Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ms. Angert
AP Literature
How To Read Literature Like a Professor: Chapter Notes and Commentary
Chapter 1
Most of the time, an event does not occur for no reason at all. Every
quest.
As long as there are five key elements, it can be considered a quest.
The five key elements are our quester, a place to go, a stated reason to
entire story.
A trip builds the character of a person and gives them their unique
identity.
The real reason to go on a quest is never the reason that is stated.
Chapter 2
will occur.
The fact remains that people live to eat, and people die eventually.
Chapter 3
Classic vampire stories usually have the same plotline: an older man
tries to corrupt younger woman and threaten their innocence and
vitality.
In a vampire story, there are a series of steps that always occur.
o Older man comes into contact with a younger woman and
usually violates her.
o The vampire leaves a mark on his victim, the younger woman.
This usually comes in the form of a bite, although this bite is a
metaphor.
o The older vampire steals the innocence
o There is sexual attraction between the older man and the
younger woman.
o The older man (the vampire) has values that are old and corrupt,
and no longer apply to modern society.
o The victim loses her grasp on humanity, her youth is loss, and
Chapter 4
Sonnet is the most common form of poetry
before.
Patterns and symbols give life to the similarities among different
poems.
Among works, similar symbols and patterns among these works relate
them together.
Literary devices exist in literature to better convey the idea that is
Chapter 6
Shakespeare.
Being able to identify Shakespearean aspects in todays writing is the
truly good.
A persons viewpoint on a piece of writing may be different from the
different idea.
Do not deny the fact that Shakespearean aspects do not exist. Look
hard enough and they exist in all literature, no matter what the topic
is.
Chapter 7
about the stories of the bible and the events that exist in the bible.
The bible is a piece of literature that has been imitated for centuries.
Readers are expected to recognize the allusions.
o I dont catch on most of the time, as I do not know much about
Chapter 8
Literature comes from other works of literature
Childrens stories have archetypes that are extremely easy to spot
Authors dont make references that people would not understand.
Authors try to be unique with the references that they use; they try not
to use references that are too clich.
Childrens stories are common places to attain ideas from, as books
such as The Cat in the Hat are commonly heard of in American culture
Fairytales have been heard of or read by most of America, so authors
try to use fairytales commonly.
By using these types of literature, we can easily understand who is
supposed to represent what. There would be no confusion over who is
good and who is evil.
If the piece of literature is too complex, people might misunderstand
the subject. Some people may believe that Romeo is a noble character,
while others may believe that he is childish.
Irony is used commonly to get a point across.
Chapter 9
A myth is defined as the shaping and sustaining power of story and its
symbols
o Defines a persons ability to explain themselves
o They are shaped by our culture, but then they can also shape our
culture.
There are three types of myths: Shakespearean, Biblical, and Fairy Tale
Myth are strongly used to explain ones self and identity
Although we may not realize it, Roman myths are prominent in our
culture today.
Fall of Icarus is a story about how a younger refused to listen to his
o Man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. society, man vs.
supernatural/fate, man vs. nature
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
forms.
There are multiple functions of violence
o Symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, romantic,
Chapter 12
If you have to question whether something is a symbol or not, then
yes, it definitely is a symbol
However, the tricky part is figuring out what exactly the symbol
symbolizes. Only possible interpretations are taken into consideration.
It does not always have one definitely meaning; the author may have
one idea in mind, but then the reader may interpret it a completely
different way when he interprets it.
Not only are objects and images symbolic, but actions are as well
Emotional reactions also play a role in symbolizing.
Each persons education, race, gender, class, faith, social involvement,
and philosophy will affect the way they portray an object
River can be symbolized in a variety of different ways
o Death, escape, danger, safety, maturity, division, connection,
corruption, collapse
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Baptism signifies death of a person, and the person that died is
rebirthed as a new person through baptism
Drowning on purpose is used to signify a form of rebirth
o Someone choosing to enter a new life
Rain can be symbolic baptism as well, as rain cleanses a person
When a character gives up an old name and is given a new name, this
can signify baptism as well.
Chapter 19
location of a person
As love and security can be represented by geography, on the opposite
side of the spectrum, wilderness, danger, and confusion can be
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Characters are characterized by their shape, their physical qualities,
and their markings
Physical deformities always signifies something metaphorically,
something twisted, something irregular
Moral deformity is connected with physical deformity
Injury takes away a persons ability to reach their full potential, and is
symbolic of the destruction of possibilities, of the spirit and soul
Not only can characters be marked, but landscapes can be marked as
well
Chapter 22
heightened tremendously
Blindness of a character foreshadows future events dealing with the
Chapter 23
human heart.
If a character has trouble with their heart, this usually signifies that
fidelity
At the heart of things, there is usually something seriously amiss
Heart disease is utilized to signify loneliness, depression, bad love,
Chapter 24
of a person.
Illnesses are not created equally. One type of illness varies greatly from
the next, and the magnitude of these illnesses is utilized to represent
wasting disease
Many issues are addressed through the way a person deals with a
disease; the way the person approaches the disease gives
characterization of a person
o How the person confronts it
o The isolation dealing with the disease
o Randomness of the disease
o Irregularity of the disease
Do not read with your eyes; dont read from your own fixed position.
Rather, a person must enter the reality of the book, and be a part of
nationality, or lifestyle.
Last chance for change stories are prominent; in these stories, it is
Chapter 26
occur at all
It may not be a complete surprise, but it is used to get a point across.
Chapter 27