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Summary of How to Read Literature Like a Professor Chapter 1 Revised Edition

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one-Sentence-Summary:  How To Read Literature Like A Professor shows y'all how to get more out of your reading, by educating yous almost the basics of classic literature and how authors apply patterns, themes, retentiveness and symbolism in their work to deliver their message to you.

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How to Read Literature Like a Professor Summary

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I randomly came across How To Read Literature Similar A Professor, and establish out information technology was actually popular. I'd beloved to assistance you read more and ameliorate, and my gears are constantly churning how I tin help you practise that (hit me up if you want to hear my production ideas so far). Summarizing this book is surely a good start.

Thomas C. Foster is an English language professor (surprise), and he uses many examples from archetype books to show you how you tin unlock what yous read and figure out what lies beneath the basic level of the story. This book volition not merely make your reading more fun and more satisfying, you'll likewise be able to harness what your acquire in a much more than professional way.

Hither are 3 lessons to help yous master the craft of reading:

  1. Memory, symbols, and patterns are what hibernate the deeper bulletin in any volume.
  2. One of the most common patterns is the quest structure.
  3. Wait for universal messages in books to discover which symbols authors use.

Want to read literature like a professor? Let'due south have a literature trip!

If you desire to salvage this summary for subsequently, download the free PDF and read it whenever y'all want.

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Lesson 1: Most books hide their message using memory, symbols and patterns.

The majority of people falls into the category of shallow readers. When they read books, they only pay attention to the basic story level, simply not much more. If you want to go beyond that and actuallytranslate what you're reading, Foster says there are three things y'all need to scout out for.

  1. Retentiveness. This has happened to you for sure. You've read a chapter in a book and thought: "Wait, don't I know this scenario? Oasis't I read about this before?" Clever readers don't brush off that gut reaction. Instead, they dwell on it and draw an bodily comparison between what they just read and how it's different from a like book they've read in the past.
  2. Symbols. The scar on Harry Potter'southward forehead is much more than merely a scar. Its shape, the way it hurts, the visions he has considering of it. Information technology stands for much more than than an accident, it'south a symbol, and merely if you tin can interpret it you lot'll get the full picture of the story.
  3. Patterns. Sometimes trivial and seemingly meaningless details pop up once again and again. Merely like the story itself nigh ofttimes follows a pattern, so do certain characters, items and even words people utilize. Authors often use patterns to communicate hidden messages.

Merely spotting these and interpreting them correctly is hard, and so let's wait at two things yous can do to ameliorate.

Lesson 2: The quest construction is one of the most common patterns in literature.

One of the most universally applied structures in novels, which you lot tin can detect anywhere in life (fifty-fifty in your latest trip to the grocery shop), is the quest structure. It's sometimes as well called the hero's journey and it e'er contains the five following things:

  • A quester
  • A destination
  • A stated reason to go
  • Some challenges forth the way
  • An unexpected revelation

Take The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, for example. Santiago, a shepherd, is the quester. His destination are the pyramids of Arab republic of egypt. He says his reason to become is that he must find his destiny and explore the vision from his dream (nigh a treasure in Egypt). Of course he faces many challenges on his journey, such as finding dear, but having to go out information technology behind. At the end, there'south an unexpected revelation, showing Santiago that the treasure was right in front of him all along.

But if y'all run out of bread, and it becomes your reason to go to the grocery shop, a destination, you become a quester too. A claiming might be to discover a parking spot, or arrive at the store earlier it closes. Somewhen, y'all'll unexpectedly notice you still accept a loaf at home later y'all come back.

Meet, information technology has all the elements of a quest, even though it's a very piddling scenario. Now you can pay attention and find the quest structure in other books and events!

Lesson 3: Look for universal letters in books to detect which symbols authors apply.

Do you sometimes feel like books are a rip-off? That they're merely blatantly copying from some other author? Well, actually information technology'south tough to discover a volume thatdoesn't copy from a previous ane. In truth, no volume is 100% original, whether the author knows he or she is copying, or not.

This miracle is called intertextuality – all texts depend on 1 another – and it's a skillful thing! When the same ideas appear again and again information technology turns them into symbols. You can then rely on interpreting them correctly, because the aforementioned symbol usually stands for the same idea.

For example, whenever a storm is seen on the horizon, this is usually a symbol for trouble lying ahead, whether in the grade of an actual storm or a plot twist.

Often, the hero's domicile is destroyed, and he or she has to offset all over. This is commonly meant to testify that even in devastation, in that location is a liberating power.

Ask "What'due south the universal message behind this event?" as you read, and you'll be able to spot symbols and some of the big ideas, which have been around for centuries.

Note: Another thing that helps you develop this skill is reading a wide variety of books, especially classics, because these have popularized virtually of the symbols we use today.

How To Read Literature Like A Professor Review

I want more than of this. More reading about reading. If reading a lot is good, then reading a lot most reading is bang-up. Every tiny comeback you brand in how y'all read will be with you lot for the rest of your life and therefore assist you get more out ofevery adjacent volume you pick up.

This is highly recommended. How To Read Literature Like A Professor is a corking book and the summary on Blinkist is a very good starting betoken, with most of the big ideas explained well and plenty of examples.

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What else can yous acquire from the blinks?

  • Which questions assist yous get to the emotional level of a book
  • What one volumeall other books connect to
  • How the Mississippi river is a symbol for more than 1 thing, in just one volume
  • Why settings greatly shape how we perceive a story (and what role seasons play in it)
  • What makes irony one of the most powerful tools of an author

Who would I recommend the How To Read Literature Like A Professor summary to?

The 16 twelvemonth old, who struggles with English language class, the 44 year old, who wants to get more out of his reading for his chore, and anyone who's read their favorite book more than than once.

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This book has an average rating of 2.half dozen based on nine votes.

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