Due to the summer reading for this course, a voice that I imagine to be Thomas Foster, is now stuck in my head. I'll be reading a book outside of class, currently The Time Traveler's Wife, and Foster's voice will start asking me questions like "Wait...wait, back up, IS THAT A SYMBOL??" Then my eyes continue over the page, not really reading because I'm thinking about whether or not Henry's extremely disorganized apartment is a symbol. Even when I'm watching TV, Foster's points start popping into my head. I'm on season three of the TV Show Breaking Bad, and I just now realized how incredibly important it is that the show takes place in the desert! Then I was thinking about what Foster said about death and how death and violence almost always mean something in literature, and when Jessie Pingman's girlfriend (From Breaking Bad) dies, it's more than a plot twist, it actually MEANS SOMETHING. I mean, obviously it was significant, but it really got me thinking about how the death used the showing not telling method that we've been learning since what, 1st grade? It showed how malleable Jessie's character is; he's angry and defensive on the outside, but he's also gullible and confused, and has finally lost the last of anything he cared about. The death was also a turning point for him because he finally gave up his meth use. I was so surprised with how much a liked the book, and I really think Foster's views on reading literature are going to stick with me for a long time.
Okay, as for the terms, it both surprises and sort of fascinates me that there are that many words used to describe the most specific of things in literature. And I'm assuming this is only a chunk of them. But the fact that you can apply these terms to hundreds of places in just one book is actually kinda cool. It also made me think about how many of these terms I've used in the past and just not known the name for them! Although the terms test was hard, I was comforted in knowing that many of my classmates had trouble on it, and I feel like with a little more practice I will be able to apply the definitions I've memorized more easily into our future course material.
Its funny that you talk about Foster's voice popping into your head because the same thing happened to me! After reading Foster's novel, do you think you are able to better understand the literary elements the author uses or are you able to better understand the meaning of the work?
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting how you relate Foster to your everyday life. I think that now that we have read Foster it sticks with us through every piece of literature and we analyze everything through him. I think its good that you think we need more practice cause I think we all do. Do you think you can use Foster to enhance your writing abilities?
ReplyDeleteIts really creative the way you showed Fosters influence on your understanding of literature. After reading that book I also am noticing many more symbols and looking for deeper meanings when I read literature. I guess I never really appreciated how much goes into a great piece of literature until I read this book. It seems as though there is a purpose for every word, each phrase, and structure that I had never realized before. Reading this book gave me more of a mind for literature so I can completely relate to your stories. You gave great examples of how the book applied to your life and your understanding of literature. I also agree that that terms test was a bit of a struggle but I think knowing those terms will be very helpful in the future, especially for the AP test.
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