Mcinnis How To Read Literature Midterm

What fictional character does Thomas Foster say is a literary version of the devil?

Mr. Linder from a raisin in the sun

Foster suggests that there is a "language of reading" made up of a "set of conventions, patterns, codes, and rules that we learn to employ" when analyzing literature. What answer does Foster use to tell students how they can get better at understanding this "language of reading"?

Same way you get to Carnegie Hall

What psychological phenomenon does Foster suggest was discovered using the same combination of

"symbolic mind, pattern observer, and powerful memory" that literary analysis requires?

Oedipal complex

In the example story Foster uses to discuss the basic components of a quest, what does he use to represent the "Holy Grail" -- that is, the item being sought?

A loaf of bread

What does Foster say is always the "real reason for a quest"?

To achieve self-knowledge

According to Foster, eating scenes in literature are generally the author's way of...

Exploring characters and relationships between the characters

According to Foster, vampirism in literature has to do mostly with...

Exploitation

Which novella does Foster spend several pages analyzing as a "vampire" story?

Daisy miller by henry james

Why is a sonnet roughly "square" in geometrical shape?

Each line is 10 syllables long and the whole poem in 14 lines long

Foster says that Sarkin Aung Wan, a character in Tim O'Brien's novel Going After Cacciato, should remind us of a real historical figure. Which one?

Sacagawea

Foster calls the dialogue between old texts and new ones "intertextuality." He says that students can learn to recognize associations between characters and plots on their own but also benefit from a good literature teacher who helps point out the connections. To what real-life learning experience does he liken this process?

His father teaching him how to recognize mushroom varieties

Obviously, Foster's point in this chapter is that Shakespeare's works are quoted, copied, and alluded to on a regular and frequent basis in Western literature. Why?

[Shakespeare's] stories are great, the characters compelling, the language fabulous

Foster tells us that "...depth is what the biblical dimension adds to the story...the story resonates with the richness of distant antecedents, with the power of accumulated myth." Specifically, what short story's

Biblical allusions has Foster been discussing in detail for several pages of this chapter?

"Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin

What is Foster's main point in this chapter 7?

Allusions to humble, familiar texts are as effective as those to Bible or shakespeare

How does Foster define his use of the term "myth"?

A body of stories that matters

In this chapter, Foster discusses the implications of weather in literature. He discusses several different types of weather phenomena and their possible implications. Which does he spend most of the chapter discussing?

Rain

True or False: In this "interlude," Foster asserts that it is possible to prove that all professional "literary"

writers always intend, and indeed pre-plan, the connections and allusions apparent in their works.

False

In this chapter, Foster talks about symbolic violence in many authors' works; however, he spends quite a bit of time discussing three authors, in particular. Which three?

Toni morrison, D.H. Lawrence, William Faulkner

What is Foster's short and immediate answer to the question posed by this chapter's title?

Sure It Is

Which of these does Foster discuss as a literary symbol for several pages of this chapter 12?

A Cave

Foster begins this chapter about politics in literature by discussing a very well-known tale. Which one?

Dicken's A christmas carol

What other famous tale does Foster end up discussing in this chapter?

Rip van winkle

What famed literary character does Foster spend several pages discussing while attempting to define the characteristics of a "Christ figure"?

Santiago from Ernest Hemingway's The old man and the sea

In this chapter, Foster asserts that when a character flies, it is always heavily symbolic. What does he say flight is symbolic of?

Flight is freedom

Who does Foster say is to blame for sexuality issues being explored in literary analysis?

Freud

Which of these is closest to Foster's overall main point in this chapter?

Sex and sexuality are often not overtly mentioned in literature, but symbolically instead

Which of these most closely summarizes Foster's main overall point in this chapter 16?

Sex scenes in literature are rarely about the actual sex; they are generally about something more profound and symbolic

Which of these most closely summarizes Foster's overall main point in this chapter 16?

Sex scenes in literature are rarely about the actual sex; they are generally about something more profound and symbolic

In this chapter Foster spends a lot of time discussing the many possible meanings, roles, and implications of geography upon a literary work. He gives one rule (in bold). It says, "When writers send characters south, it's __________________________."

they can run amok

In this chapter, Foster spends a lot of time explaining how associations readers have with seasons can affect the meaning and impact of a piece of writing. Which season does he spend the most time (and pages) specifically discussing?

Fall

In this "interlude," Foster asserts that true originality in writing is impossible because, "There's only one story." What idea from an earlier chapter does this "interlude" invoke?

intertextuality

Which of the following famous literary characters is NOT discussed in this chapter, since its main point can't easily be applied to him?

Huck finn

In making his point about blindness in this chapter, to which famed literary work does Foster repeatedly refer?

Oedipus rex by sophocles

According to Foster, why is the heart symbolically important in literature?

The heart is the symbolic repository of emotion

According to Foster, which of the following diseases showed up most frequently in literature prior to the twentieth century?

Tuberculosis

To what modern-day illness does Foster devote a couple of pages near the end of this chapter?

HIV/AIDS

True or False: Foster's main point in this chapter is metaphorical. He means that you should read with your mind (and possibly your heart) rather than with your eyes.

False

In this chapter, Foster is careful to explain what he means by the statement "irony trumps everything." He says, "Every chapter in this book goes out the window when irony comes in the door." In other words, if a reader detects that a writer is using something ironically, that reader can no longer rely on what he or she knows about conventional symbolism. The reader will have to figure out what is meant by the ironic use, instead. According to Foster, what is the difficulty or problem with this?

Not every reader "gets" irony; irony doesn't work for everyone

What short-short story does Foster use as the basis for the "test case" in this chapter?

"The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield

True or False: Foster's student read the short-short story in a different symbolic way than Foster, himself, did.

true

In his parting words to the reader, Foster admits that his discussion of symbolism in literature has not been exhaustive. In particular, he laments not getting to a discussion of the potential meanings of fire in literature. But then he concedes that the reader does not NEED him to explore every possible code/symbol/pattern in literature. What is the reason he gives?

Once the reader practices looking for patterns, codes, symbols; it becomes second nature