How to Read Literature like a Professor Assignment 2

Part 1

Intertextuality quite literally would mean something along the lines of “pertaining to among (or between) the texts.” To add a bit more meat to this ambiguous meaning, intertextuality centers around the connections between literary works, both consciously added in and subconsciously written. It is somewhat of an omnipresent thread, pervading each literary work and allowing some extra meaning to be derived from one work to another, thus adding a significant amount of description or meaning with a short phrase or quote.


As the author mentions, any two works can be inexplicably linked through intertextuality—even a cartoon and a famous play. Deliberate naming can give immediate characterization, such as Iago the parrot in Aladdin and Iago the treacherous friend in Othello. Ideally, I would say I applied my knowledge of the book to the cartoon and figured out that Iago (the parrot) was villainous. However, as I only thought of Othello as a board game during my early years, I actually applied my knowledge of parrot Iago to treacherous friend Iago. So, I knew that he was backstabbing, greedy, unhappy with his lot in life, and going to somehow pull the rug out from under the main character, this time being Othello. As a further effect, I also heard that annoying, sniveling, obnoxious voice in my head during each of his dialogues.

Another time I used intertextuality to my advantage was while reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Aslan died on the stone table, for the sins of Edward, I remember thinking, “Is that a reference to Jesus? I wonder if he’ll be resurrected too.” Skip forward a chapter or two and viola! Aslan returns! Based upon Foster’s description of T.S. Elliot as a biblical allusion addict, I am left to assume this connection was deliberate. I also noticed certain biblical motifs in the final book in the series. There is an antichrist figure, a donkey if I recall. Also there is a false prophet, an ape, who is actually referred to by that title once or twice (if memory serves—it has been six years…). Aslan returns (again) to strike down Satan and his forces—I mean the ape, donkey, and army they amass. Oh, and then the stars fall, the world ends, and the heroes end up in a place similar to heaven. Actually, I believe it is actually referred to as heaven. Either way, The Chronicles of Narnia may be better titled, “101 Biblical Allusions (and counting).”

Part 2: Fairy Tales

The Catcher in the Rye, perhaps one of the strangest accounts of a boy roaming through a city ever written, has certain parallels with the old Hansel and Gretel stories. Though Holden, The Catcher in the Rye’s protagonist, probably does not realize the fact that he is lost in his deluded world just as the siblings are lost in the woods, the reader realizes he is. In fact, we realize that his own delusions keep him lost. Why else would he go on and on about suitcases or some other frivolous object unless he was simply trying to keep his mind off of reality and the problems that it presents? Similarly, Hansel and Gretel are deluded that this old crone in the candy house cannot possibly be bad. I mean really, she lives in a gingerbread house! Their mistaken paradigm of the witch would have erased them from existence in the end, had they not taken action in the end. Oddly, the same can be said so Holden, minus the witch part. He does finally decide to get psychoanalyzed, which does unearth some dormant problems which he can deal with, allowing him to live a more effective and probably happier life. He might not have had to push anyone in an oven, but Holden’s choice probably took just about as much courage as Hansel and Gretel’s. After all, sometimes the greatest enemy lies within.

Such a connection between this book and the old story makes for rather funny irony (imagine Hansel or Gretel cursing every third word). Perhaps the greatest irony is the simple fact that there is a connection between the easily understood children’s story and The Catcher in the Rye at all! The prose, the mood, and the style all seem so different, perhaps even contradictory. The story of Hansel and Gretel is easily understood, happy, and straightforward, as it should be. The book on the other hand seems intentionally confusing, dark to say the least, and jumbled, just like Holden’s thoughts. Yet, this connection seems so fitting. Lost young people must find their way, one way or another. They must draw on inner strength to persevere, and to ultimately find themselves or what they are capable of. Finally seeing this connection, a fitting contradiction, greatly increases my appreciation of The Catcher in the Rye, and now makes me wonder what other subtle connections lurk within its pages.

How to Read Literature like a Professor Assignment 1

Assignment 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

5 Quest Elements

Quester: Harry Potter



Destination: The boat house on the Hobgwarts grounds.



Goal: Kill Nagini, Voldemort’s snake and supposedly final horcrux.



Challenges and Trials: Aside from the difficulties traversing through the magical battleground Hogwarts had become, upon nearing the boathouse, Harry and his accomplices overhear Voldemort talking to Snape. Deciding it best not to face them both simultaneously—not to mention the possible profitability of eavesdropping—the group sits outside and listens. Then, Voldemort suddenly fatally wounds Snape, yammering on about how the Elder Wand would not listen to him unless he did so. Voldemort then disapparates, leaving the trio’s journey fruitless… except for a tear Harry collects from Snape as commanded in his final words.



True Reason of the Quest: The tear reveals many details of Snape’s life (after being placed in Dumbledore’s pensieve), many about Harry’s mother. As awkward as these moments were, others revealed just how much Snape did care for Harry, contrary to Harry’s belief. However, most importantly, Harry learns why he can speak Parseltongue, invade Voldemort’s thoughts, etc. When Harry’s mother died, and Voldemort’s curse backfired, causing him to die, Harry became a horcrux himself. Therefore, Harry had to die BEFORE Voldemort did! Considering he was about to enter a final confrontation with his nemesis, this was a crucial bit of information to avoid all his efforts being for naught.

Raising Respect of Teachers

In a Room For Debate session, Micheal J. Petrilli states that making a teacher's job more attractive will in turn raise the status of the occupation, and therefore the number of people making a career out of it. He proposes accelerated pay raises and more ways to increase salary, but something far more simple would help just as much. If teachers would simply avoid making negative comments on their profession, especially to their students, the reputation of low pay, terrible benefits, and absence of notable pay raises will slowly fade away, and if said teachers would also highlight the positives of their profession, such a school breaks off and rather stable positions, the public view of teaching would exponentially increase. After all, the main reason most people avoid the profession is the low pay, and who would not want so much time off with their family? Some may say that teachers rarely talk bad about their job, at least not to their students. However, nearly every year I personally have heard at least one teacher mention their meager salary. Moreover, does it not take one-hundred good words to negate one bad in the mind of man? Thinking toward the future, the students will soon be entering the job market. Therefore, with so many negative comments told to the sponge-like minds will stick with them, thus influencing the decisions of many to avoid teaching, as the negative comments have made a "teaching aversion."

Fitzgerald Style Analysis

In Fitzgerald’s finest work, The Great Gatsby, the author adopts a reminiscent, acceptant tone in order to highlight the futility of trying to change America further, as it has matured as an entity, as well as to enlighten the world of “the republic[’s]” limitless future, at the same time limited in another way. The time period described in the book happened to the roaring twenties, a time of economic boon and domestic excess, which Fitzgerald realized was the foundation of a huge bust, as well as the foundation of a bad habit, perhaps still widely practiced in the very same republic today.

Fitzgerald believed that the United States had gone beyond a point of return of sorts, as it could never go back to being an infant country, and must take on the responsibilities of the real world. He illustrates this through his use of reproduction and nursing related diction. An “orgastic future” lay in wait for people of the old world who ventured to the new world, drawing many in, only to have a new country “borne” as the United States of America. This country relied on the “fresh, green breast of the new world,” the trees and other natural resources, just as a baby must rely on their mother’s milk. However, those vast forests, those resources had given way to cities, filled with “inessential houses,” which meant the time for the nation to suckle and grow strong naturally was over. Though this seems positive, a negative lies just below the surface. The trees had given way to cities, meaning those trees were gone. That “fresh, green breast,” so alluring and seductive, yet useful was gone by man’s own use of it. Perhaps he wished to point out the fact that eventually these trees and other resources will fade away, and that the “roaring twenties” should give way to a “conservative thirties”—before everything faded away.

At the same time, Fitzgerald uses the night, the darkness therein pierced only by the moon above, in a metaphor for what must happen. As the narrator sat, watching the city, the moonlight made it seem to melt away in his eyes. The moon itself is nearly a metaphor for change, metamorphosis, transition. Also he mentions “the dark fields of the republic,” pointing out the fact that people did not know the limit of their power or resources at that time. The darkness obscured their metaphorical vision to the edges of the field where their limits were clearly set by a tree line or fence or cliff. Should America continue barreling through that dark field, buying incessantly in a whirlpool of consumerism, America would eventually hit one of the obstacles, knocking ourselves out, becoming ensnared, or falling over the edge. Going back the moon reference, the way to remedy this is to put some attention on not stretching our cities too far into the unsettled wilderness, and saving some of those trees in which so much promise lies.

Like many great classics, a great author pens a great book pointing subtly out a great social problem, and The Great Gatsby is no exception. Fitzgerald noticed the spreading over consumerism threatening the nation and world, and strove to rectify the problem. However, it almost seems as though his wise words fell on deaf ears and America continues flying toward the end of its dark field, never sure of exactly where that boundary line may lie, and perhaps, unfortunately, not even caring.

(This was a timed style analysis and one of the last I did. Reflection is in the comments)

Yep, he's got 'em pegged!

Many would agree that Socrates was a great intellectual, who even commented on human happiness (and current consumerism issues) from time to time. In one instance he said, "He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have." Well, apparently the Ancient Greeks knew so much more about happiness than today's society! Many people are caught in a whirlpool of continual buying, as more and more attractive merchandise come out monthly or weekly. Such people cannot truly be happy as they are always wanting something more and wantonly wasting that which they already possess. Take the die-hard clothing fanatic who is always watching and waiting for new styles, and when not contemplating the next big thing she (maybe he... not as likely. No offense ladies) flaunts her trendy clothes or brand new, gaudy, expensive accessories. Whenever a new style does come out, such a person will rush to the nearest mall or speciality clothing store and purchase nearly everything affiliated with that style, probably change in a bathroom at said store in order to avoid being seen in a style so last weekend, and stroll out, only to dispose of her old clothing at the next given chance. And then wait anxiously for the next sudden shift in the fashion world... Sounds like fun, huh?

It's an Adventure and an Experience!

As of late, products have been advertised as if they offer some sort of experience or adventure involved with them. Below is a perfect example.









Do I have any doubt that driving this truck through a vast desert with no speed limit would be extremely fun? NO WAY! But would the consumer that bought this ever get that opportunity? Probably not. Presenting that opportunity to the consumer has become a prevalent advertising technique, as people have begun spending less on material objects and more on experience. Though some may call this technique underhanded and possibly subliminal, a sort of carrot dangling before the eyes of a hungry rabbit, I see this as a clever way to entice a customer by showing the potential of their new vehicle. I mean while driving like a man-on-the-run through the desert is not likely (nor wise if someone is a man on the run; dust trails people, dust trails), similar adventures, or misadventures, such as mudding or other off road driving is probably readily available. At least the consumer can haul a boat or something behind it to a lake, and have a wonderful time there. Either way though, it's rather impressive how producers--or at least sellers--can read the public and advertise to fit their current interests.


"08 Dodge Ram Trucks Dodge Ram." Dodge Ram - Dodge Ram 1500, Dodge Ram Accessories, Dodge Ram Parts, 1994 Dodge Ram Diesel Pickup Speed Sensor Location, Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi, Dodge Ram Forum. 19 Apr. 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. .

Reading List

I have read three books, the equivalent of eight books.

• Fahrenheit 451, 208 Pages
• The Lost Hero, 576 Pages
• The Lost Symbol, 656 Pages

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown enticed me with its constant action, suspense, and mixture of both fact and fiction flawlessly and seemingly facilely. Robert Langdon again finds himself in a situation of massive powers colliding as a deranged evil maniac tries to snuff out the light and hope of the world, as well as the Masonic order. Through a huge interconnected web of coincidences, everything falls into place as the end nears, eventually culminating in a dramatic thrilling finale and the revelation of a multimillenia old secret. The Lost Symbol truly thrills and grips to the last page and beyond.