How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Five

The Holiday is one of my all time favorite movies. My mom and I love to put on our comfiest pj's, brew up a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate, sit in our favorite living room spots and enjoy the comfort of this movie. It has everything that a good chick flick needs. Comedy. Romance. But coming with romance there is always one factor that has to be included. Sex.

How can a writer of an amazing movie, such as this, illustrate intimacy without showing the characters "doing the deed?" Well, this particular writer manages to do so in a very artistically sound way. The main characters of this particular novel start out as complete strangers. One of them shows up drunk on the other's doorstep and convinces her to let him stay on the couch so that he will not have to drive home drunk. One thing leads to another and the author begins paving the road to the bedroom.

But instead of showing the dirty details he just ends the scene at an open conversation with a little bit of flirting thrown in there. By not going into further visual detail, the writer actually makes more of an impact on the growth and development in characterization. Without showing the "sex scene" he leaves it open and keeps you guessing. It made me want to know if their relationship was more than just a physical one. I wanted them to blossom and to learn more about the characters themselves and why the writer chose to have them jump into things.

This particular scene in The Holiday suggests that their is more to the romantic relationship than just sex. It also foreshadows more scenes like this to come that will further describe how the characters grow and change throughout the story.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Four

Thinking back to grades five and six, I remember one of my favorite teachers setting aside a time to read to us everyday. Normally, it is expected that no one would pay attention to this so-called "story time." However, the novel, Maximum Ride had everyone sitting straight up staring intently at the teacher, listening to the words easily roll off her tongue and out of her mouth.

James Patterson's novel is a story about a "flock" of humans that have been held captive for the majority of their lives, and are held subject to a series of experiments in a secret lab called, The School. However the twist is that they all have been genetically mutated and now possess wings, along with their other human features.

With the help of their father figure, Jeb, the flock escapes from being in cages and fly off in search of a brighter future. This extended metaphor involving their literal flight from the prison illustrates the freedom they now have. I made the connection that the genetic mutations that they have are not curses, but blessings. It gives the family a freedom and openness that no one else has. The flock soon find themselves facing a whole new world on their own and no longer have to be experimented on and trapped by their adversaries.

Max and her family must go on a rescue mission to save their little sister, Angel, without completely showing the world their genetic mutations. However, Max is a strong, open-minded, and highly intelligent girl. She soars throughout the novel in search of her little sister in hopes of saving her and setting her family free for good.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Three

When an author begins to paint a wonderful or dismal scene in a story, weather becomes a main factor in bringing across a point or foreshadowing. The author uses artistically detailed adjectives and verbs to describe what the main character is about to endure without just flat out saying it.

In the novel, Holes, the main character, Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake after "stealing" a pair of shoes from charity. From simply judging by the name, being forced to go to this camp instead of jail sounds like a walk in the park, but after arriving he soon realizes that it was a LIE.

Louis Sachar introduces Stanley, driving down a dusty road toward a scorching desert and 120 degree weather. A total wasteland. After reading this novel I began to realize the significance of the weather in this particular scene. The author is trying to foreshadow what the main character is about to have to experience. The dry, deserted location represents how alone Stanley feels and how out of place he is. The desert camp not only crushes his hope of getting off easy and escaping, but can also metaphorically describe the other members of the camp. All of them are scarred and dismal, but in the end they all want a fresh start.

On the other hand, the dry, open desert can simulate a new beginning. It is so wide, free, and dangerous. It offers up a new start, with more options than any of them ever expected.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Two

Intertexuality. The stated relationship between a literary work and the other texts from different places that go into creating this particular piece. Examples of this can be seen all the time in literature through characters that are similar.

Two characters from two completely different works can possess similar qualities. For example,

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment One

Disney movies are one of the many memories that virtually every child continues to remember. Some of us even continue to watch them in our older years (quite often in fact). However, by taking a look further into these delightfully colorful and amusing stories, we can all find a quest.

Lion King is one of my favorite movies. Breaking down this story for the summer English Assignment introduced me to new parts that I had not realized. One of them being that it contained all the parts of a quest...

1. A quester: Simba, a lion cub born into a particularly important family. He goes through the traumatic experience of losing his father, and is convinced that the event was his fault. He runs away for fear that his entire family would be too upset to see him again.

2. A place to go: Simba runs into a baboon named Rafiki, who happens to be a little bit crazy and enjoy whacking Simba over the head with a stick. Something rolls around in Simba's brain that makes him decide to go back to Pride Rock to save his family from his Uncle Scar.

3. A stated reason to go there: After being harassed by the crazy baboon, Simba is convinced that he needs to go back simply to help his family and to tell them "the truth," about what happened to his father.

4. Challenges and Trials: The only person, or lion, standing in Simba's way is his dreadfully dull and mean Uncle. Since Simba had run away, Scar had taken his place as King of Pride Rock. They start to battle and while they fight, Scar admits that he is the one that killed Simba's father, Mufasa!

5. A real reason to go there: After learning that Mufasa's death was not Simba's own fault, he finds a new power in himself. He defeats Scar and takes his rightful place at the thrown and transforms the Pride Lands back to the peaceful way they once were.