How to Read Literature Like a Professor

1. Every Trip is a Quest (Except When Its Not) Quester Place to go Stated reason to go Challenge and trials A real reason to go there (its always self knowledge) 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts o !o""union Whenever people eat or drink together, its co union !ot all co unions are holy "#reaking #read$ is a way of sharing peace % co unity A food scene in a story has to have a purpose #ecause otherwise food is food (not interesting) &ood is a shared e'perience( doesnt always have to #e wholeso e)decent *hink sy #olically+ loyalty, kinship, desire, se')se'uality A failed eal carries negative connotations #. Nice to Eat With You: Acts o $a"pires ,hosts and va pires are never -ust a#out that Sy #olic .a piris + selfishness, e'ploitation, refusal to respect the autono y of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, a#ove the needs of another/ 0lder figure representing corruption( young fe ale is stripped of her youth which gives ore power to the ale and #rings a#out the de ise of the fe ale Se'ual i plications1a trait of 23th century literature to address se' indirectly Canni#alis 1so eone grows in strength while weakening so eone else (using others to get what we want) %. I Its &'uare( Its a &onnet Sonnets usually have 4 (octave is a single unit o f eaning) or 5 parts( the two parts)sections are connected 6ines and stan7as are necessities in poetry, #ut if the poe is good its #asic unit of eaning is the sentence/ *his eans the sonnet for actually #eco es a part of the eaning1this is why for atters8 ). Where *ave I &een *er +e ore, 9o ents of si ilarity lead us forward( we need to ake connections :nterte'tuality;dialogue #etween old and new te'ts *here is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature1stories grow out of other stories, poe s out of other poe s/ *here is only one story1of hu anity and hu an nature, endlessly repeated

-. When in .ou/t( Its &ha0espeare1 Writers use what is co on in a culture as a kind of shorthand/ Shakespeare< is pervasive, so he is fre=uently echoed/ See plays as a pattern, either in plot or the e or #oth/ >'a ples+ o ?a let+ heroic character, revenge, indecision, elancholy nature o ?enry :.1a young an who ust grow up to #eco e king, take on his responsi#ilities o 0thello1-ealousy o 9erchant of .enice1-ustice vs/ ercy o @ing 6ear1aging parent, greedy children, a wise fool <he eans so ething to us as readers #ecause he eans so uch to writers( interte'tuality 2. 13r the +i/4e Situations and =uotations fro the Ai#le are ore co on than Ai#lical titles Poetry is full of scripture Writers prior to the id;BCth century could count on people #eing very fa iliar with Ai#lical stories Co on Ai#lical stories with sy #olic i plications o ,arden of >den+ wo en te pting en and causing their fall, the apple as sy #olic of an o#-ect of te ptation, a serpent who te pts en to do evil, and a fall fro innocence o David and ,oliath1overco ing overwhel ing odds o Eonah and the Whale1refusing to face a task and #eing "eaten$ or overwhel ed #y it anyway/ o Eo#+ facing disasters not of the characters aking and not the characters fault, suffers as a result, #ut re ains steadfast o *he &lood+ rain as a for of destruction( rain#ow as a pro ise of restoration o Christ figures (a later chapter)+ in BCth century, often used ironically o *he Apocalypse1&our ?orse an of the Apocalypse usher in the end of the world/ o Ai#lical na es often draw a connection #etween literary character and Ai#lical charcter/ 5. *anse46ee 7 8rete46u" Shakespeare, *he Ai#le, and folktales are all yths (ti eless and archetypal, not in the religious sense1see section 3 yth definition) Fsually stories of lost children who encounter strangers and want fa iliarity *here is a sense of loss or transfor ation, te ptation, fending for ones self)oneself Can #e an e'a ple of 9etony y;a part is ade to stand for the whole (e'+ Washingtons position represents all of A erica) o ?ansel and ,retel+ lost children trying to find their way ho e o Peter Pan+ refusing to grow up, lost #oys, a girl;nurturer) o 6ittle Ged Giding ?ood+ See .a pires

o Alice in Wonderland, *he Wi7ard of 07+ entering a world that doesnt work rationally or operates under different rules, the Ged Queen, the White Ga##it, the Cheshire Cat, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wi7ard, who is a fraud o Cinderella+ orphaned girl a#used #y adopted fa ily saved through supernatural intervention and #y arrying a prince o Snow White+ >vil wo an who #rings death to an innocent1again, saved #y heroic)princely character o Sleeping Aeauty+ a girl #eco ing a wo an, sy #olically, the needle, #loodHwo anhood, the long sleep an avoidance of growing up and #eco ing a arried wo an, saved #y, guess who, a prince who fights evil on her #ehalf/ o Prince Char ing, heroes who rescue wo en (BCth c/ fre=uently switched1the wo en save the en1or used highly ironically) 9. Its 8ree0 To :e 9yth;shaping and sustaining power of a story and sy #ol( the a#ility of a story to e'plain ourselves to ourselves in ways that the sciences cannot 9yth is a #ody of story that atters( stories that atter to a person in his)her co unity Can #e overt su#-ect atter or allusions 9yths usually de onstrate our potential for greatness no atter how hu #le ones worldly circu stances Co on the es in yths+ need to protect ones fa ily (nature)( aintain dignity (divine)( deter ination to re ain faithful % to have faith (others)( to return ho e (ourselves) 1;. Its :ore Than <ust =ain an6 &no> >very story needs a setting and the weather is a part of it :ts never -ust rain1it can #e action, parado'ical, ythological, sy #olic etcI Parado'es+ it is clean #ut it akes ud( it transfor s( it cleanses( it is restorative( new awakenings, destructive (i/e/ sickness, natural disasters) Water can i' with other things+ corruption, rain#ows (#i#lical allusion), fog, snow Snow+ clean, stark, severe, war (parado'), inhospita#le, inviting, playful, filthy &og+ signals confusion( ental, ethical, physical "fog$( people cant see clearly 11. 1:ore Than Its 8onna *urt You: !oncernin? $io4ence .iolenceHpersonal and inti ate acts #etween hu ans :t can #e cultural, societal, sy #olic, the atic, #i#lical, Shakespearean, Go antic, allegoricalI .iolence is typically sy #olic action o Character caused1shootings, sta##ings, drownings, poisonings, #o #ings, hit and run, etc o narrative violence that causes characters har in general (for the sake of plot advance ent and characters arent responsi#le for it1author created it) 12. Is that a &y"/o4, a sy #ol cannot #e reduced to stand for only one thing/ :t 9FS* have a range of possi#le eaning % interpretation if it can stand for only one thing on a one;to;one #asisHallegory

&ive ways to analy7e)interpret sy #ols o deter ine if they are references or prior knowledge o #reak the work into anagea#le pieces o associate freely % take notes o group thoughts into headings( accept and re-ect groupings o Ask =uestions+ What is the writer doing with this o#-ect, i age, act, or ove ent of narrativeJ What does it feel likeJ

1#. Its A44 @o4itica4 &ew novels are eant solely for the sake of politics :ssues+ o :ndividualis and self;deter ination against the needs of society for confor ity and sta#ility/ o Power structures o Gelations a ong classes o issues of -ustice and rights o interactions #etween the se'es and a ong various racial and ethnic constituencies/ 1%. Yes( &hes a !hrist Ai?ure( Too Culture is influenced #y its do inant religious syste s Geligion inevita#ly infor s the literary work Christ figures are where you find the , and as you find the Why us Christ figuresJ Deepens our sense of a characters sacrifice, the atically has to do with rede ption, hope, or iracles/ :f used ironically, akes the character look s aller rather than greater 1). A4i?hts o Aancy ?u ans are earth #ound, so if they are flying it is sy #olic Sy #ols+ freedo , escape, flight of the i agination, return ho e, spiritual, love :rony+ falling, de ise :nterrupted flight generally a #ad thing Fsually not literal flying, #ut ight use i ages of flying, #irds, etc/ 1-. Its A44 A/out &ex ?istorically writers and artists couldnt ake uch use of the real thing (censorship) When se' is encoded into the te't, it can work on ultiple levels (usually to protect innocence of the reader, audience e #ers etc) Fsually has to do with ones identity &ew works are e'plicitly a#out the act of se' itself/ :f it is, usually it is pornography &e ale sy #ols+ chalice, ?oly ,rail, #owls, rolling landscape, e pty vessels waiting to #e filled, tunnels, i ages of fertility 9ale sy #ols+ #lade, tall #uildings

12. Except &ex When writing a#out se' it usually is really so ething else1otherwise it is clichK Sy #ols+ pleasure, sacrifice, su# ission, re#ellion, resignation, supplication, do ination, enlighten ent 15. I &he !o"es Bp( Its +aptis" 6ook at how the character gets into the water/ Are they rescuedJ Do they rise upJ DrownsJ ,ra#s drift woodJ >tc/ Givers+ suggest the constant shifting nature of ti e ?erachitus said, "0ne cannot step into the sa e river twice/$ Aaptis + re#irth (whether ,od notices or not), old identity dies, can #e painful,<you ust #e ready to receive it( L ti esHfather, son, holy ghost Drowning is sy #olic #aptis , :& the character co es #ack up, sy #olically re#orn/ Aut drowning on purpose can also represent a for of re#irth, a choosing to enter a new, different life, leaving an old one #ehind/ Sy #oli7es+ character revelation, the atic develop ent of violence, failure, guilt, plot co plication, denoue ent 19. 8eo?raphy :atters >very story is a vacation for the authors( ?e)she ust choose where to go every ti e ,eography is location M its people (history, politics, econo ics) ,eography is a#out hu ans inha#iting space and how that space inha#its the :t can always #e sy #olic, plot, the e, develops the character !orth)Fp+ clear views, snow, isolation, ice, purity, life, death, thin air South)Down+ swa ps, crowds, fog, darkness, feuds, heat, unpleasantness, people, life, death When characters go South)south, it is so they can run a ukHdirect raw encounters w) su#conscious 2;. &o .oes &eason Seasons are so sy #olically engrained we need to look for variation and nuance Seasons have certain easures of energy SpringHfertility, life, happiness, growth, resurrection (>aster) &allHharvest, reaping what we sow, #oth rewards and punish ents WinterHhi#ernation, lack of growth, old age)death, punish ent Christ asHchildhood, #irth, hope, fa ily So ething co es #efore and after the :rony+ su er can #e war and li#erating or hot and stifling 21. :ar0e6 Aor 8reatness 9arks tell us so ething the atically, etaphorically, sy #olically Fsually a hero is arked differently than the rest (strength, defor ity etc) 0ften are cautionary ele ents

Physical arks or i perfections sy #olically irror oral, e otional, or psychological scars or i perfections/ Can outwardly pro-ect the perils of an seeking to play good, or hideous outer for hides ones inner #eauty

22. *es +4in6 Aor a =eason You Cno> Physical #lindness irrors psychological, oral, intellectual (etc/) #lindness So eti es ironic( the #lind see and sighted are #lind 9any ti es #lindness is etaphorical, a failure to see1reality, love, truth, etc/ darknessH#lindness( lightHsight :f you want your audience to know so ething i portant a#out your character, introduce it early #efore you need it 2#. Its Never <ust *eart .isease1 *he heart is the center of e otion in the #ody( the heart never overstays its welco e ?eart issues)ail entsH#ad love, loneliness, cruelty, disloyalty, pederasty, cowardice, lack of deter ination 6ook for irony 2%. 1An6 =are4y <ust I44ness !ot all diseases are created e=ual *he disease should #e pictures=ue (pale skin, sunken eyesI) 9ysterious in origin ?ave sy #olic or etaphorical possi#ilities( etaphorical possi#ilities overrides all others *his is why *A)consu ption works >very age has its disease+ *A, .D, A:DS A:DS is the "new$ disease #ecause it is geographic, political, social, culturalI All disease is a#out+ trans ission, incu#ation, duration *here is a universality of great suffering and despair and courage of a victi seeking to wrest control over his own life away fro the condition that has controlled hi 2). .ont =ea6 With Your Eyes ?ave to read works in its conte't( take the work as it was intended Gead with perspective of the ti e and your own1it allows for ore sy pathy w) the historical o ent of the story *e'ts are often written against its own social, historical, cultural and personal #ackground 6iterary criticis is an option Caution+ too uch acceptance of the authors P0. can lead to difficulties( we dont have to accept everything 2-. Is *e &erious, An6 3ther Ironies :G0!N *GF9PS >.>GN*?:!,

>O+ *ypically we see characters who are our own e=uals or superiors, #ut in an ironic work we watch characters struggle futilely with forces we ight #e a#le to over co e :rony ake great use of deflection fro e'pectation :G0!N S:,!:&:>S A 9>SSA,> Ask yourself+ ?ow does it signifyJ What is the signifierJ