How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Chapters 1-13

Which of the following BEST explains why English teachers and professors are able to see symbolic interpretations in a text that their students are unable to see?

• A. English professors and teachers have a natural talent for recognizing multiple layers of a story that the general public cannot emulate.

• B. English professors and teachers have a tendency to make up their own interpretations of any text they encounter.

• C. English professors and teachers have years of experience with the grammar of literature that enables them to recognize common patterns and symbols.

• D. English professors and teachers have mastered the highly technical training of upper-level college literature classes that enables readers to truly understand texts.

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Which of the following is NOT one of the five elements of a quest, according to Foster?

• A. A quester

• B. A mentor who guides the quester

• C. A place to go

• D. A stated reason to go

• E. A challenge or trial en route

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What is always the “real reason” to go on a quest?

• To gain self-knowledge

• To accomplish a goal

• To atone (def: make amends or reparation) for a previously committed wrong

• To rescue a maiden in distress

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Which of the following is the BEST example of a quest as Foster describes it?

• In The Notebook, Noah and Allie continually overcome obstacles that threaten to keep them from being together. Despite years of separation, they eventually get married and spend their lives together.

• Jack and Rose leave Southampton, England to travel to America in Titanic. They face many obstacles along the way, including thwarting a jilted lover and spending a night in the freezing waters of the Atlantic. Only Rose makes it to America, keeping the “Heart of the Ocean” as a reminder of her time with Jack.

• In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker intercepts a holographic help message and finds himself on a mission to aid the Rebel Alliance in its fight against the Galactic Empire, a group of dictators trying to take over the galaxy. As he works with the Rebel Alliance to destroy the Death Star, he discovers his family history and his own hidden power.

• Snow White leaves her home because her life is in danger and takes up a life in hiding with seven dwarves in the forest. Despite Snow White’s attempt at anonymity, the evil queen uses a magic mirror to

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What, specifically, is Foster referring to when he says characters are having “communion”?

• A scene in which two characters engage in a meaningful conversation while eating

• A scene that takes place in a church as characters observe the religious sacrament of communion

• A scene in which characters eat or drink together

• A scene in which one character uses alcohol or drugs

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Which of the following BEST describes what, according to Foster, sharing “communion” most often represents in literature?

• Communion is primarily used in mafia movies, so it foreshadows either the mob’s upcoming successful business transaction or the impending death of a member of a rival mob.

• Communion is an act of sharing and peace that can indicate the quality of characters’ relationships; when communion goes poorly, it implies the characters are not getting along.

• Communion is unique to families: it allows readers to determine whether family relationships are peaceful or broken.

• Communion always has an underlying religious implication, typically alluding to Christ’s Last Supper. Judas’s betrayal of Jesus exemplifies what happens when communion goes wrong.

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Which of the following is the BEST example of communion (or lack of communion) being used the way Foster describes it? Read each answer choice carefully. Even if you are unfamiliar with the texts, the answer choices are phrased in such a way that you can get them right if you understand Foster’s explanation.

• Elizabeth Gilbert, in Eat, Pray, Love, goes on a journey of self-discovery by traveling through Italy alone and trying new foods that show her new things about herself.

• Belle, in Beauty and the Beast, enjoys all of the Beast’s enchanted food alone despite the Beast’s warning to his servants that if Belle does not eat with him, she does not eat at all, showing that the pair will eventually fall in love.

• In the Harry Potter series, the students at Hogwarts get to choose whatever they want to eat from a massive display of options; their choices reflect important aspects of their unique personalities.

• In The Great Gatsby, husband and wife Tom and Daisy Buchanan are having dinner, but it is interrupted twice by phone calls from Myrtle (with whom Tom is having an affair), highlighting the broken relationship between Tom and Daisy.

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According to Foster, “ghosts and vampires are never only about ghosts and vampires.” Which of the following is NOT the type of person Foster would consider to be a “vampire”?

• Someone who treats their fellow humans in exploitative and selfish ways

• Someone who denies another person’s right to live in the face of their own overwhelming demands

• Someone who places their own desires, particularly uglier ones, above the needs of another person

• Someone who pursues immortality through unconventional means

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Which of the following is NOT one of the five essential elements of a vampire story?

• A. Continuance of the life force of the older male

• B. Older figure, often male, representing corrupt outworn values

• C. Death or destruction of the young female

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What is Foster referring to when he says, “There’s no such thing as a wholly original piece of literature?”

• Plagiarism

• Recurring patterns and archetypes

• Clichéd storylines

• Universality of human experiences

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