HTRLLAP exam

1. 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 the language of reading?

"Same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice."

2. Which of these is NOT one of those listed by Foster as the "three items that, more than any other, separate the professorial reader from the rest of the crowd"?

Innovation

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

a loaf of bread

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

to achieve self-knowledge

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

...exploring characters and relationships between characters.

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

exploitation

7. Which novella does Foster spend two pages analyzing as a "vampire" story?

Daisy Miller by Henry James

8. Why is a sonnet roughly "square," in geometrical shape?

each line is 10 syllables long and the whole poem is 14 lines long

9. Foster says that we can "go looking for old friends" in works of literature (noticing how a character is a lot like a historical figure or mythical figure or character from another work of art or literature) because...

"...there's no such thing as a wholly original work of literature."

10. What do literary critics call the "dialogue between old texts and new"?

intertextuality

11. 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 are compelling, the language fabulous."

12. 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

13. What is Foster's main point in this chapter?

Allusions to humble, familiar texts are as effective as those to the Bible or Shakespeare.

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

"A body of story that matters."

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

rain

16. 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 to readers in their works.

False

17. In this chapter, Foster tells us that "writers kill off characters for the same set of reasons—make action happen, cause plot complications, end plot complications, put other characters under stress." Which of these does he also say?

"It's nearly impossible to generalize about the meanings of violence...so we ask questions."

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

"Sure it is."

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

a cave

20. Foster says, "I hate 'political' writing." Which of these does he mean?

Literature whose primary intent is to influence politics.

21. Foster says, "I love 'political' writing." Which of these does he mean?

Writing that engages human problems, including those of the social & political realm.

22. Which 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

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

"flight is freedom"

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

Freud

25. 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.

26. Which of these most closely summarizes Foster's main point in this chapter?

Sex scenes in literature are rarely about the actual sex; they are more symbolic.

27. Which of these most closely summarizes Foster's main point in this chapter?

If a writer has a character get wet somehow, it probably means something symbolic.

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

so they can run amok

29. 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 (pages) discussing?

winter

30. 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 recall?

intertextuality

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

Huckleberry Finn

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

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

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

"The heart is the symbolic repository of emotion."

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

Tuberculosis (TB)

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

HIV/AIDS

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

True

37. In this chapter, Foster is careful to explain what he means by "irony trumps everything." He says, "Every chapter in this book goes out the window when irony comes to the door." In other words, if a reader detects that a writer is using something ironically, the 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.

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

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

"The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield

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

True

40. 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 concludes that the reader does not need him to explore every possible code/symbol/pattern. What is the reason he gives?

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