Thomas C. Foster in, “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” provides a plethora of examples of symbols in literature that represent prurient behavior. Foster provides the example involving, “a knight, usually a very young one whose “manhood” is barely established” (Foster 144), who, “rides out from a community that has fallen on hard times” (Foster 144) due to the fact that, “crops are failing [and] rains have stopped” (Foster 144) and he is sent, “to restore fertility” (Foster 144), through the, “search of a chalice” (Foster 144). A story that seems like a knight simply on a mission is actually a symbol for prurient behavior. The knight represents male sexuality and the chalice represents female sexuality and when the two come together they produce fertility which is what they are trying to restore in their land. Another example Foster provides is “Ann Beattie’s story Janus” (Foster 146) where a woman begins, “to obsess over” (Foster 146), “a bowl [her] lover bought for her” (Foster 146) so much so that, “she gets up at night to check on it and make sure it’s all right” (Foster 146), and also, “will not permit her husband to put his keys in her bowl” (Foster 146). This is another instance where everything is a symbol for something else and in this case the bowl is a symbol of her sexuality. Her actions depict that she is being protective of her sexuality and also that she no longer wants to be with her husband. Foster goes on to explain, “that scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense than literal depictions” (Foster 149), and that, ‘those multiple layers have traditionally been to protect innocents” (Foster 149). A scene where prurient behavior is hidden in other actions enhances the writing because readers have to actually analyze the writing to understand it. Also it is beneficial because children are not exposed to any explicit behavior or language when novels were read in the house. Foster explains how sex is in works of literature without their being actually sex by providing examples from other works.
Thomas C. Foster in, “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” provides a plethora of examples of symbols in literature that represent prurient behavior. Foster provides the example involving, “a knight, usually a very young one whose “manhood” is barely established,” who, “rides out from a community that has fallen on hard times,” due to the fact that, “crops are failing [and] rains have stopped,” and he is sent, “to restore fertility,” through the, “search of a chalice” (Foster 144). A story that seems like a knight simply on a mission is actually a symbol for prurient behavior. The knight represents male sexuality and the chalice represents female sexuality and when the two come together they produce fertility which is what they are trying to restore in their land. Another example Foster provides is “Ann Beattie’s story Janus,” where a woman begins, “to obsess over,” “a bowl [her] lover bought for her,” so much so that, “she gets up at night to check on it and make sure it’s all right,” and also, “will not permit her husband to put his keys in her bowl” (Foster 146). This is another instance where everything is a symbol for something else and in this case the bowl is a symbol of her sexuality. Her actions depict that she is being protective of her sexuality and also that she no longer wants to be with her husband. Foster goes on to explain, “that scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense than literal depictions,” and that, ‘those multiple layers have traditionally been to protect innocents” (Foster 149). A scene where prurient behavior is hidden in other actions enhances the writing because readers have to actually analyze the writing to understand it. Also it is beneficial because children are not exposed to any explicit behavior or language when novels were read in the house. Foster explains how sex is in works of literature without their being actually sex by providing examples from other works.
In “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” Thomas Foster describes different instances that represent prurient behavior in literary works. Foster explains how “sex doesn’t have to look like sex: other objects and activities can stand in for sexual organs and sexual acts,” as the organs and acts themselves aren’t “inevitably decorous;” he uses landscapes, bowls, fires, seashores, and “virtually anything, if the writer decides” as examples (Foster 144). For many years, and still today depending on the preference of the author, it was simply obscene to give explicit details on sexual activity in literature. Authors found ways to include sex in their works without specifically stating it happened through the form of symbolism, in a bountiful number of different ways. Foster discusses the work of D. H. Lawrence and how the “sexiest scene he ever wrote, though, is not a sex scene. It’s wrestling. In Women in Love, the two main male characters wrestle one evening, in language in which the sexual charge is ferocious” (Foster 147). In this instance, the language used is what causes the scenario to represent prurience. Authors can bend and use language to fit the message they are trying to convey; a wrestling scene doesn’t have to necessarily be portrayed as a prurient act; however, Lawrence uses his words to describe this homosexual relationship between the characters without stating their sexualities and desires outright. Foster describes some of the calmer examples as well, such as in Our Mutual Friend, where the two villains are discussing an evil plot when one discusses news of a “tantalizing nature” while the other’s pegleg “rises from the floor until, at the moment of greatest excitement, it is pointing straight out in front of him. And then he falls over” (Foster 150.) Scenes such as this are suitable for all members of the family, while still giving off their intended message. Younger viewers will just find it humorous while the older audience will recognize the innuendo that is taking place. Sexual symbolism is present in many different scenes across numbers of works throughout history, often in ways or places readers might not expect.
Thomas C. Foster in "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" discusses how writers subtly incorporate sexual symbols in their works. Foster states that "other objects and activities can stand in for sexual organs and sex acts" and "landscapes can have a sexual component" (Foster 144). He explains that movies were not allowed to have prurient behavior in movies so they resulted to the scenery such as "curtains, campfires, fireworks" (Foster 146). He describes how a young married woman has an affair and her new lover buys her a bowl. Foster claimed the woman's bowl "is really about sex" (Foster 147). He said that it represents "her identity as a woman, an individual, and a sexual being, rather than as an extension of a lover or a husband" (Foster 147). He explains that the bowl may represent her not having to be dependent on a man. Foster also said that "every American should know enough of the blues to understand exactly what keys and locks signify, and to blush when they're referred to" (Foster 146). He is explaining how keys can be a symbol of prurient behavior. All of these symbols contribute to better understanding the author’s purpose.
Thomas C. Foster in, “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” provides a plethora of examples of symbols in literature that represent prurient behavior. Foster provides the example involving, “a knight, usually a very young one whose “manhood” is barely established” (Foster 144), who, “rides out from a community that has fallen on hard times” (Foster 144) due to the fact that, “crops are failing [and] rains have stopped” (Foster 144) and he is sent, “to restore fertility” (Foster 144), through the, “search of a chalice” (Foster 144). A story that seems like a knight simply on a mission is actually a symbol for prurient behavior. The knight represents male sexuality and the chalice represents female sexuality and when the two come together they produce fertility which is what they are trying to restore in their land. Another example Foster provides is “Ann Beattie’s story Janus” (Foster 146) where a woman begins, “to obsess over” (Foster 146), “a bowl [her] lover bought for her” (Foster 146) so much so that, “she gets up at night to check on it and make sure it’s all right” (Foster 146), and also, “will not permit her husband to put his keys in her bowl” (Foster 146). This is another instance where everything is a symbol for something else and in this case the bowl is a symbol of her sexuality. Her actions depict that she is being protective of her sexuality and also that she no longer wants to be with her husband. Foster goes on to explain, “that scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense than literal depictions” (Foster 149), and that, ‘those multiple layers have traditionally been to protect innocents” (Foster 149). A scene where prurient behavior is hidden in other actions enhances the writing because readers have to actually analyze the writing to understand it. Also it is beneficial because children are not exposed to any explicit behavior or language when novels were read in the house. Foster explains how sex is in works of literature without their being actually sex by providing examples from other works.
ReplyDeleteCitations go at the very end of sentences. Edit this please. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThomas C. Foster in, “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” provides a plethora of examples of symbols in literature that represent prurient behavior. Foster provides the example involving, “a knight, usually a very young one whose “manhood” is barely established,” who, “rides out from a community that has fallen on hard times,” due to the fact that, “crops are failing [and] rains have stopped,” and he is sent, “to restore fertility,” through the, “search of a chalice” (Foster 144). A story that seems like a knight simply on a mission is actually a symbol for prurient behavior. The knight represents male sexuality and the chalice represents female sexuality and when the two come together they produce fertility which is what they are trying to restore in their land. Another example Foster provides is “Ann Beattie’s story Janus,” where a woman begins, “to obsess over,” “a bowl [her] lover bought for her,” so much so that, “she gets up at night to check on it and make sure it’s all right,” and also, “will not permit her husband to put his keys in her bowl” (Foster 146). This is another instance where everything is a symbol for something else and in this case the bowl is a symbol of her sexuality. Her actions depict that she is being protective of her sexuality and also that she no longer wants to be with her husband. Foster goes on to explain, “that scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense than literal depictions,” and that, ‘those multiple layers have traditionally been to protect innocents” (Foster 149). A scene where prurient behavior is hidden in other actions enhances the writing because readers have to actually analyze the writing to understand it. Also it is beneficial because children are not exposed to any explicit behavior or language when novels were read in the house. Foster explains how sex is in works of literature without their being actually sex by providing examples from other works.
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DeleteIn “How to Read Literature like a Professor,” Thomas Foster describes different instances that represent prurient behavior in literary works. Foster explains how “sex doesn’t have to look like sex: other objects and activities can stand in for sexual organs and sexual acts,” as the organs and acts themselves aren’t “inevitably decorous;” he uses landscapes, bowls, fires, seashores, and “virtually anything, if the writer decides” as examples (Foster 144). For many years, and still today depending on the preference of the author, it was simply obscene to give explicit details on sexual activity in literature. Authors found ways to include sex in their works without specifically stating it happened through the form of symbolism, in a bountiful number of different ways. Foster discusses the work of D. H. Lawrence and how the “sexiest scene he ever wrote, though, is not a sex scene. It’s wrestling. In Women in Love, the two main male characters wrestle one evening, in language in which the sexual charge is ferocious” (Foster 147). In this instance, the language used is what causes the scenario to represent prurience. Authors can bend and use language to fit the message they are trying to convey; a wrestling scene doesn’t have to necessarily be portrayed as a prurient act; however, Lawrence uses his words to describe this homosexual relationship between the characters without stating their sexualities and desires outright. Foster describes some of the calmer examples as well, such as in Our Mutual Friend, where the two villains are discussing an evil plot when one discusses news of a “tantalizing nature” while the other’s pegleg “rises from the floor until, at the moment of greatest excitement, it is pointing straight out in front of him. And then he falls over” (Foster 150.) Scenes such as this are suitable for all members of the family, while still giving off their intended message. Younger viewers will just find it humorous while the older audience will recognize the innuendo that is taking place. Sexual symbolism is present in many different scenes across numbers of works throughout history, often in ways or places readers might not expect.
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DeleteThomas C. Foster in "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" discusses how writers subtly incorporate sexual symbols in their works. Foster states that "other objects and activities can stand in for sexual organs and sex acts" and "landscapes can have a sexual component" (Foster 144). He explains that movies were not allowed to have prurient behavior in movies so they resulted to the scenery such as "curtains, campfires, fireworks" (Foster 146). He describes how a young married woman has an affair and her new lover buys her a bowl. Foster claimed the woman's bowl "is really about sex" (Foster 147). He said that it represents "her identity as a woman, an individual, and a sexual being, rather than as an extension of a lover or a husband" (Foster 147). He explains that the bowl may represent her not having to be dependent on a man. Foster also said that "every American should know enough of the blues to understand exactly what keys and locks signify, and to blush when they're referred to" (Foster 146). He is explaining how keys can be a symbol of prurient behavior. All of these symbols contribute to better understanding the author’s purpose.
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