The Book Thief, and your point about Fairy Tales "give you an exact feeling," made me think about the characterization in fairy tales. I think you have quite a few characters that are characterized in fairy tales are all the same type: pretty, innocent young girl, evil, old stepmom, etc.
DeleteBaylee Hayes said...
ReplyDeleteIn chapter eight foster talks about the works of fairy tales. He tells us the story of Hansel and Gretel and immediately I thought of the Pixar film, Finding Nemo. Yes it's a stretch; however, there are the same elements in both the movie and the famous fairy tale. In Finding Nemo and Hansel and Gretel two character get lost, both being a guy/girl pair. Marlin and Dory don't turn to a gingerbread house for directions, but get help from several friendly sea creatures along the way. Finding Nemo doesn't have all of the same details as Hansel and Gretel, but Foster says that's ok when he says, "you can use as much or as little [of the story] as you want," (62). If they weren't different, there would be no point in even writing "new" stories! Fairy tales are more sensible to reference because they're much more popular than a Shakespearian play.
From a teacher's view, your comment made me think about: why don't teachers teach more fairy tales, especially when you made the comment about Shakespeare. I think reading a fairy tale critically (just like a Shakespeare play) could be an interesting activity for students.
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ReplyDeleteDid my comment from the other night not publish? I don't see it.
ReplyDeleteThat is what I was wondering because I didn't see it. Can you try to post it again?
DeleteIn chapter seven of Foster's book, he discusses biblical references in literature. One interesting point had to do with the naming of characters. He listed several names, all of which have biblical significance. Such names can give readers even more insight to a character. In John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, Jim Casy is just like that. He is a minister traveling with the Joads, helping to lead them to a better place (California). When trouble finds the Joads, Jim stays strong and helps them along. At first glance, his name might not seem special, but consider his initials. JC. Jim Casy can be seen as a Christ figure. His ties to religion, along with his demeanor and name all point towards that. It goes to show how a name might seem like a minor detail, but authors really do use them to add to their works.
ReplyDeleteYa! It posted. And you bring up a really important point--the significance of names in literature and their potential symbolism. If you have ever tried writing fiction, it is hard giving a character a name, so you have to figure the writer thinks very critically about the names they choose.
ReplyDelete