How to Read Literature Like a Professor 2023 Exam
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How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Ch 1- Every Trip is a Quest (Except When it's Not)
quests contain: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges and trials en
route, a real reason to go
Ch 3- Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
-literal: old man, attractive but evil, violates young woman, leaves his mark, takes her
innocence
-sexual implications (trait of 19th cen lit to address sex indirectly)
-symbolic: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect autonomy of others, using people
to get what they want, placing desires above the needs of another
Ch 7- ...Or the Bible
-garden, serpents, plagues, flood, parting of water, loaves/fishes, 40 days, betrayal,
slavery/escape, denial, doves
-early English lit often informed by religion
-Biblical names to draw connections
Ch 8- Hadseldee and Greteldum
-Lit canon essential to understanding and making connections
-Hansel and Gretel: lost children far from home
Ch 9- It's Greek to Me
-Icarus: parental attempt to save child
-struggles with nature, the divine, other humans, themselves
Ch 10- It's More than Just Rain or Snow
-rain: reclaimed by water through floods/drowning/baptism; to cleanse; to restore
-fog: confusion
Ch. 11 - ...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
-can be personal, intimate, cultural, societal, symbolic, thematic, biblical,
Shakespearean, Romantic, etc.
-character caused vs authorial violence
Ch. 14 - Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
Christ figures: crucified, wounds in hands, feet, side, and head, often portrayed with
arms outstretched, in agony, self-sacrificing, good with children, good with loaves,
fishes, water, wine; 33 years of age when last seen, employed as a carpenter; known to
use humble modes of transportation, feet or donkeys preferred; believed to have walked
on water; known to have spent time alone in the wilderness; believed to have had a
confrontation with the devil, possibly tempted; last seen in the company of thieves;
creator of many aphorisms and parables; buried, but arose on the third day; had
disciples, twelve at first, although not all equally devoted; very forgiving; came to
redeem an unworthy world
Ch. 18 - If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
-symbolic death and rebirth as a new individual
-drowning symbolic baptism, IF character comes back up, symbolically reborn; drowning
on purpose can also = a form of rebirth, a choosing to enter new, different life, leaving
, old one behind
-traveling on water = represent baptism.
-rivers can = River Styx,
-rain as symbol of baptism: cleanses, washes
-rebirth/baptism implied when a character is renamed
Ch 19- Geography Matters...
-home, family, love, security vs wilderness, danger, confusion
-represent human psyche (Heart of Darkness)
-going south = running amok = having direct, raw encounter with the subconscious
-low places (swamps, crowds, fog, darkness, fields, heat, unpleasantness, people, life,
death) vs high places (snow, ice, purity, thin air, clear views, isolation, life, death)
Ch 20- ...So Does the Season
-spring, summer, fall, winter = youth, adulthood, middle age, old age/death.
-spring = fertility, life, happiness, growth, resurrection (Easter)
-fall = harvest, reaping what we sow, both rewards and punishments
-winter = hibernation, lack of growth, death, punishment
Ch 21- Marked for Greatness
-physical marks/imperfections symbolically mirror moral, emotional, or psychological
scars or imperfections.
-landscapes can be marked
-physical imperfection, when caused by social imperfection, reflects not only damage
inside individual, but faults of the culture
-Monsters:
-Frankenstein: monsters created through no fault of their own; real monster is the maker
-Faust: bargains with the devil in exchange for one's soul
-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: dual nature of humanity, a monstrous Other exists in each of
us
-Quasimodo, Beauty and the Beast: ugly on the outside, beautiful on the inside; physical
deformity reflects opposite of the truth
Ch. 24 - It's Never Just Heart Disease... and Rarely Just Illness
-heart disease = bad love, loneliness, cruelty, disloyalty, cowardice, lack of
determination
The Kite Runner
historical context
-fall of Afghanistan's monarchy to the Soviets
-emigration of refugees to the United States
-rise of Taliban
genre
historical fiction
author biography
-grew up flying kites in Afghanistan
-left country as a child
-shocked by Taliban's ban of kite flying
quick summary
-Amir lives with his father Baba and is friends with Hassan, the son of Baba's servant
(Ali)
Already Rated 100%
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Ch 1- Every Trip is a Quest (Except When it's Not)
quests contain: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges and trials en
route, a real reason to go
Ch 3- Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
-literal: old man, attractive but evil, violates young woman, leaves his mark, takes her
innocence
-sexual implications (trait of 19th cen lit to address sex indirectly)
-symbolic: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect autonomy of others, using people
to get what they want, placing desires above the needs of another
Ch 7- ...Or the Bible
-garden, serpents, plagues, flood, parting of water, loaves/fishes, 40 days, betrayal,
slavery/escape, denial, doves
-early English lit often informed by religion
-Biblical names to draw connections
Ch 8- Hadseldee and Greteldum
-Lit canon essential to understanding and making connections
-Hansel and Gretel: lost children far from home
Ch 9- It's Greek to Me
-Icarus: parental attempt to save child
-struggles with nature, the divine, other humans, themselves
Ch 10- It's More than Just Rain or Snow
-rain: reclaimed by water through floods/drowning/baptism; to cleanse; to restore
-fog: confusion
Ch. 11 - ...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
-can be personal, intimate, cultural, societal, symbolic, thematic, biblical,
Shakespearean, Romantic, etc.
-character caused vs authorial violence
Ch. 14 - Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
Christ figures: crucified, wounds in hands, feet, side, and head, often portrayed with
arms outstretched, in agony, self-sacrificing, good with children, good with loaves,
fishes, water, wine; 33 years of age when last seen, employed as a carpenter; known to
use humble modes of transportation, feet or donkeys preferred; believed to have walked
on water; known to have spent time alone in the wilderness; believed to have had a
confrontation with the devil, possibly tempted; last seen in the company of thieves;
creator of many aphorisms and parables; buried, but arose on the third day; had
disciples, twelve at first, although not all equally devoted; very forgiving; came to
redeem an unworthy world
Ch. 18 - If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
-symbolic death and rebirth as a new individual
-drowning symbolic baptism, IF character comes back up, symbolically reborn; drowning
on purpose can also = a form of rebirth, a choosing to enter new, different life, leaving
, old one behind
-traveling on water = represent baptism.
-rivers can = River Styx,
-rain as symbol of baptism: cleanses, washes
-rebirth/baptism implied when a character is renamed
Ch 19- Geography Matters...
-home, family, love, security vs wilderness, danger, confusion
-represent human psyche (Heart of Darkness)
-going south = running amok = having direct, raw encounter with the subconscious
-low places (swamps, crowds, fog, darkness, fields, heat, unpleasantness, people, life,
death) vs high places (snow, ice, purity, thin air, clear views, isolation, life, death)
Ch 20- ...So Does the Season
-spring, summer, fall, winter = youth, adulthood, middle age, old age/death.
-spring = fertility, life, happiness, growth, resurrection (Easter)
-fall = harvest, reaping what we sow, both rewards and punishments
-winter = hibernation, lack of growth, death, punishment
Ch 21- Marked for Greatness
-physical marks/imperfections symbolically mirror moral, emotional, or psychological
scars or imperfections.
-landscapes can be marked
-physical imperfection, when caused by social imperfection, reflects not only damage
inside individual, but faults of the culture
-Monsters:
-Frankenstein: monsters created through no fault of their own; real monster is the maker
-Faust: bargains with the devil in exchange for one's soul
-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: dual nature of humanity, a monstrous Other exists in each of
us
-Quasimodo, Beauty and the Beast: ugly on the outside, beautiful on the inside; physical
deformity reflects opposite of the truth
Ch. 24 - It's Never Just Heart Disease... and Rarely Just Illness
-heart disease = bad love, loneliness, cruelty, disloyalty, cowardice, lack of
determination
The Kite Runner
historical context
-fall of Afghanistan's monarchy to the Soviets
-emigration of refugees to the United States
-rise of Taliban
genre
historical fiction
author biography
-grew up flying kites in Afghanistan
-left country as a child
-shocked by Taliban's ban of kite flying
quick summary
-Amir lives with his father Baba and is friends with Hassan, the son of Baba's servant
(Ali)
