9th Grade Literature and Composition 7th Period
Friday August 9, 2013
According to Thomas C. Foster's how to Read Literature like a Professor when we read with our own eyes instead of the characters it limits both our enjoyment and understanding of the text we are reading. A perfect example of us readers having limited understanding would be found in the writing piece of the The Death of the twelfth night. When we read this piece we see that their meal contains almost very ordinary food as in potato's, celery, apples, and oranges though the fact that if we are to look through the old ladies eyes instead then we are to see why this meal is such a big deal and significant to them. Another great example of limited understanding would be in Sonny's Blues. Sonny is mentioned many times and is talked about almost the entire story. You would think that he is the main character and everything surrounds him though when changing the perspective and standing in the characters shoes and looking through his eyes, you see the significance lies where Sonny's brother reaches out for the drink being offered which is supposed to strengthen their brotherhood.
An example in How to Read Literature like a Professor of limited enjoyment is portrayed in both The Death and Sonny's Blues. Just a general fact is that a person will enjoy the text if they are able to understand it and since there was limited understanding since we read through our eyes their hence was limited enjoyment of the text. I believe that when we listen to Thomas C. Foster to not only read through our eyes then not only do we gain better understanding and enjoyment from the text but also important life lessons that wouldn't be revealed if looked through from another point of view.