How To Read The Book 'Divergent' By Veronica Roth

Xander Carrasco Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 6 21 September 2017 How to Read Literature like a Professor The book, How to Read Literature like a Professor, was written by the well-known author, Thomas C. Foster, with a purpose to further educate readers who wish to better their understanding of literature and analysis strategies. Major focuses of Thomas C. Foster was to aid or train readers to recognize, patterns, symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. Throughout the work, Foster cites other pieces of fiction or classics in order to further his own arguments made on the approach of reading analysis.

Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor is a very well thought out book that would be great for most students to read before taking on a professional and a more eloquent piece of literature. Foster asserts that books are constructed in a meaningful way beyond the plot, and I agree with him to a certain extent. Yes, a majority of books have meanings beyond their plots, however, there are some basic books that were written just to tell a simple and entertaining story, for example, some children's books. Although, any person in the world could take the most simplistic story and digest it so that it has an ulterior meaning than what the author intended. Overall, I do agree with Foster in the assertion that books are constructed

In How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, the ideas from chapter 7: “Hansel and Gretel” can be directly related to the novel. This chapter of the novel solely relates to the fairy tale aspects of literature, and how they have been repeatedly re used. In the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde, it seems to have a concept of a work that had been created earlier during the Victorian era. The author Thomas Foster says “Literature grows out of other Literature”.

Mercedes Blanchard Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 20 September 2017 After reading and discussing How to Read Literature like a Professor, some of the many literary techniques Foster emphasized was Characters and their meaning, symbolism, and deformity. These three techniques really inspired me and pointed out certain characteristics and “clues” of the story that I otherwise would not have discovered previously. As I continued to read the book, I was compelled and even bewildered at the thought that I have missed so many hidden meanings in iconic works of writing. I came to the conclusion that literature is really a giant mystery and we readers are really just detectives trying to solve it. To begin, Chapter 10 goes into depth on the types

The interlude of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor captures theories that I find myself identifying with at large - that there is only one story. When Foster writes this, he speaks of literature and the idea that originality is impossible because we are all retelling the same human experience. While I would agree, I would even go as far to say that it is because experiencing something that no one else has is so rare. It’s so unlikely that the experiences that our lives consist of are truly our own and that is displayed in the lack of originality in storytelling. Foster goes on to explain how archetypes are hidden throughout literature and it can also be seen in the clichés found throughout life.

Thomas Foster, a professor at the University of Michigan, taught literature and writing. He was born in West Cornfield, Ohio, and living in such a small town caused him to become very associated with books. In 2003, Foster published a book, How to Read Literature like a Professor, written in second person. The book is written as a guide for readers to know the parts of nonfiction books. It teaches young readers how to include important elements into their stories.

In the book Divergent by Veronica Roth the character Beatrice Prior has a internal conflict with herself because she does not know whether to stay with her home faction Abnegation or go to Dauntless. Thier society is broken up to factions ( Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity and Dauntless)You were placed into a faction based on your personality. Beatrice was raised in Abnegation and she was taught to think of others before their self , they did everything in a gratuitously manner. Abnegation people never had a crass moment . Dauntless were the faction who valued braveness, fearlessness and toughness.

How does How To Read Literature Like A Professor applies to every piece of literature? This novel is written by Thomas Foster and he gives the better understanding on many things, including patterns, symbols, and other literary devices. He helps the reader to gain knowledge on how to recognize each small detail of the story. This novel makes the connection with The Scarlet Letter and makes it easier to comprehend. The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne; this novel is about Hester Prynne, who is a young and beautiful woman and committed adultery with town’s minister, Reverend Dimmesdale.

Jeanine Mathew uses a serum which is inserted into the members of the Dauntless faction to control them without them knowing that they are being controlled, Jeanine Matthew is then starting to make Dauntless kill each person from the Abnegation faction, which would allow her to have control over the whole city. Divergent is similar to Harrison Bergeron because in Harrison Bergeron the government forced people to wear weights, masks, and earpieces, and in Divergent people were forced to get a serum inserted inside their necks. Divergent and Harrison Bergeron shared a common topic “Corruption”, and both showed how corruption was used to control people and use their power in a wrong

In the book, Divergent by Veronica Roth, the main character,Tris, changed over the course of the book due to the struggles she has to overcome. Tris was a very different person in the beginning of the book than the end, constantly changing and developing as a person. Tris grew up in Abnegation a factor that prioritised selflessness and helping other people. Tris was timid and did not believe in herself, she felt guilty that she was not naturally selfless like the others around her, but instead curious and had a longing for something new.

In the thirteenth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster asserts that “nearly all writing is political” (118). To begin the chapter, Foster states that he hates political writings which are solely one minded, programmatic and root for a single cause. These novels, poems and plays ー which are more reports on the authors ideal culture ー “don’t travel well, don’t age well, and generally aren’t much good in their own time and place” (116). Political works which are more in depth, have several differing viewpoints and even are disguised with stories are, in Foster’s eyes, much more interesting. Furthermore, writers are people who commonly take great interests in the world around them.

Veronica Roth’s Divergent incorporated flight into the Identity-troubled life of the protagonist, Beatrice. When confronted by which faction she should take part in, she chose Dauntless, a faction that despises abnegation. Not to mention Dauntless is the polar opposite of abnegation. She wouldn’t be identity troubled if she isn’t troubled with her decision. Luckily, she is.

Divergent, a book written by Veronica Roth and directed by Neil Burger, is of a story taking place in post-war Chicago. The characters from this story includes, Beatrice Prior, also known as Tris(Shailene Woodley), Christina(Zoe Kravitz), Four(Theo James), Will(Ben Lloyd-Hughes), Caleb(Ansel Elgort), Al(Christian Madsen), Peter(Miles Teller), and Molly(Amy Newbold). The world they live in is separated into factions; Abnegation, Dauntless, Candor, Amity, and Erudite. Abnegation is selfless, Dauntless is brave, Candor is truthful, Amity is peaceful, and Erudite is smart. Each of these factions has a select job.

This book “Divergent by Veronica Roth” is the first book of a trilogy. The book is based on a post-apocalyptic world. It takes place in postwar Chicago, all the people that live there, after reaching the age of 16 teens ,they must pick one of the five strata “Abnegation ,Erudite ,Dauntless ,amity and candor” .The protagonist is Beatrice, in this book she develops a lot she becomes more independent and stands up for what is right. She also learns new skills that better her, in life.

Out of all of the pieces of literature that our class read this year, Ana in the Tropics was my least favorite. This was because I hate reading plays. Plays, for one, are supposed to be performed, and I’m supposed to be seated comfortably in the audience watching the play. I do not feel that I am supposed to be reading the screenplay, desperately trying to figure out which character is which and trying to remember who is who. Overall, reading plays adds complication for me and while trying to figure out this complication, the joy of reading is robbed from me