Prompt Four-One Story

Before reading and mostly questioning Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, with each story I read, I concluded that it functioned in one realm, in which the author intended it to be. Once reading Foster’s book, I soon realized that in truth, literature is only one story, with each story drawing parallel to each other. Foster argues that “there is only one story.” At first look, this theory was highly preposterous because how can an authorial intent from similar stories be the exact same? My answer was soon found after I read the bold print on page 27; they do not have to be. By studying social archetypes, the concept of intertextuality in books, novels, and myths is merely one in the same. Under the archetypal lens, Foster’s statement is entirely valid. People who support and believe in the archetypal lens claim that what happens in the world happens in patterns. His theory that all literature falls under the same story, certainly follows a pattern. A personal example with intertextuality in literature comes in recent readings of the past year. In The Iliad, the main character Achilles is entirely dualistic in what he is perceived as, a brutal warrior and what he actually is in relations with his mother, and the death of Patroclus, a softer, more human like personality. In Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, his main character, Norman Bates, also maintains a dualistic personality when he is his nicer self when talking and associating with people he likes, and then when he feels the urge to kill someone, he becomes truly psycho. The authorial intent was subconsciously the same, and that is what is fascinating about Foster’s one story theory.

Prompt 1-Literacy

Literacy, by definition, simply is the ability to read and write. Education plays an overwhelming part in determining if someone is successfully literate or not, but plenty of people that are almost completely literate that have received minimal, if any education. However, literacy does not come without thresholds. The amount of books, novels, magazines, poems, or any types of literature one reads enhances their literacy, and the only way a reader enhances their ability to think about, comprehend, and predict what will happen in a novel, story, or any work of literature. Most importantly, a literate person practices the reading of literature, extensive or not. Many people are literate, so literate people live everyday lifestyles. Ones who hold a high level of literacy and understanding of literature itself have expanded critical thinking skills, and heavily literate people are proven to have more success in white collar jobs. While the denotation of the word literacy pertains to only reading and writing, the notion that people who do not have the ability to read or write, therefore illiterate, is flawed. People who cannot read and write have some form of functioning literacy because any living, breathing person has thoughts concerning everyday life. Even if it is somewhat subconscious, people must understand words that they tell themselves. What we as humans think can only come from words, regardless of whether we can read or write. Thinking comes from the knowledge and understanding of words, so a person who understands words and their cohesion should be considered literate.  

Prompt 5

Weather is a very critical detail in setting the scene for stories. Thomas Foster wrote, “Here’s what I think: weather is never just weather. It’s never just rain.” Weather is not simply a setting in literature but is also used for plot device, atmospheres, the misery factor, and the democratic element. Foster goes on to give many examples about ways weather influences a story. The example I enjoyed most was when Foster wrote, “Once you figure out rainbows, you can do rain and all the rest...Fog, for instance. It almost always signals some sort of confusion...In almost any case I can think of, authors use fog to suggest that people can’t see clearly, that matters under consideration are murky.” I specifically liked that he was able to show the different possibilities fog can mean in literature. Rain can purify a character; however, rain also brings mud which can cause a character to become more tainted than before. A personal example of weather’s impact on literature for me was in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion begins in the middle of a downpour which provokes an awkward and melancholy situation. Their love reawakens just as the sun comes out which provides the reader with a false sense of hope that they might actually make it. Then Gatsby’s climactic confrontation with Tom occurs on the hottest day of the summer. Rain can mean many different things: sadness, mystery, doubt, pain, romance, and also restorative because of spring. Weather is always a signal.

Prompt 2

In most circumstances I am not a rereader unless I zone out and have to reread a paragraph or two to comprehend the information. The reason for my lack of rereading is purely based on a lack of desire too. I understand that rereading can only be beneficial, but personally I feel that I do not have enough time to reread during the school year. I believe that in order to get the most out of a text and fully understand it one must reread sections if not the entire book. Thomas Foster wrote, “If you’re going to understand the story, you have to read through eyes that are not your own, eyes that, while not those of Aunt Kate and Julia, can take in the meaning they provided.” This quote shows that Foster believes that one must fully understand passages to get the full reading experience out of literature. Foster believes that when reading, every reader has blind spots. As a reader I often expect the author to quickly get to the point, and as a result my understanding of literature is limited. In most situations where I reread, passages become slightly clearer to me because I can focus on individual ideas and concepts instead of the entire passage as a whole. In order to truly read literature like a professor, Foster makes it clear that rereading is necessary because one’s knowledge of the text is the most important aspect of intellectual reading, and intellectual reading can best be achieved by rereading.

Prompt Five: Weather

When an author states the weather in his or her story, there are two reasons. The most obvious being that stating weather allows the reader to imagine the setting. The second is much more complicated but more essential to the author’s plot and the reader’s interpretation. An author does not simply write that the setting is rainy because the story occurs in the damp city of Seattle or the weather was foggy because it was early dawn. Thomas C. Foster contends that weather foreshadows events and symbolizes a theme. For example, rain may symbolize the cleansing of a character’s mind, body, and spirit. The fog foreshadows a character’s confusion possibly from a lapse in judgement. Foster also explains that the significance of the weather is each reader’s interpretation. Sometimes it may be raining in a story and not symbolize anything. Because the weather did have did not affect the plot, the reader has the opportunity to interpret the significance of this element.

In Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, weather is significant in the story’s plot and theme. For example, when the main character is aboard a ship, a dark and powerful storm occurs. Storms typically symbolize disaster, not happiness or comfort. This storm foreshadows an event that will drastically affect the story. In this case, the main character, Pi Patel is hurled off the boat. Patel then awakes in a life boat surrounded by the ocean water and a beautiful sky. This beautiful sky symbolizes the hope and possibility that he will survive. Although Pi Patel's life was in shambles his life would change just like the weather.

Prompt Six: Ambiguity

When children first learn to read they begin by reading books or short stories with pictures and brief descriptions. For example, Dr. Seuss books are commonly read to teach children the skill to read and not the skill to understand the author’s purpose, theme, language, and syntax. As these young readers begin to read more complex literature ambiguity comes into play. When an author writes the introduction of their story they begin by setting the scene, introducing the characters, and plot. The introduction does not cause much ambiguity for the readers but when the reader continues the story, confusion begins. The confusion occurs during the middle to end when the reader is attempting to understand the writer’s purpose in writing this text and the story’s theme. Thomas C. Foster also explains that ambiguity occurs when readers search for intertextuality. He explains that we as readers cannot read all pieces of literature. We as readers may never understand why the grandmother in the story was carrying a purple basket because a grandmother in another author’s work did so.

          I believe that ambiguity is a roadblock to understanding and also appreciating a text. Sometimes it may be frustrating to not understand why the author wrote a certain event or character but rereading the event or the description of the character enrichens the reading experience. Sometimes the reader’s interpretation may not be definite to the author’s idea, but Foster explains that is not always necessary. Reading an author’s work should be enjoyable and informative regardless if the reader’s interpretation is identical to the author’s.

Prompt 4- One Big Story

      When I first read that all text belongs to one big story I thought this to be bogus. This cannot be true. It seems as if most stories are original, and if they are not they are likely plagiarized. However, Foster changed my opinion through his chapter, “Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?” He explains that stories are not written in a vacuum. Stories are products of prior works; bits and pieces from stories are added and altered to form a new story. Although I understood the meaning behind “there is only one story”, I was not fully convinced. In order to comprehend this strange and complicated concept I had to break the idea into an analogy I could grasp. I thought of the one big story this way: writing is like preparing a meal. While I stir, steam, simmer, and grill I add ingredients (the story details). Although the ingredients have been used before in other meals, I have altered them and blended them with other ingredients. This meal may borrow ingredients from other recipes, but it will have an original taste.
     Now that I understand and accept the one big story idea, I see that when texts weave and work together it adds richness to the reading experience. Looking at the intertextuality is not a mundane and forced task, it is enjoyable to see literature's connections. Foster says when O’Brien had his character fall through a whole, readers think of Alice in Wonderland. After readers have discovered this element they will be more aware to look for other Lewis Carroll references.
    Although the one big story may be one giant cluster of ideas, it is comforting. While reading a story I now know this is not just one tiny story, but it is a collection of all the stories past, present, and future.