'How To Read Literature Like A Professor' By Thomas Foster

1. In chapter eleven of his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster examines violence in literature, and particularly the way violence functions on multiple levels. Foster identifies two different kinds of violence in literature, and discusses how those two different kinds create different literal and literary meanings. By examining Foster's categories of violence in more detail, one can see how violence in literature serves as an important link between the internal events of a story and the story itself.

Thomas C. Foster in ‘How to Read Literature like a Professor’, references the different literary devices that authors use in literature, in order to enhance the reader’s ability to critically analyze literature from any time period. Foster expands the reader’s understanding of literature by exploring the profound impact of symbols and common themes on literature.

In “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, chapter 18, Foster speaks on the topic of rebirth and renewal. He says that when a character's body is submerged into a body of water there is a symbolic meaning behind it. If the character arises from the watery depths ,then there has been some form of transformation whether it be internal or external. This is actually one of my favorite motifs to speak on, or think about. It shows the change and development of a character, how they grow, and their thought process has changed. This stage of rebirth in a literary work is the background, or building blocks, to the character's new persona/attitude.

Weather can be a very important aspect to telling a story. For example, in the book Holes, there was a town that relied on the lively lake in order to survive. This lake was the center of life and provided all the nourishment needed for the town. Unfortunately, the town abruptly stops receiving any fall of rain when Sam, a man obtaining income from the lake crops, is murdered. As a result, the entire lake ends up evaporating, leaving the town to slowly disintegrate.

The Storm in King Lear In Shakespeare, the Bible, and many other famous pieces of literature, the storm and its characteristics, lightening, thunder and rain, have been used to symbolize chaos, destruction or a dramatic upheaval of some sort. As a force of nature, storms remind one that as a human, one is essentially powerless over what they cannot control, including natural elements. In King Lear, the storm on the heath is not only an accurate reflection of Lear’s psychological state, but it also teaches Lear that he, as a king is just as vulnerable to nature’s forces, forcing him to recognize his own frailty. Although Lear never truly develops into a better king, the audience can see that before, during and after the storm, Lear emerges

It is evident in this scene that his daughter's deceit and wickedness has deeply affected his mental condition. It's understandable that any person who has been in a similar situation to that of the King's would be traumatized, however, he is exaggerating on the matter on this situation. I say this because Lear is an old and fragile person, it is dangerous for him to stand outside in life-threatening weather. This is a symbol of the weakening of his sanity. Shakespeare portrays Lear's insanity when the King assumes the weather is a person and provokes it to be more threatening. Statements like "Crack your cheeks" and " Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world " are all emblems of his inner turmoil. Furthermore, a personification of the monstrous

Lear begins to address the storm and he commands it to rage and blow. ‘Personified, apostrophized, and energized by association with Lear’s mighty passions, the elements become as participants in the drama.’ He calls on the thunderbolts to burn his white head and to ‘strike flat the thick rotundity o’the world, crack nature’s moulds’ (7-8). By his words and their relation to the vocabulary of the storm the audience can hear and see Lear descend into madness. He does this by invoking the storm to bring about his destruction as well as the destruction of the world.

Shakespeare uses the storm to symbolize Lear’s rage and chaotic nature as he navigates the repercussions of his decisions. When the storm develops in Act 3, Lear offers an invitation to the “cataracts and hurricanoes” (3.2.2). The word “cataracts” invokes an image of rushing water and constructs Lear as a powerful, yet dangerous man. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the rushing water of a cataract occurs over a “precipice,” a cliff or an overhang. Precipice also means a hazardous situation. Lear’s emotions rush like angry water as a result of Cordelia’s unsatisfactory response. This creates a hazardous situation by accepting empty flattery from Regan and Goneril and rejecting Cordelia’s response as unworthy. Like rushing water that forces

F. When King Lear is out on the heath in a storm symbolizes a man who lost everything in life. At that precise moment, he had nothing when he had everything he could have wanted, but his ignorance towards the truth and false glorification led to his end. This can also, be interpreted as a message from Shakespeare about the falsehood of ambition as well as the ultimate question of life and

Weather conditions play an instrumental role in the setting (and tone) of a scene in a story due to the symbolic meaning they can may pertain.Authors use these weather conditions to further the plot through metaphorical means such as bad weather (like a dark cloud) foreshadowing a unfavorable future in the eyes of the protagonist; however, these conditions can also be used to portray the state of a character such as rain representing a cleansed character (due to the baptizing/restorative properties of rain)(Foster 57) or fog representing a sort of a state of confusion (Foster 59). However, it is important to note that each weather condition can have numerous connotations and it is up to the author to choose the symbolic meaning behind them. For instance during the act of Papa smashing Mama’s figurines, there was “howling winds [that] came with an angry rain”(Adichie 257) and this signals to the reader that there a sense of distress in the atmosphere due to the ominous weather conditions.On the other hand, Adichie also uses the rain to represent new beginnings especially when Kambili states “the new rains will come down soon” after all the turmoil in the story subsides (307).

The journey of Lear from reigning a kingdom to having nothing is a clear-cut path for the audience and readers. His descent into madness is often difficult to understand, however. During his descent, Lear is kicked out of his daughters’ homes and faces a storm with the Fool. In this, he calls out in nature, almost as if he is trying to break through the storm. Wells mentioned that oftentimes Shakespeare

King Lear act 3 focuses on betrayal of family in order to convey that the ones who are closest to you can do the most harm. The weather in King Lear tends to reflect on a characters emotions, mostly Lear himself. As the betrayal of his daughters starts being noticed by Lear at the end of act 2, it is noted that a storm is brewing. The storm that is brewing is his rage and sadness towards his two daughters Goneril and Regan.

At the end of the monologue, Shakespeare has the weather break out into a heavy storm. This storm not only symbolizes Lear’s militant thoughts, but it also symbolizes his unstable emotions at this point. After Lear delivers the monologue, the audience has no idea what might happen next. In this Act Lear has shown signs of bipolarity when talking to people, so the audience might think he will fizzle out; on the other hand, he has also gotten carried away with his emotions. Similarly, this storm could either fizzle out, or it can get out of hand very quickly.

In addition, he strips himself to expose the true nature of man which he realizes as insignificant. It's as if he is intentionally trying to alienate himself. As if he views all mankind to be a foreign concept due to the irrational state of life. He curses, “You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!(III. ii. 32)” to defy the elements. We can't help but see Lear act against nature as if he is the storm itself. Moreover, he tries to justify his temper by mentioning that nothing can hurt him more than his daughters. Not even the elements can corrupt this poor, old man. We see the storm bring about awareness when Lear exclaims,“You sulfurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head!(III. ii. 33)” as if he begins to finally discover his true hair color which directly correlates with his age. I see that Lear is becoming aware of his age, but not willing to accept the anemic state of his body and mind. He intentionally makes note of his hair color, but the realization leaves him in a state of mental insanity soon to discover his impending death.

Throughout the story “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” Thomas C. Foster describes to read the many different ways to read and look at the many different stories in a completely different way. Foster tells the reader that in literature the same concepts pop up in and out the different novels that were written throughout the years. He writes about how symbolism is everywhere and everything in literature. How the different types of religion impact how things are interpreted and read, like the Bible or greek mythology. In Foster’s novel he allows readers to fully understand and gain the ability to read all types of literature in a way where they can interpret all of the meanings inside of it.