Sunday, September 9, 2012
Responses to Course Material #1
After reading Foster's How To Read Literature Like a Professor over the summer, I can now recognize the concepts he describes in each chapter in literature I'm reading now and have read previously. One of the chapters talks about the recurrence of a Christ figure found in literature, and recently after having read that, I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Now I can't understand why I didn't see it before: Aslan in the books represents Jesus. Both are the King, both go around healing people (or in Aslan's case, unfreezing statues of various species of animals), and the biggest one being that both die and are resurrected. Foster made me realize this, as well as other recurring symbols in literature, allowing me to look at what I have read and understand it better as well as in the future and understanding more references to classics, such as the numerous Shakespeare references that are made all throughout literature; when nothing works, Shakespeare does. Also, while doing the diagnostic test, what I learned about how to read poetry vs. how I had been reading before helped me immensely while writing and responding to forum posts in the summer work. Key details that seem as though they should be obvious were revealed to me, helping the light bulb flash on in my brain- the tone the speaker has, what the style can say about the topic, and other things to look for have been helping me to analyze poetry better. Now, according to the AP Lit Test: Essay Writing Basics, I'm not just being a tour guide of reading literature, but analyzing it and interpreting what they author is trying to say with that metaphor on line 12, or that great piece of diction used in line 23. These tools have become increasingly useful as the year progresses and will be applied not only in AP Lit class but in my other classes as well.
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I liked to see that you were able to make connections outside just doing the assignment for class and I totally agree with you. Anytime I watch a movie I begin to notice thing I hadn't before. One thing I noticed was your use of long sentences especially towards the end. I think you should consider splitting up the sentences or cutting out some of the fat. I think that your piece started out strong but as you got to the end, it came off to me that you were trying to cram everything into the one paragraph. I would suggest that next time you should add elaborate some more. For example, instead of just saying "these tools have become increasingly useful..." and that you will use it in class, give examples of how it will help you. But you writing seemed like you took the time and understood the purpose of the assignments we have done.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you made to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; it shows that you really did understand Foster and can apply his teachings to things other than books you read in school. I also like the specifics you used while talking about your poetry reading, especially because I felt the exact same way. Again, I agree with Aishwarya on the sentence length. The longer sentences are kind of daunting and can lose the interest of your reader pretty quick. I also agree that you should elaborate more next time. How is this going to help you in your other classes? Are those two assignments all you learned something from? Make sure to include and reflect on everything you've learned since the last post!
ReplyDeleteThe Chronicles of Narnia does have a lot of Biblical allusions that you may not have seen if you didn't read Foster's. What symbols did you see in the Chronicles of Narnia and how did you interpret them? I agree with Brianna and Aishwarya, after talking about the Chronicles of Narnia you elaborated less and your sentences became longer and less detailed. Maybe next time include more example that you can elaborate on so that your post has consistency with details. Also, how does Shakespeare figure into your understanding of literature now? What examples have you seen since you've read Foster's?
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