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.
I agree with this point of view pertaining to the “symbolic level” and the requirements of an AP Lit student. It is interesting to see how you brought the ideals of intertextuality, as well as ambiguity, into your response to establish a foundation for the correct way with which to conduct oneself in an AP Lit course. Discussing your experience as a radiology trainee and then relating the practices to the literary world was eye opening. Being able to relate ones personal activities and ways of life to literature is just as important as understanding basic concepts for a course. If an individual does not feel completely connected to a text, how much are they really getting out of it?
ReplyDeleteI agree to your point of view pertaining to the expectations of an AP Lit student. I thought you did very well incorporating ideas from the book and translating them into what we as students need to do to be successful in our efforts. Also, I appreciated your anecdote about the radiologist you mentor under. It was interesting to see a real world experience of the working class and how the appreciation of observation skills is greatly appreciated in a successful future. For instance, training ourselves to notice patterns in books can help us train ourselves in the future to detect an issue within our careers.
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