Response to prompt #4

4. Foster talks about the relationship between the reader and the writer suggesting that “reading is an event of the imagination... a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s). How does this occur? What does this suggest about the nature and process of reading and writing?

When reading, an individual will begin to visualize what they are reading. What they see all varies and depends on the reader. This occurs because naturally it helps the reader come to a better understanding of what the text is about. When you are able to visualize, it draws you in and helps you to read more intellectually. This is overall the best way to read, with an open mind, and letting your imagination flow because it makes the reading experience overall more efficient.

Blog Response to Prompt #4

4.    Foster talks about the relationship between the reader and the writer suggesting that, “reading is an event of the imagination…a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s).  How does this occur? What does this suggest about the nature and process of reading and writing?

When an author creates a story it is their own personal experiences and thoughts poured out onto a page generating a story filled with the writer’s own imagination. This imagination that Foster refers to facilitates the interaction between the writer and the reader’s thoughts mixed with the writer’s intent. How to break this process down into simpler terms would be as described as a conversation while having to pick up on someone’s body language. There is a form of underlying communication that comes from the way people use expressions and motions this concept can be translated to be thought of as the writer’s symbolism in the text. In many cases people in conversations are better than others at picking up on these signals but that doesn’t mean they still can’t understand the intended message. The writer and the reader are in this situation of trying to convey thoughts through pages which can be confusing for both parties involved. This idea suggests that interpreting others creative thoughts can be difficult depending upon their own life experiences and personal thoughts.

Foster uses an analogy early on in the book to describe how texts intertwine with each other by explaining how they are like eels swimming around in a barrel. He uses this to describe how stories are similar to one another but I think this also goes for showing how the author’s thoughts intertwine with the reader’s creative thoughts as well. Both factors create a story that is personal. The act of reading isn’t something that can ever be generic or standardized. Even with the simplest of stories people will still paint different mental images of characters and plot lines. The interaction between the author and the reader is something that is different for everyone and cannot be containerized to fit on kind of interpretation which is one of the biggest tings to remember when discussing Foster’s description of the interaction between author and reader.

Blog Response to Prompt #2 (Wood)

Foster’s statement that “all writing and telling belong to one big story” can be interpreted as having two meanings. The first is literal, a play on the saying “once you’ve read the dictionary, everything else is just a remix,” meaning every book is a new selection from, and ordering of, the same set of concepts predefined by the parameters of human communication. The second, Foster’s main point, is more figurative and implies that all stories, even those that are purely fictional, showcase some aspect of the human experience and are therefore all connected under the umbrella of the human condition. As such, phrases, themes, character types, scenarios, and plot points carrying the same meanings and/or implications often carry across different stories. This can range from intentional references to universal concepts. This view of reading materials as pieces of a massive literary puzzle enhances the reading experience by allowing it to develop from an intellectually passive activity of simply sitting back and reading the words at face value to an intellectually active pastime of connecting the elements of the current text to elements of previous texts to better understand the “one big story.”

 An example of the more direct, intentional connections can be seen with the book and hit musical “Wicked,” which works to directly build off of “The Wizard of Oz,” taking the flat characters of the previous text, such as the purely and inexplicably evil witch, and exploring their humanity. Less direct correlations can be seen in the classic Disney princess stories. Whether it’s Snow White or Cinderella,the character formula is the same: threatening, wicked step mother; innocent, beautiful princess; and the dashing prince that sweeps her off her feet. This formula doesn’t just work for princesses though, take Harry Potter: innocent and (internally) beautiful, he serves as the princess of his story, trapped in the custody of the threatening, wicked Dursleys, until one day his prince (in this case, gruff half-giant, Hagrid) quite literally sweeps him off his feet and into the world of magic. 

Blog Response to Prompt #4 (Wood)

When an author creates a text, he or she takes images, sounds, feelings, smells, etc. from his or her imagination and describes them for the reader. The reader then takes the descriptions from the author and recreates said sensations for his or her self. Say for example, I, as an author, wrote this description for a minor character: a young girl with strawberry blonde hair and freckles in an oversized college sweatshirt. From there, it’s your responsibility as the reader to fill in the details. What exactly does her face look like? Her body shape? Her eyes? What does her voice sound like? How does she walk? These are questions that no author can fully answer in words, the reader simply has to use his or herimagination to turn the phrases into characters (or places or items for that matter). The result being that each reader’s mental image of any given character will not look exactly the same as the author’s or any other reader’s. What this implies is that the reading process is highly subjective. That it is not only shaped by the author’s words, but by the reader’s previous knowledge and experiences. For example, the earlier description of the young girl with the strawberry blonde hair perfectly matches my best friend, so when I read that description, I see her. Another reader might see a beloved actress, an old elementary school bully, or a completely unfamiliar face. This not only affects the visual depiction of the characters, but how the reader experiences the charactersas a whole. If I picture a character as identical to my best friend, I am predisposed to like the character. So if the plot takes a completely unforeseen turn and she turns out to be a vicious, baby-eating monster, I’m going to be a lot more distraught than the person who saw a carbon copy of their elementary school bully. If I saw the character as beloved actress and another wildly different looking actress plays her in the movie, I’m going to be hard-pressed to enjoy the movie the way I did the book. Thus the work done by the reader to visualize text results in its own unique story different from any other readers’. 

Blog Response to Prompt #5

5.    After studying Foster, what ideas about the process, the experience, and the purposes of reading seem significant?  What are the philosophical underpinnings of his book about books?  What does it mean to be literate?  What does it mean to read?  How does this relate to “being human?”  What will you carry with you from this book? 

Foster’s outlook on reading is more complex than just simply scanning a page as you can tell after reading even a small bit of his book. Reading is a process of communication between the author’s ideas and the reader’s interpretation of them. The process of reading is something that cannot be generalized for one type of person.  Some people pick up on symbolism while others interpret the author’s intent completely differently; this concept allows reading to become personal and individualized.  Some concepts he explains in his book that will remain significant to me as I continue on in my reading journey would be his emphasis on how analyzing literature takes lots and lots of practice.  Throughout his book he develops this concept that there is depth to everything we read, sometimes we may not even understand it. No matter if we understand the reference or not we can understand and appreciate the intent. This book about books is about learning how to practice techniques to improve your deeper reading skills. The whole purpose of this book is to give you the tips and instruction on what to look for when reading but it doesn’t matter if you don’t out these methods into practice. As I go into AP Lit this year I will try my best to practice Foster’s methodology when it comes to analyzing literature.  I will take with me his concepts of how stories are all intertwining with one another even if the writer intends for it to be this way or not. Foster’s book has taught me many lessons on how to develop my analyzing skills and I learned a lot from his many examples of texts working within on another.

Prompt #7

7. Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader’s experience? How might ambiguity work within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?) How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?

Ambiguity is essential when reading literature. It completely determines whether we understand the text, or miss the point of it completely. You must read with an open mind, and disregard all previous opinions, or personal experiences that have led you to have specific thought processes. Everyone Has different viewpoints and if you don’t put yourself in the mind of the author, you won’t be able to understand it the way you should. It adds much more value to the book that is necessary when you go into it with an open mind.

Blog Response to Prompt #1

1.    Foster says that “reading literature is a highly intellectual activity.”  He discusses the “language of reading” and the “grammar of literature.”  What does he mean by these things and why are they important for the kind of reading he is discussing in this book?  How is this kind of reading different from purely “affective” reading? What is the true value of “reading like a professor” according to Foster?  Be sure to use textual evidence to support your answer

When Foster talks about reading being a “highly intellectual activity” he is referring to the fact that readers have to look deeper than just the words while reading a text. Reader’s ust look deeper and understand the “language of the text,” such as the symbols the author is using and the paralls they are trying to make. Understanding these things is important because once the reader understands the “language” they can begin looking at the text as more than just words and begin to look at the deeper, more intellectual meaning that the author is trying to get through to the readers. Once the reader can do this it can change the way the readers view the text and may even make reading more enjoyable because the readers can understand what the author is trying to say.

#5 Prompt Response: After studying Foster, I’ve come to the conclusion that reading is more than just staring at a few bold printed words inside of a book. Foster has made me realize that the process of reading can actually be a much more incredible experience then one might think. At the start of the book, the author immediately made this clear whenever he used the example that by using five key factors, good readers can instantly analyze what is and what might soon occur throughout a story. These factors are significant because they allow the reader to become mentally engaged within the actions and thoughts of the characters. As for the purposes and the underpinnings of books, symbolism is the most important part. It shows that a book does have a meaning even if one might appear to be more clear than another. An example of this is in chapter three whenever Foster discusses how many different authors over the past century have used horror-inspired themes to symbolize that the author, or a book’s character, might have a sort of mental illness, or that they might have something else going on in their life. In terms of being literate and the purpose of reading as a whole, while it is obviously beneficial to the world around us, it can be used for more than just understanding homework assignments, road signs and restaurant menus. It allows a reader the chance to explore their mind and create their own ending to a scenario by being able to analyze and interpret a text in a way that their specific brain interprets it. It also allows them to compare their own real world experiences to one that a character might appear to be going through, so that they can create a hypothesis for their own story ending. This was definitely a beneficial book because it taught me how to explore the many ways of analyzing a book while reading.

#7 Prompt Response: Anytime someone is reading a piece of literature, there is always a meaning within the text. Some meanings are obvious and some are not. However, that doesn’t stop them from being there. As a reader embarks upon their journey to engage in a character’s life and thought process, they will slowly begin to develop questions about what the character will or will not do next. As the book progresses, the reader’s questions will only continue to increase as the suspense gets higher and higher. Within time, they will understand why a character will choose a specific action. Whether good or bad, that character’s action will have a purpose. This purpose is a meaning that inspires a bigger picture. It might demonstrate a problem with society, a lesson that the reader should learn, etc. Depending on the book, the author’s intention might have only been to create one given lesson. However, the human brain works in mysterious ways. A person might be open to creating a variety of lessons from their given text. Some might not even be aware that they are doing this, they just might simply think that they have found the correct theme of the story, when in reality, the author had a completely different plan at hand. For those who are aware that they are doing this, they are demonstrating ambiguity. They are, in a way, helping the book to become twice as beneficial. If they can create and teach themselves a new lesson based off of what they perceived from a book, then they are also teaching themselves something that could somewhat help them in real life.

Blog Response to Prompt #7

7. Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader's experience? How might ambiguity work
within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?) How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?

     Ambiguity does play an important role while reading and writing because it leaves different interpretations open for the reader to sift through. It lets them be able to enrich their reading and writing abilities because of their open interpretation, letting them have possibilities that are endless. Having ambiguity gives the reader a more in-depth advantage as they read literature, as it lets them produce different points of views and it lets them, in a sense, be biased about what they think as they are open to all the possibilities. Ambiguity, in a sense, is the open-mindedness that a human holds, where someone is open to more than one interpretation of literary text that can change the outcome of how they understand the said text. To sum that up, they are open-minded to what something may mean and the overall meaning that an author is trying to pull through within their work. For example, music. While the song writer may mean one thing, the listener may take the song to a personal level and relate it to their everyday life. Last year in psychology, our last project was to create a list of 10 songs that we feel that described us, and while picking out my playlist I realized that how I take a song would be different than how others would take them. For example, there is a song called “This is Home," by a singer named Cavetown. The song itself is written by a trans singer/songwriter, and he is overall speaking about his insecurities (like his hair being a mess, having to hide his chest, while also dealing with depression, ect.) My own meaning of the song is different, as I take his lyrics to be about not being comfortable in my own skin and wanting to get myself out of this state of mind. As a listener, my meaning is different from his meaning though I can personally see all the different interpretations that his music holds, which leaves me with a different insight about the song (and all songs in general.)

#7

#7: Ambiguity is crucial to absorbing literature the way Foster wants us to. Humans are hard-wired to think only at the surface level. Unlike eating or sleeping, analyzing literature for symbolism is not essential to our survival and is an unnatural skill to learn. However, once learned, being open to new ways of thinking will help a reader to notice more symbolism in a given text. The journey of becoming a scholarly reader itself involves ambiguity, as you are implementing reading and processing strategies that are foreign in the majority of academic courses.

Another reason ambiguity is important to have is because writers use ambiguity when writing scholarly texts. No writer has ever written a final draft on the first try. Instead, they welcome all ideas that present themselves, and chose the ones that work best in the story.

In the book, Foster relentlessly asserts that essentially everything in a story from descriptions of the weather to a walk to the grocery store contains symbolism. Only with a combination of ambiguity from both the author and the reader can the author deliver his or her deeper message to the reader, hidden within ordinary events. Possessing ambiguity is almost like a secret password into a club of people who know the true, underlying meaning of a text.

Blog Response to Prompt #2

By saying that all "writing and telling belong to one big story," Foster means that as time goes by, it is more and more evident that all work is a derivative of earlier works in some way, intentional or not. I think this helps enrichen our experience as readers because we receive some gratitude, at least I do, when we recognize similarities between earlier works and what we read in the present. I like to think that as readers, overtime we are building our own internal library of sorts after reading and analyzing so much literature and begin to recognize more and draw it back to previous works we've read or know of. Recognizing each parallel from a new work to an older one is like finding an easter egg in a vast field of text. If you are a fan of movies and happen to binge watch explanation videos or "things you missed in [movie title]" on YouTube, you may be familiar with the popular easter egg reference. Many films have hidden images or meanings in the background, or easter eggs, that you probably would not notice the first time watching, unless you were keeping an eye out for them and intentionally trying to analyze the film in search of any foreshadowing.

The fact that "There is nothing new under the sun," is something I learned the hard way and continue to learn everyday. I used to be into photography and I struggled to take a picture of anything completely original and unique and found that there is nothing I have means of photographing that has not already been taken by someone else. I might think that I took the most beautiful picture of the sunset or the bud and although no sunset or flower is ever exactly the same, there are already millions of other pictures so similar to it already in existence.

Response to blog post #7

To have ambiguity means that one is open to different ideas and interpretations other than their own or the first one that is shown to them. Foster brings in this concept on the very cover of the book. He has a cover quote with the phrase, “Read Between the Lines,” as a subtitle which is a very large part of ambiguity. He explores throughout his book how reading between the lines and taking on different views on literature helps the reading understand the text more than just reading. It helps create a relationship between the reader and the story itself. This allows the mind to work in different ways to find the book more enjoyable and to be able to relate to the situations that are happening in the storyline. One concept that Foster talks about is how symbols are very ambiguous. Symbols can relate to one particular thing that the writer wants, but a reading can completely take the symbol to another direction just in the way they interpret the author's tone, writing style, and within their own personal experiences. If I had the choice to sit down with an author one of the first things I would ask is if they intend to make their work ambitious or is this a concept that happens naturally in a readers mind. Ambiguity is an important structure in literature because it allows readers to find different viewpoints of the text and for everyone to understand and appreciate the text in a special way to them.

Response to Prompt #3

Foster discusses the “dialogue between…texts.” He refers to this as “intertextuality.” What is the significance, value, and effect of this textual connection? How does it inform and enhance our reading experiences? Is intertextuality intentional or serendipitous? How does it operate? How might it relate to the “one big story?” How might it relate to archetypes, symbols? When have you noticed intertextuality at work in the “real” world? What is the “mythic level?”

By noticing the similarities in various works and understanding connections between such, no only can it help deepen the understanding but also the appreciation of both sides of the connection. It depends on the story. Some stories were written with the intent of allusions (eg Dante’s Inferno alluding to Greco-Roman mythology) while other times the allusions were probably happy accidents (like the similarities between “Undertale” and The Wizard of Oz.) It is a fairly simple operation. All the reader has to do is make the connection. If everything can be connected in one way or another, it is not an extremely difficult job to create a fluid amalgamation of stories. (It would take a long time, though.) The mythic level, then, is where archetypes and symbols that everyone knows (like red roses being romantic) reside. Lots of archetypes and symbols are derived from stories that came before. For example, in tradition horror movies (and “The Breakfast Club”) there are certain archetypes or “stock characters” that end up getting used a lot, for better or worse. The main cast usually consists of the nerd, the airhead, the jock, the scream queen, the bad boy that is somehow not the killer, the weird girl that is somehow not the killer, the “psycho” ex that is somehow not the killer, and the killer. (Not all of these are in “The Breakfast Club.”) Most of these can be traced back to classics like “Friday the 13th,” “Scream,” and “Nightmare on Elm Street.” As for symbols, a good one to note is the golden apple, a popular symbol for chaos straight out of Greek mythology. With this in mind, it is not hard to link everything together into one big story. On the serendipitous side of allusions, one that is really interesting that comes up more often than one would think is the digital yandere. To elaborate, a yandere is a girl that will do anything (like murder) to get her crush. A digital yandere is basically a killer AI with a crush. The two most notable characters with this archetype are .GIFfany from the TV Gravity Falls (the one and only episode she appears in is “Soos and the Real Girl”) and Monika from the indie video game “Doki Doki Literature Club (DDLC).” Both girls start out innocent, but are already sentient when the plot starts. While both have blood on their hands, .GIFfany’s are stained with that of her programmers whereas Monika’s are with the blood of her fellow club members. While not a part of the archetype, both girls end up being vanquished by their crushes.

Response to Prompt #2

King Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Foster applies this

precept saying that all “writing and telling belong to one big story." What does he

mean by this? How does this idea add to understanding and the richness of the

reading experience? How have you seen this principle in action in your own

experience with art in general?

Every new piece of art is just an expansion of everything that has come before, whether the creator realizes it or not. This takes on many forms, be it adaptations, sequels, or allusions. This means that the more art that the reader is aware of, the more parallels that can be drawn between art pieces. For instance, on one the best top-down puzzle adventure games out there is a little idie title called “Undertale.” The goal is to guide the main character (Friske, a human child) through the world of the game (The Underground) and return to the surface, home. At the same time, however, the inhabitants Underground (monsters) either love Friske or are hoping that Friske’s soul is the last soul that the king, King Asgore Dreemur, needs to break the barrier and set all monsterkind free.

While the story has originality, there is no denying the parallels between it and the classic book The Wizard of Oz. In it, the main character, Dorothy, is thrust into the strange world of Oz, much like Friske entering the Underground. One of the first major characters Dorothy meets is Glinda the Good, a witch who helps Dorothy out at the beginning of her journey. This is similar to when Friske meets Toriel (the game’s tutoriel). Both Glinda and Toriel are influential at the start of the story, but remain absent until the end. (At least in the movie. In the book, Glinda does not show up again, but they instead visit the Good Witch of the North.)

Another noteworthy parallel is between the encounters Dorothy has with the Wicked Witch of the West and early encounters Friske has with the Captain of the Royal Guard, Undyne. Both Friske and Dorothy have brief encounters with their respective antagonists that end with someone or something saving them from death at the last minute. That is, until the final encounter. Dorothy’s final encounter with the Wicked Witch happens after she’s been locked in her castle and ends when she melts the Witch with water. Friske’s final encounter with Undyne happens after Friske’s been locked in a fight with Undyne and ends with Friske dumping a cup of water on Undyne to save her from dehydration. Doing this opens up the string of events that ends with Undyne being Friske’s friend.

Blog Response to Prompt #3

The value of intertextuality is seen in the reader's ability to make connections between novels, and pull out individual pieces of the previous novel to have a better understanding of the theme of the new novel. Foster uses the example of a scene from Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato to explain this. In the scene, the party that the novel is following falls down a hole using language similar to the famous rabbit hole scene from Alice in Wonderland. Just like in Wonderland, the party in Cacciato finds a completely new world apart from the one they had just left. The similarity only enhances the reading experience, as it brings a sense of familiarity to the new novel and allows for further comparisons of the two pieces of literature. 

Intertextuality is not something that is done consciously right away, it requires training in the form of reading. At first, a reader can only make connections to other works by chance, however it becomes easier to make these connections when more literature is added to the reader's memory banks. This is because the reader has more sources they can draw from. Archetypes, metaphors, symbols, and can all be traced back to some other work, which is what Foster means when he writes, "there's no such thing as a wholly original work of literature."

Personally I have seen intertextuality in Ayn Rand's novel, Anthem. In the story, society has lost all forms of electricity. The main character finds a working light bulb in the ruins of a subway and brings it back to the heads of the society and was subsequently exiled. After this point, he renames himself Prometheus, taking the name from the Greek titan who brought fire to the humans and was punished.

Response to blog post #2

Foster agrees with King Solomon that, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Foster, applies this to his overall concept that “writing and telling belong to one big story.” I perceive this as a way to explain that life is one big story. There is nothing that one person has experienced that no one else on the world has. Therefore, the common fairytales that are passed down by generations have all involved by experience. One that is very well known would be the story of Snow White. The theme of the tale has never changed, but in the original version by The Brothers Grimm, at the very end, the evil queen was presented with a punishment for the wrongs she has acted upon. Now, the story is not as twisted as before. This adds a bittersweet experience to reading due to the way the story is perceived by different generations. Before, Snow White was just an innocent girl finding love and friends. Now, she can be seen as a girl of empowerment, which is a large concept in society today. The differences may be subtle, but they show the change in the characteristics throughout the history of the world. Another topic that builds on Foster's idea is that one way to express oneself is through art. Literature allows people to write stories about real and made up life situations. Personally, I take this as trying to make sense of the world around us. Whenever I sit down to write a short story, I think of different endings to the stories and many different ways to reach the end goal. Life is just one big story in the end and as King Solomon would say, more than likely it is nothing new. Someone else has experienced the same situation.

Blog Response to Prompt #4

Foster talks about the relationship between the reader and the writer suggesting that, “reading is an event of the imagination…a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s). How does this occur? What does this suggest about the nature and process of reading and writing?




The idea of a reader interacting with a writing really occurs when a reader is attempting to understand and delve deeper into something the writer has written such as a symbol. When a writer writes something that a reader is trying to understand, it often does not happen in an instant, it is a process. A reader often times forced to use abstract thinking because of the writer’s doing. When a writer presents an idea, readers are constantly trying to interpret what this writer has presented. Fosters says that when trying to understand something a reader should, “Associate freely, brainstorm, take notes” (113). And most importantly, a reader has to ask questions. When a reader does all of this, he or she is not only trying to understand the words in front of them, but they are trying to understand the author and what they make or may not have been thinking and trying to convey. Readers are often times expected to step out of their own shoes and step into the writer’s. It is obvious that the nature of the processes of both reading and writing go hand in hand. Writers come up with great pieces of work containing many ideas, concepts and symbols for readers to pick apart, explore, and question. Both parties are engaged and constantly being challenged to understand and question what the other is thinking. Writers have to consider how a reader may or may not think and a reader must do the same. This creates a constant cycle of creation, questions, interpretations.

Blog Response to Prompt #7

Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader's experience? How might ambiguity work within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?) How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?




A good deal of ambiguity is needed when a reader is attempting to explore the vast meanings and ideas of a text. Specifically, the idea of being open and accepting that there are many interpretations when it comes to a piece of writing is most important when looking at symbols. Foster moves to say that ambiguity often surrounds the idea of symbols because “Symbols, though, generally don’t work so neatly. The thing referred to is likely not reducible to a single statement but will more probably involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations” (105). For example, Foster explores the use of a cave in A Passage to India, but ultimately concludes that caves have been used to represent so many different ideas and meanings that it can almost always mean whatever a reader believes it to mean. Because each individual reader brings his or her own background and perspective to a piece of literature, often times he or she will perceive an action or symbol differently than someone else. Hence why the idea of ambiguity is important. Because each person has their own ideas, the concept of ambiguity gives a text more layers and chance for deeper meanings because we as readers know that a symbol often does not stand for just one thing. This brings a certain amount of complexity to the text because readers then have to use a great deal of questioning and discussing to figure out a symbol’s possible meanings. Readers in turn are able to appreciate and become more involved into a text because a symbol’s meaning(s) often are not simply laying on the surface, and it does not just mean one thing. It forces readers to “think outside of the box” and accept the notion that everything is not what it seems.

Blog Response to Prompt #2

2.    King Solomon wrote, "There is nothing new under the sun." Foster applies this precept saying that all "writing and telling belong to one big story." What does he mean by this?  How does this idea add to understanding and the richness of the reading experience?  How have you seen this principle in action in your own experience with art in general?  

When Foster states that writing and telling belong to the same story, he means that in almost if not all texts a reader will encounter in his or her time, it is likely that they will be able to form some sort of a connection to a previously encountered text. A literary writer’s job is to tell their readers a story. While each story is individual and unique, those paying attention can make the connections to something they have seen in their past. There are times when it is intentional, and the connection is used to show an influence on their creative intelligence. Other times it can be used for symbolism. Then sometimes, the writer does not even realize they are making a connection. 

There are times when the influence is quite noticeable. For example, In the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series, there is an obvious connection to mythology. The author, Rick Riorden, explored the common idea of mythology being brought into the modern world. There are other occasions, and this is perhaps what makes this concept so intriguing, when the connection being made is something so subtle that it often goes unrecognized. This was seen in several books I have read. One, for instance, is in John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars”. There is a scene that seems to carry little significance at first glance, showing a green car and a blinking green stop light. However, Green would later admit that it was meant to symbolize the blinking green light shown at the end of the dock in, “The Great Gatsby”. This concept allows readers to understand the story better, and it deepens our knowledge on the point of the text and where the writer’s mind might have been when he/she was creating the text. 

Blog Response to Prompt #7

     7. Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader's experience? How might ambiguity work within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?) How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?

The ambiguity of a text helps expand the reader's minds by opening up all of the new possibilities by making it known that there are multiple ways they can interpret the text. A reader needs to be able to look at a text and see the different directions the story can go in because there is not always one correct answer. When a text is ambiguous one single view of the text can turn into many different views based on the different readers and how they have individually developed their relationships with the text. When someone begins to read they need to be able to make their own connections that aren't based on how other's connect to the text. When readers have different views on a text they can all come together and discuss their views and how they came to see them. These discussions can expand all of the reader's ideas of the text and hearing others views can make them see the text in a way they may have never thought to look.

Blog Response to Prompt #1

The phrase, "language of reading," refers to the concepts behind the deeper meaning of a novel and the allusions and metaphors within it. Similar to how English words can have roots stemming from Latin or Greek, Foster believes that every theme or concept within a literature has a root, usually from the Bible or Shakespeare. The "grammar of literature," refers to everything the author chose to represent his or her theme, such as setting, metaphors, archetypes, and allusions. Foster uses the example of rain to prove this point. He explains how rain could mean many different things, for example the idea of cleansing, a character walking through the rain may feel refreshed or transformed upon reaching his destination. Foster also writes, "On the other hand, if he falls down, he'll be covered in mud and therefore more stained than before," (72). On account of its different meanings, the way rain is presented in a work greatly represents the author's idea. The value of these two things lies in the interpretation of a piece. With a greater understanding of the language and grammar of literature comes a greater understanding of the novel or play or whatever medium the author has chosen to best express his or her ideas.

The understanding and comprehension of the theme's of literature is the true value in reading like a professor. The ability to make a connection to the Bible or to Shakespeare or to anything else, or at least to be able to realize that "there's no such thing as a wholly original work of literature," only furthers the reader's ability to comprehend the author's thoughts and further excels the reader's ability to form their own ideas and beliefs in response to the author's.

Blog response to prompt #7

7.    Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader's experience? How might ambiguity work within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?)  How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?

Ambiguity is found in many works of art, and literature, and can be quite confusing at times. As in people thinking that their interpretation of the idea is wrong or is not specific enough. However, what most don’t realize is that these ideas can be portrayed in many deffierent aspects which can cause many to feel out of place when announcing their thoughts.

It can be portrayed in many ways which may include what the piece is talking or supposed to be about, or what the creator wanted to get across. People have different opinions so when someone speaks their mind on their interpretation it gives others like them the opportunity to understand where they are coming from and state their opinion as well. It shows readers alike that many people have different meanings for things, sometimes being based on their personal lives and personal experience.

Blog response to prompt #4

4.    Foster talks about the relationship between the reader and the writer suggesting that, “reading is an event of the imagination…a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s).  How does this occur?  What does this suggest about the nature and process of reading and writing?

When it comes to reading I agree that it is all about the readers imagination, and how this occurs is that person reading will likely imagine what the characters look like, what the scene is, and where it takes place. It is something that everyone does and sometimes there can be some truth to the imaginative things.

Imagining everything and everyone in a book is similar to creating a movie inside your head and imagining what they do and say is producing it. It really goes to show that the writer is able to convince the reader that they are watching a movie and to me that is just incredible. I think this is why Chapter 14 is so important because in order to make a good “movie” you have to relate with the characters and what they are feeling, and in order to do that you have to clear everything off of you mind.

Blog Response to Prompt #2

2.    King Solomon wrote, "There is nothing new under the sun." Foster applies this precept saying that all "writing and telling belong to one big story." What does he mean by this?  How does this idea add to understanding and the richness of the reading experience?  How have you seen this principle in action in your own experience with art in general?

King Solomon and Foster both seem to share a similar opinion in regards to the fact that all texts share ideas and can be placed into a outline that is generally the same. Foster illustrated this with many texts that he referenced throughout his book. Particularly with Grimm fairy tales and Shakespeare. Solomon saw significantly less texts than we have seen today but his idea is something that he would surely still support. 

With this assertion, the idea is that the more you read, the more similarities you will see and how it is all basically just the same and just renamed. An easier reading, like a kids book, would be similar to a book that scholars and more educated people can read. The point is that you can break down any story into the same basic components. So with practice, you can read anything. Of course, all art has an influence. However, the most common influence is that of previous artists. Supporting that " there is nothing new under the sun".

When the book "Divergent" came out, a lot of people said it was basically a remake of the book "Hunger Games". Regardless of that accusation, it did well and was talked about for a long period of time. However, it made a lot of people dislike it. It seems that even though all books borrow from one another, you have to be very careful when writing not to let people make too many connections. If their are too many similarities, a book is disliked rather than praised. It is a dangerous line of reference and copying when it comes to writings. 

Blog Response to Prompt #5

5.)After studying Foster, what ideas about the process, the experience, and the purposes of reading seem significant?  What are the philosophical underpinnings of his book about books?  What does it mean to be literate?  What does it mean to read?  How does this relate to “being human?”  What will you carry with you from this book?

My dad always has said that I should read more. He always said that the more I read then the better I will be at understanding texts. He said this especially when I would complain about the ACT or an assignment for one of my classes. I would kind of scoff or ignore him. After reading this book, I feel like Foster explained what my dad meant in a more elaborate and logical way that also showed with evidence. 

Foster says that the more that we read, the more we allow ourselves to understand future books we read. He says that all books are connected. Every plot connects to every other plot. However, the most notable lesson and skill to be had from this book is that of ambiguity. Every reader takes their own meanings from a piece of work than another person does. That ties in with the prior experiences of the individual. What they have seen, been through, and read will influence how they view a work. The message that the author wrote is not necessarily the message that the reader gets.

Then we have what it means to be literate and what it means to be able to read. To be literate means being able to understand all parts of a language or text. Just being able to read means you can say the words or look at the words and you can't necessarily do much with them. As high schoolers, we have to learn a second language. When you first started that language, you knew how to say and read the words but you didn't know what they meant. So, you weren't literate. This books has made me realize that I can only get better at reading and understanding and the longer I try then the better I will do. No person is as good as they can be when it comes to comprehending texts and reading. There is always more to read.

Blog Response to Prompt #6

6. Foster talks about the “symbolic level.”  How does this inform the kind of reading professors
(and AP Lit. students) do?  How does one work to read in this manner? What does it require of us
as readers?

The symbolic level is a type of art that takes focus and determination to master, and only those willing to actually fully understand a text will completely do so. In a sense, the symbolic level is how a symbol is used and in the manner that its used in. Symbolism is a creative outlet found in everything that you see, and it plays an important role in writing; all in all, humans use and factor out symbolism without even knowing that they are doing so. The art of symbolism is a complicated mechanism that is regarded by the context that the author writes in and how the reader takes it. Foster writes, “We bring an individual history to our reading, a mix of previous readings, to be sure, but also a history that includes, but is not limited to, educational attainment, gender, race, class, faith, social involvement, and philosophical inclination. The factors will inevitably influence what we understanding our reading, and nowhere is this individuality clearer than in the matter of symbolism” (110.) Here the author is showing the insight about symbolism and how it comes to be: it is all in the sense of the reader and how they take the linguistic outlook of the author. Every symbol, though rooted around a central idea, holds a different meaning within a person depending on how they take it and the personal history that they place with it; for example, the author writes about the rivers and the different ideas that each text held around them. While reading about the authors justification, it made sense as to why the river meant something different in each text by focusing on the history of the characters and relating the personal history of myself, the reader. AP students must work harder to understand the meaning behind the text, taking in any analytical clues behind the words to fully understand the text at hand so that they can have the same outcome and outlook that a professor would have.

Prompt #7

7.    Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader's experience? How might ambiguity work within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?)  How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?

 

Ambiguity is one of the most important pieces of understanding literature. When a story is ambiguous, it means there is more than one direction the reader can go, more specifically there is more than one possibility or meaning. Ambiguity guides the reader on the path that makes the most sense to them. Because every symbol or Christ figure is going to be interpreted differently, the authors must include ambiguity to make the story flow. While readers need this they must also rely on previous knowledge and experience to comprehend the full story. Ambiguity is like a fun house with crazy mirrors that have multiple exits. If ten people were to enter separately, and are all told find your way out, not all of them will go out the same door. Foster implies that no answer is wrong but also no answer is right. Every person reads a different way and cannot all be expected to get the same exact result. Ambiguity also helps strengthen the understanding of complex literature, because it allows a reader to see every point being made by the author.  Once a reader has a deep understanding, they can take more from the text. Their eyes are now open to every possibility that is occurring within one story. This also applies to any other form of art including logos. The Wendy's logo, as we all know, has the smiling girl, but hidden in her neckline is the word mom. When Wendy's first came out it was not only designed to be a fast food restaurant, it also was designed to attract mothers to buy Wendy's and not cook. With a quick glance the word mom almost disappears, but with a closer look the word mom appears. This is like reading literature, it is always possible to miss information, but once the information has been found it is very hard to forget. Ambiguity leads to greater appreciation because it requires the reader to use an open mind which allows for every detail to be seen, and for the reader to learn something new and exciting every time.

Prompt #5

5.    After studying Foster, what ideas about the process, the experience, and the purposes of reading seem significant?  What are the philosophical underpinnings of his book about books?  What does it mean to be literate?  What does it mean to read?  How does this relate to “being human?”  What will you carry with you from this book?

After reading How To Read Literature Like A Professor, by Thomas C. Foster, ambiguity seems the most significant. This enriches the reading experience because it strengthens the understanding between the reader and the story. If the purpose of reading literature is to fully comprehend every detail within the story, then ambiguity is required. As Foster says in Chapter 12 Is That A Symbol? "Every readers experience of every work is unique." That is largely because most stories are ambiguous and contain more than one meaning, allowing each reader to follow the story as they believe, but also follow along the path the writer has made.

 Which leads to the question, What is the difference in being literate and reading? To be literate, is the ability to use the text to comprehend all the parts and place them together. The ability to read is great, but simply reading does not necessarily mean that the parts are coming together. Consider a puzzle, being literate is taking every piece, of information, and forming the big, put together picture. Reading is taking incomplete pieces and trying to make one whole picture. Foster's philosophy puts the focus on the pieces that are required to start understanding how everything connects. Meaning Foster, like other author do, uses ambiguity to guide the reader but also give free rein to what the reader takes from the story. This book showed me that taking multiple steps to get ahead and understand is not wrong, it is simply the way that my brain functions.

Blog response to prompt #4

4.    Foster talks about the relationship between the reader and the writer suggesting that, “reading is an event of the imagination…a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s).  How does this occur? What does this suggest about the nature and process of reading and writing?

When reading Through "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" I imagined Foster being comedic in many of his statements. While to me personally, he seemed to express blunt humor through his work, others who read this book might suggest otherwise. Everyone imagines a differing type of approach Foster might have in his own work, this shows that every imagination or creative intelligence differs from others since they all engage the writers work differently and how they might progress the text. Therefore, this example shows that the reader is actively trying to decipher what the author has left for them, but during this progress the readers imagination morphs and shapes the readers meaning into their own interpretation. This is a creative liberty on ones work, the reader cannot always pinpoint how the writers creative intelligence works, so with compromising and still obtaining the overall meaning they gained from themselves and the authors work. 

One must be open minded when reading  They must be creatively smart to understand and place the information they are given into their own words and interpret the writers work into their own. The nature of reading and writing is all about progressing what you are given and interpreting it as your own. It is a creative space that allows the reader to express how they think and their values depending on the piece.  

#2--in response to Question #6

6.    Foster talks about the “symbolic level.”  How does this inform the kind of reading professors (and AP Lit. students) do?  How does one work to read in this manner? What does it require of us as readers? →

For most things, there is a certain order or hierarchy to the process. Take for instance, the hierarchy of needs presented by world-renowned American philosopher Abraham Maslow; one must first meet basic needs, such as obtaining water, nutrition, and shelter, in order to pursue psychological or self-fulfillment needs. This relates to the reading process of professors and Advanced Placement students alike because there is first an establishment of phonics and letters, which form into words to create sentences, and so forth; Foster’s “symbolic level” would be considered the top of the hierarchical pyramid.

The challenge for AP Literature students is to match the years of experience of a college professor, or someone who has spent years consciously examining literature. In the Postlude, titled Who’s in Charge?, Foster focuses on establishing conviction in readers to identify patterns of archetypes symbols by implementing certain techniques. This formulaic system of “specific interpretive activities” includes expanding knowledge to increase the possibility for recognition of intertextuality and therefore, symbols. This in depth reading demands focus, annotation, and knowledge of related texts. For the slightly above average students of AP Literature, we must work harder to uncover the secrets of text because we are not as familiar with the grammar of symbolism. I relate this to my internship with a local radiologist. For those who are unfamiliar with the field, radiology uses x-ray and radiation to diagnose disease and as you may imagine, misreading the results could be devastating. The trained eye of my mentor was able to quickly flip through despite the impending consequences and this is the same for the reader; we must deliberately think about the patterns to come to a conclusion for literary works.