Teacher: Cherish Donaldson
Mrs. Donaldson’s email: cdonaldson@henry.k12.ga.us
Facebook Discussion Page: www.tinyurl.com/OHSEnglishSummer
(Please feel free to join the group to ask questions or get clarification over the summer. Parents are welcome, but we prefer if the students
themselves actively participate.)
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
by Thomas C. Foster
(Borrowed from Sandra Effinger; Tweaked by Cherish Donaldson)
In Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Red-Headed League," Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson both observe Jabez
Wilson carefully, yet their differing interpretations of the same details reveal the difference between a "Good
Reader" and a "Bad Reader." Watson can only describe what he sees; Holmes has the knowledge to interpret what he
sees, to draw conclusions, and to solve the mystery.
Understanding literature need no longer be a mystery -- Thomas Foster's book will help transform you from a naive,
sometimes confused Watson to an insightful, literary Holmes. Professors and other informed readers see symbols,
archetypes, and patterns because those things are there -- if you have learned to look for them. As Foster says, you
learn to recognize the literary conventions the "same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice" (xiv).
Note to students: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. For this assignment, you will read the entire text, complete a
chart, and write four short responses; you should start soon. It would be wise to create a schedule wherein each day
you read one or two chapters and complete the written assignments. If you procrastinate, you will lose sleep and turn
in less than acceptable work. No one should start the school year this way, and it helps both of us if you show me
your best effort. The short writing assignments will let you practice your literary analysis, and they will help me get
to know you and your literary tastes. Whenever asked for an example from your experiences with literature, you may
use short stories, novels, plays, or films (Yes, film is a literary genre). If your literary repertoire is thin and
undeveloped, use the Appendix of Foster’s text to jog your memory or to select additional works to explore. At the
very least, watch some of the "Movies to Read" that are listed on pages 293-294. Please note that your written
responses, unless otherwise directed, should be single paragraphs -- not pages!
Writing Assignments for How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
(Borrowed from Sandra Effinger, Donna Anglin, and Vicki Kohl; Tweaked by Cherish Donaldson)
1. You are required to read the entire text.
2. Create a Cover sheet for your summer work. Approximately 1/3 of the way down the page, center
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
and list your first and last name, the teacher’s first and last name, the course, the due date. You may
decorate the cover sheet if you wish; however, decoration is completely optional.
You are required to complete the *Reading Guide chart. Your answers should be written in and
dark blue or black ink. This is worth approximately 150 points in the Informational Text category of
the grade book.
You are required to analyze three sonnets and complete a *Sonnet Analysis Sheet for each. This is
worth 45 points in the Literary Text category of the grade book.
You are required to complete three *Single Paragraph Essays, one for each of the chapters 15, 20,
and 25. Specific directions are given for writing a single paragraph essay for each of these chapters;
please follow these directions. Use your own textual examples; do not use Foster’s. I want to know
what you can pull out of your reading experiences and to see how you think about them. This is
worth 60 points in the Writing category of the grade book.
All summer reading work for Honors English II is due the second day of the school year.
Students may also take a written test over the summer reading after returning to school.
*The Reading Guide, Sonnet Analysis Sheet, and Single Paragraph Essay directions and related documents
can be found at my website for your class (Go to the OHS website; click on the Teachers tab; click on
Donaldson, Cherish; click on the Summer Reading title on the left) and on the school website.
***NOTE: Make sure you get How to Read Literature Like a Professor; Foster has a similarly titled book, but
your assignments are from How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
Reading Guide: How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
(Any time something is in quotations in the question, it is a reference to a specific quotation in the book or the name of
literary work. You should find the quotation to answer the question correctly.)
Introduction
1. What is the essence of the
Faust legend?
2. Why is Raisin in the Sun
a version of the Faust
legend?
3. Discuss a time when
your appreciation of a
literary work was enhanced
by understanding symbol
or pattern.
Ch. 1: Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It's Not)
1. Specify the 5 elements of a
1.
quest.
5.
2.
3.
2. A. The real reason for a quest is always what?
A.
B. Because of the answer to A, questers are
often what?
B.
3. Provide an example of the 5
quest elements from some
fictional work you've read or
seen-not from one of the works
in the chapter. Label each
element as specified in the book
and explain each element.
Name of the work:
Author of the work:
a)
Do not use non-fiction works.
c)
d)
e)
4.
Ch. 2: Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion
1. A. Complete the sentence in the A. "Whenever people eat or drink together,
adjoining space-it's in the book.
B. "Here's the thing to remember
about communions of all kinds:
2. In literature, what does Foster
assert is the "compelling reason"
to include a meal scene in a story?
3. Explain what Foster says about
the meal and smoking scene in
Raymond Carver's story
"Cathedral."
4. What's the point if the "dinner
turns ugly or doesn't happen"?
5. Choose a meal from a literary
work you have read and apply the
ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary
depiction.
B. What is that "thing to remember"?
"
Ch. 3: Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
1. Foster contends that examining the
"whole Count Dracula saga has an agenda"
beyond scaring readers. What is it? It"has
something to do with" what?
2. Vampirism in literature is
"about things other than literal
vampirism." What are they? List
the 3 Foster specifies.
1.
2.
3.
3. Why does Foster think the
Victorians wrote so much about
vampires, ghosts, and
doppelgangers?
4. What are the 5 "essentials of
the vampire story"?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
5. Foster asserts that the vampire,
or "the figure of the cannibal"
comes down to exploitation "in its
many forms." Foster elaborates
that "exploitation" is essentially
what 3 things?
a.
b.
c.
6. Apply the essentials of the
Vampire story to a literary work
you have viewed or read. DO
NOT USE A LITERAL
EXAMPLE.
Ch. 5: Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?
1. What does Foster mean when
he claims "there's no such thing
as a wholly original work of
literature"?
2. What clues in Tim O'Brien's
Going after Cacciato reveal that
he is borrowing from Alice in
Wonderland?
3. To whom does the character
Sarkin Aung Wan allude? And
why so?
4. What term is given to the "dialogue between
old texts and new"?
5. Provide an example of
intertextuality from your own
reading/viewing of fictional
works. Please explain it.
The work must refer in some
specific way to another fictional
work, not to a genre.
Name of the work:
Example of intertextuality and explanation:
(Do not use works already
discussed by Foster in Ch. 5,
don't use the Bible as your
intertextual reference and don't
use non-fiction works.)
Ch. 6: When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare…
1. What does Foster say that every age and
every writer does to Shakespeare?
2. Foster says writers turn to
Shakespeare not to sound smart,
but that they quote "what they've
read or heard" and that
Shakespeare is "stuck in their
heads." Therefore, his words
have become a kind of sacred text
that confers authority.
3. Athol Fugard's Master Harold
. . . and the boys refers to
Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II.
4. Discuss a work familiar to you
that alludes to or reflects
Shakespeare. Show how the
author uses this connection
thematically.
A
makes Shakespeare's work like a sacred text: "he's
. But he's there because of
There is a kind of authority lent by
What does Fugard ask us to re-evaluate through this intertextuality?
_
Ch. 7: . . . Or the Bible
1. Explain the Biblical allusions in
2 of the following 4 stories:
Beloved, "Araby," or The Sun
Also Rises or "Why I Live at the
P.O."
1.
2.
2. What does Foster say he thinks
in recognition of the Biblical
allusion in "Sonny's Blues"
provides a reader?
3. Discuss a work that Foster does not
mention (but with which you are
familiar) that alludes to or reflects the
Bible. To start, you can look at the
example of the "two great jars." Be
creative and imaginative in these
connections. (Consider reading “Araby”
by James Joyce.)
Ch. 8: Hanseldee and Greteldum
1. Because "modem writers can't assume a common body of
knowledge on the part of their readers" (59), what can they use
for parallels, analogies, plot structures, etc.?
2. Which fairy tale seems to have
the most drawing power lately?
And why, according to Foster?
A. the fairy tale:
B. The why:
C. This why has appeal now because we live in an "age of
3. When writers use fairy tales,
they aren't "trying to re-create the
fairy tale." What are they trying to
do?
4. "Whenever fairy tales and
their simplistic worldview crop
up in connection with our
complicated and morally
ambiguous world, you can
almost certainly plan on" what?
5. Think of a work of literature that
reflects a fairy tale. In a single paragraph
essay, discuss the parallels between your
choice of a text and the fairytale it
reflects. Does it create irony or deepen
appreciation? (Be careful that you do not
discuss a movie that is a direct depiction
of a fairytale in a modern setting.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Write a free verse poem derived or inspired by characters or situations from Greek mythology. Include margin notes or footnotes to explain the
mythological allusions/references in your writing.
Ch. 10: It's More Than Just Rain and Snow
1. Foster asserts that in fiction "weather is
never just weather. It's never just rain."
What makes rain so special to us? How are
we connected to it psychologically?
1. "Ever since we crawled up on land, the water" seems to be doing
what?
2. "Rain prompts ancestral memories" because "drowning is one of our
biggest" what?
2. "If you want a character to be cleansed,
symbolically" an author can let him do what?
3. A. What is the typical
significance of a rainbow? Why
so?
A.
B. What does fog typically signal?
B.
4. Read “Distillation” by Hugo Martinez-Serros and discuss the importance of weather in this literary work, not in terms
of plot. If using the link provided, be sure to read the complete story. It is presented as 19 short sections. Here is a link to the story "Distillation" by
Hugo Martinez-Serros
Ch. 11: ...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concernin Violence
Ch. 12: Is That a Sy m b o l ?
Allegory:
2. Investigate symbolism in a text of your choice and write an explanation of your discovery. If you struggle to find a text, consider “The Pit and the
Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe. Here is a link to Poe’s tale "The Pit and the Pendulum" by E. A. Poe
Ch. 13: It's All Political
1. What type of political literature
does Foster "love"? What makes it
political?
2. Explain the political significance
Foster sees in Dame Van Winkle's
being dead in "Rip Van Winkle."
Dame Van Winkle's death represents what?
3. Political and social considerations
find their way onto the page in some
guise because writers are interested in
the work around then and that world
"contains the political reality of the
time-power structures, relations
among the classes, issues of justice
and rights, interactions between the
sexes and among various racial and
ethnic constituencies."
Explain what Foster sees as the "political" aspect of Sophocles' Oedipus at
Colonus. Be thorough.
Ch. 14: Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
1. Apply the criteria from p. 119-120 to a character from one of the textx you studied in the 9th grade—Do not use nonfiction works. You should not use an antagonist; use a protagonist—do not pursue irony for this question. Create a chart for
the character in the spaces below. Specify the novel/play's name and the character's name. For the character, you will need
to use at least 4 of criteria that Foster provides. Don't just list; explain how each of the criteria applies to the character.
The criteria you select must prove a Christ parallel in the character. You must specify the criteria. The teacher should not
have to look them up to check your work.
Name of work:
Trait #1 & explanation:
Trait #2 & explanation:
Trait #3 & explanation:
Trait #4 & explanation:
Name of character:
Ch. 18: If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
1. Heraclitus said that "one cannot step into the
same river twice" (154). What idea is he suggesting
about the "nature of time" and human experience?
2. According to Foster, what is symbolically
happening to a character who goes into the water
and comes back out?
3. Think of a symbolic "baptism"
scene from a novel or movie.
Specify the novel/movie and
explain how the character was
different after the experience. Do
not use works which Foster has
discussed.
You must read the chapter.
The baptisms all share a common
element that must appear in your
example.
Just writing about a character
who changes or re-evaluates
him/herself is not enough. Read the
chapter.
Ch. 19: Geography Matters
1. Foster asserts that "Geography
is setting, but it's also" what else?
Provide the rest of the sentence in
the space at right.
2. Explain what Foster means
when he states "geography can be
character." Reference one of his
examples in your answer.
3. According to Foster, "when
writers send their characters
south," it's for what reason?
4. Discuss a specific literary work in which the “geography matters.” In other words, a change in setting would make it completely different, meaning the
plot, characters, theme, etc. would be significantly changed. (Consider “Distillation” for your textual reference. Find the link under chapter 10.)
Ch. 21: Marked for Greatness
1. What does Foster assert we
have come to understand about
physical imperfection? Why/how
is it used? What does it mean?
"It has to do with
,,
2. a. What does Vladimir Propp
assert about the hero in his
Morphology of the Folktale?
a.
b. Provide & explain a specific
example that Foster provides
which supports Propp's (&
Foster's) assertion about the hero.
b.
3. What does Faster assert about the
deformities of the monster in Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein?
4. Figure out Harry Potter's scar and
explain its importance and what it
means; if you aren't familiar with Harry
Potter, select another character with a
physical imperfection and analyze its
implications for characterization.
Ch. 22: He's Blind for a Reason, You Know
1. What does the author want "to
emphasize" when he/she
introduces a blind character into a
work?
2. What is the "Indiana Jones
principle"?
3. Choose a text and explain how a
character’s physical blindness mirrors a
psychological, moral, or intellectual
blindness, OR explain how a text
ironically presents blindness.
.......difference .......is
Ch. 23: It's Never Just Heart Disease & Ch. 24 . . . And Rarely Just Illness
1. Heart disease in a character can
be an "emblem" for what?
2. What are the 4 "certain principle
governing the use of disease in works
of literature”?
3. Recall a character who died of a
disease in a literary work. Consider and
explain how this death reflects the
"principles governing the use of disease
in literature" (215-217). Discuss the
effectiveness of the death as related to
plot, theme, or symbolism.
1.
Name of Work:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ch. 26: Is He Serious? And Other Ironies
1. What is the first thing that Foster asserts about irony?
(Hint: it's in bold and the first sentence of the chapter.)
2. Explain the irony of the rain in
Hemingway's A Farewell to
Arms.
3. After discussing irony in Mrs. Dal/away
& Unicorn, Foster asserts that what
"kind of double-hearing… is the hallmark
of irony"?
4. A Clockwork Orange provides a
negative Christ figure in Alex.
According to Foster, of what does
Burgess want to remind us with
this negative model?
5. What is the "second ironic precept"
that Foster asserts about irony? And
provide the reason for the 2n precept.
2nd ironic precept:
The reason:
6. Select an ironic literary work and explain the
multi-vocal nature of the irony in the work.
Name of Character:
Sonnet Analysis Sheet: How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Analyzing the Building Blocks of a Sonnet (15 points)
(borrowed from Ashley Carmichael; tweaked by Cherish Donaldson)
Ch. 4: If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet
YOU MUST ATTACH A COPY OF YOUR SONNET; NO SONNET = 0 CREDIT
1.Which sonnet did you choose? Title and author- _____________________________________
What motif does it encompass?____________________________________________________
2. Number the lines of the sonnet on the left side of the text (remember, in a sonnet there should be _____
lines).
3. Put a box around each stanza.
Stanzas are not always spaced apart from each other. Look
at the ideas expressed in the text to help you to determine the arrangement.
4. Put a double box around the sonnet’s conclusion (This will be a summary of ideas, an
important point, or an answer to a question.)
5. Identify the rhyme scheme by writing the letter on the right hand side of the line. For each new rhyme
use a new letter.
7. Circle the shift, or turn, of the poem.
8. Identify SOAPS (a through e)
a. Subject—the general topic, content and ideas in the poem:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
b. Occasion—The time and place of the poem. Try to understand the context that encouraged the poem to
be written.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
c. Audience—To whom is the poem written?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
d. Purpose—What is the reason behind the writing of the poem?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
e. Speaker—What can you say about the voice speaking the poem?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
9. Identify the theme of the poem. (This should be a statement, not a word or phrase.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10. Identify at least 2 types of figurative language AND explain their meaning or importance (i.e.
Imagery, Metaphor, Similes, Onomatopoeia, Hyperbole, etc):
1.
2.
11. What kind of sonnet is this? Please be sure to explain your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Single Paragraph Essays (Written Responses): How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C.
Foster
Follow the directions to write a single paragraph response for four chapters: 15, 20, 24, and 25. You will
have four single paragraph essays to turn in when finished. See the notes and linked documents to assist with
the proper form for a single paragraph essay.
Chapter 15-- Flights of Fancy
Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. In a single paragraph essay, explain the flight
symbolism in detail.
Chapter 20-- ...So Does Season
Find a poem that mentions a specific season. In a single paragraph essay, discuss how the poet uses the season in a
meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)
Chapter 25-- Don't Read with Your Eyes
After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel, play or epic written before the twentieth century.
(Feel free to recall upon epic literature that you read as a freshman.) In a single paragraph essay, contrast how a
reader from the twenty-first century might view it with how a contemporary reader of the era in which the text was
written might view it. Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes—assumptions that would not make it in
this century.
SO, how do you write a single paragraph essay? It is not as simple as just writing a paragraph response. For directions and an
example, click here.
Even though this is formal, analytical writing, you may use "I" if you deem it important to do so; remember, however, that most
uses of "I" are just padding. For example, "I think the wolf is the most important character in 'Little Red Riding Hood'" is
padded. A better sentence is written by omitting “I think.” As you compose each written response, follow these guidelines:
 Use MLA format. (The OWL Perdue Online Writing Lab is a wonderful resource for MLA style
writing. Here is a link http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. )
Be sure to do the following:
o Please format your first page of your paper. List the Student, Teacher, Course, and Date in the
upper left hand corner. Then center on the next line and include the title, Honors English II,
Summer Reading Assignment.
o Please format each following page with a running header in the upper right corner; it should include
your last name and the page number.
o Please use section headings for each of your responses. The section heading for each response should be
the title of the chapter about which you are writing. (Example: Chapter 4—If It’s Square It’s a Sonnet)
o Please include a textual paraphrase/quote with internal citation in each of your single paragraph
essays.
o Please include a works cited page that includes a bibliographic entry for the texts you cite and refer
to. (This includes all short stories, poems, novels, plays, films, etc.) Feel free to use www.easybib.com
or www.citationmachine.net to help you create the bibliographic entries.
 In each single paragraph essay, the first time you refer to a text, include a T-A-G line. Translation: always
include the Title, Author, and Genre (for film: title, director, genre) of a text the first time you mention it in
your writing. (Do this for each written response in this assignment.) Will this get repetitive? Of course it
will! However, repetition is a key to learning, and doing this makes your writing more scholarly.
 Read the Taboos page for helpful reminders when writing. Click here for a copy.
 Concerning mechanics, pay special attention to pronouns. Make antecedents clear.
 When referring to the author, use the writer’s last name. (use “Foster,” not "he") NEVER write
“Thomas.” You do not know him, and as an accomplished author it is the least you can do to
show the respect that he deserves.
 Remember to capitalize and punctuate titles of texts properly for each genre.
 When typed, your work is much more professional, and it is much easier to revise; therefore, a
typed product is preferred. However, if you have no computer or an alternative for typing your
work, please be sure that your writing is legible and in ink.
 If you wish, you may create a cover page that has your MLA heading on it. You are free to make it a
creative cover, just be sure that your MLA heading is clear.
Adapted from Assignments originally developed by Donna Anglin and tweaked by Cherish Donaldson.
Notes by Marti Nelson.
Review the rubric that will be used to score your writing. Click here for a copy.
If you have questions, you may email me over the summer at cherish.donaldson@henry.k12.ga.us or join the
OHS Summer Reading Facebook page.