Assignment 6 - Marked for Greatness

By now anyone who has read Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor can grasp the recurring theme, that most elements of a story have a purpose if not a deeper meaning. This holds true when considering physical imperfections, more specifically Harry Potter and his famous scar. Forever living on as the "Boy Who Lived" Harry survived his encounter with Lord Voldemort with only a scar to bear.

Delving into the deeper meaning of Harry's scar requires a shift of thought. Most commonly known as a representation of the past, the lightning scar should, instead, be thought of as a window into Harry's future. The mark not only represents Harry's previous encounter with Voldemort but more importantly symbolizes the connection between Harry and the dark wizard. This faithful connections must be destroyed before the events of the final chapters. J.K. Rowling creates one imperfection in one of the character's appearances to represent this entire process: Harry's famous scar. The scar becomes the past form of Harry's future. The scar becomes a time-machine. The scar becomes a portal into the future for Harry and even his arch-nemesis.

Assignment 6 - Archetype

Archetype - The basic pattern from which all stories follow.

Once again visiting the idea of one true story, Foster introduces the concept of the archetype. Perry Moore's Hero, a coming of age story, holds true to Foster's idea that all stories have a set pattern or archetype. Although this archetype is used and abused by many authors, Moore creates a story that only proves Foster's concept true. Thom Creed, the main character, is teenager struggling to find himself. Unlike most coming of age books, however, Thom is dealing with very different issues. Not only is his father a disgraced super hero, but he is beginning to develop his own superpowers. To top off the problems, Thom is gay in an increasingly anti-homosexual community.

Creating a not so typical coming of age story seems to be increasingly difficult. By doing just that, Perry Moore helps to prove Foster's ideas about literature and the one true story. Hero is changed in a recognizable enough way to create a decent story that also follows the pattern of all the countless bad coming of age novels.

Assignment 5 - Except Sex

Nearly everyone has seen the Austin Powers trilogy. After reading Foster's opinion of the less descriptive sex scenes, an infamous seen from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me came to mind. During the scene, Austin and Ivana Humpalot play a simple game of chess. However, seconds into the game the two begin to play in a less than traditional manner. Rubbing, moaning, licking, and guttural noises commence. The game of chess contributes to the characterization of Powers and the time period. The sixties, where Austin originates, were a tumultuous period of clashes between the new front of free love and the bastion of old conservatism. By using a simple game to describe the sexual acts that are about to occur, the film creates a feeling that sex was everywhere during the 1960's and could appear anywhere. As for Powers, the scene creates a feeling of the sexual prowess of the International Man of Mystery. The men and women, as Ivana too participated in the sexual game, of the free love era are described without words. Using the game, as opposed to a sex scene, creates the double effect of describing not only an entire time period but a the people who resided in the era.

Assignment 4 - It's All Political

Foster's idea that all writing is political (whether consciously or unconsciously created) provoked my thoughts. Upon further reflection I realized his opinion was quite true. When thinking back to one of my favorite books, Tamar by Mal Peet, I made several quick political connections. Throughout the novel, the implications of war are explored continuously. For example, a major character is forced to take drugs to avoid sleep to perform his job. The effects of this forced drug use indirectly (or directly depending on personal opinion) rip a family apart forty years later. The first time I read the novel I thought of the facts merely as an unfortunate event. However, after Foster's enlightening chapter, I realized what Peet's intentions could have been. What if Peet had wanted to bring to light the lasting effects of normal wartime activities such as drug use? While it may not all be political, the majority of it can certainly be thought of that way.

Assignment 3 - Two Types of Violence

According to Thomas Foster, two different types of violence exist. The first is character violence in which the character directly causes violence to occur. The other occurs when the author purposefully creates violence to further the development of a theme. Examples of both types exist in Anthony Burgess's analysis of evil, A Clockwork Orange. Character-caused violence can be seen almost immediately as Alex, the main character and narrator, and his "droogs" (friends) prowl the streets creating mayhem where ever they step.Among other things, the "malchicks" (teenagers) rape, steal, beat, and drink their way through each evening. This violence is strictly character-caused as their own personalities create the need to be violent. The later type occurs later in the book and is much more mental than physical. After a short stint in prison, Alex is transferred to a mental hospital where the government hopes to successfully test a new prisoner reform program. Alex endures two weeks of mental bombardment as the doctors hope to condition his brain to hate sex and violence. The torturous    reform program over, Alex walks free as a changed man. However, Alex appears to be incapable of functioning in society after his old actions continue to haunt him. All of this results in Alex's attempted suicide. As the reform program was created by Burgess, the violent mental beating Alex endured was a direct result of the author.

The two distinct types of violence used by Burgess have very different effects.The character-caused violence leads to a deeper understanding of the characters and the society in which they reside. A clear mental picture of a violent corrupt world is created in the mind of the reader. Burgess's violence, however, begins to develop the theme of A Clockwork Orange. Questions about the origin of the evil begin to flow through the reader's mind. Without the inclusion of the two types of violence, Burgess's overall picture would by murky and his overall intent veiled.