“Don’t read with your eyes,” claims Thomas C. Foster in “How to Read Literature like a Professor” when discussing how readers can get the most out of reading (Foster 234). Foster really means that readers should not, “read only from your own fixed position,” but,” instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background” (Foster 234). When reading works of literature that have been written out of the era that reader is in, they must not bring the way of thinking present now to the story. They should instead try to put into perspective the way people were thinking when they wrote that specific work of literature. Foster provides the example in a story where one brother, “sends an offering, a scotch and milk, that indicates understanding and brotherhood,” to the other brother who is a recovering addict and how people reading it claim that, “you should never give alcohol to a recovering addict,” but the take away is, “about redemption, not recovery” (Foster 233, 234). The story is about to brothers trying to connect one last time and so the drinks are a symbol of them trying to patch things up. If someone does not try to let go of today’s perspective and take the focus off of the fact that he is a recovering addict that is drinking then they will not realize the message the author is conveying. Foster also makes the point that while, “you generally wan to adopt the worldview the work requests of its audience,” in some cases, “the work asks too much,” such as in, “the Cantos of Ezra Pound,” where he has, “some very ugly views of Jewish culture and Jewish people” (Foster 238, 239). To understand works outside of someone’s own cultural era they would have to take on a new perspective that fits that work. Some works are written by someone whose views are too negative and hateful for someone to take on and they should not have to. Foster utilizes examples to depict how readers have to take on different positions when reading to get the most out of the experience
"Don't read with your eyes," Thomas C. Foster states in "How to Read Literature Like a Professor." Foster says "you have to read through eyes that are not your own" and that the eyes should be of those that "can take in the meaning" (Foster 232). He explains that if readers try to read through the eyes of a character then they can better understand the significance of a scene. Most readers do not have similar experiences as a character so to get the most out of reading, one should "try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background" (Foster 234). However, Foster says that "too much acceptance of the author's viewpoint can lead to difficulties" (Foster 237). He describes how readers should accept the values of characters but not necessarily the entire idea of the story. Readers should not read from their own point of view to get a better understanding of what the author is portraying.
“Don’t read with your eyes,” Thomas Foster instructs as he is explaining how to read works as they were intended to be taken (Foster 234). Foster explains that readers shouldn’t “read from only [our] own fixed positon in the Year of Our Lord two thousand and some. Instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background” (Foster 234). When readers only take their own perspective on a certain story or situation in literature, they may not be experiencing the full intended effect of the literature they’re working with. It’s important for readers to take on literature from multiple angles aside from their own, as it helps to get a full understanding of the text. Foster uses old Greek literature as an example, stating that readers can learn a lot from the “spirituality, sexual politics, code of machismo, and overwrought violence teach us” if they’re willing to read from the eyes of Greek, and not from the perspective of our monotheistic Western culture (Foster 237). When literature such as The Illiad was written, it was written with a certain reader demographic in mind, not keeping in mind what readers would have knowledge of or feel or think today. When readers disregard personal beliefs or opinions when diving into older literature such as this, they can get a better experience and gain more understanding from what they read, as they aren’t perturbed by its contents. Foster references Shakespeare’s “Shylock,” suggesting that readers should “see [his] villainy in the context of the difficult and complex situation Shakespeare creates for him, see if he makes sense as an individual and not merely as a type or representative of a hatred group, see if the play works independently of whatever bigotry might lie behind it or if it requires that bigotry to function as an art” (Foster 238). Shylock, being a Jew but given characteristics not very representative of his beliefs, paints an unfavorable picture of the Jewish people and culture. However, readers can gain more from the story and understand where his evil comes from given the situation, if they take on the tale without pairing his qualities with a belief system; as Foster urges, read while just analyzing the characters and their individual situations, not what religion or “hatred group” they may be affiliated with. Reading from a different set of eyes from our own is important, as we disregard our personal opinions or thoughts and learn to read more critically, understanding how and why an author writes in what he or she does.
“Don’t read with your eyes,” claims Thomas C. Foster in “How to Read Literature like a Professor” when discussing how readers can get the most out of reading (Foster 234). Foster really means that readers should not, “read only from your own fixed position,” but,” instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background” (Foster 234). When reading works of literature that have been written out of the era that reader is in, they must not bring the way of thinking present now to the story. They should instead try to put into perspective the way people were thinking when they wrote that specific work of literature. Foster provides the example in a story where one brother, “sends an offering, a scotch and milk, that indicates understanding and brotherhood,” to the other brother who is a recovering addict and how people reading it claim that, “you should never give alcohol to a recovering addict,” but the take away is, “about redemption, not recovery” (Foster 233, 234). The story is about to brothers trying to connect one last time and so the drinks are a symbol of them trying to patch things up. If someone does not try to let go of today’s perspective and take the focus off of the fact that he is a recovering addict that is drinking then they will not realize the message the author is conveying. Foster also makes the point that while, “you generally wan to adopt the worldview the work requests of its audience,” in some cases, “the work asks too much,” such as in, “the Cantos of Ezra Pound,” where he has, “some very ugly views of Jewish culture and Jewish people” (Foster 238, 239). To understand works outside of someone’s own cultural era they would have to take on a new perspective that fits that work. Some works are written by someone whose views are too negative and hateful for someone to take on and they should not have to. Foster utilizes examples to depict how readers have to take on different positions when reading to get the most out of the experience
ReplyDeleteConclusion sentence, again, looks as if you are about to give examples. Be careful. Don't repost.
ReplyDelete"Don't read with your eyes," Thomas C. Foster states in "How to Read Literature Like a Professor." Foster says "you have to read through eyes that are not your own" and that the eyes should be of those that "can take in the meaning" (Foster 232). He explains that if readers try to read through the eyes of a character then they can better understand the significance of a scene. Most readers do not have similar experiences as a character so to get the most out of reading, one should "try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background" (Foster 234). However, Foster says that "too much acceptance of the author's viewpoint can lead to difficulties" (Foster 237). He describes how readers should accept the values of characters but not necessarily the entire idea of the story. Readers should not read from their own point of view to get a better understanding of what the author is portraying.
ReplyDeletegood
Delete“Don’t read with your eyes,” Thomas Foster instructs as he is explaining how to read works as they were intended to be taken (Foster 234). Foster explains that readers shouldn’t “read from only [our] own fixed positon in the Year of Our Lord two thousand and some. Instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background” (Foster 234). When readers only take their own perspective on a certain story or situation in literature, they may not be experiencing the full intended effect of the literature they’re working with. It’s important for readers to take on literature from multiple angles aside from their own, as it helps to get a full understanding of the text. Foster uses old Greek literature as an example, stating that readers can learn a lot from the “spirituality, sexual politics, code of machismo, and overwrought violence teach us” if they’re willing to read from the eyes of Greek, and not from the perspective of our monotheistic Western culture (Foster 237). When literature such as The Illiad was written, it was written with a certain reader demographic in mind, not keeping in mind what readers would have knowledge of or feel or think today. When readers disregard personal beliefs or opinions when diving into older literature such as this, they can get a better experience and gain more understanding from what they read, as they aren’t perturbed by its contents. Foster references Shakespeare’s “Shylock,” suggesting that readers should “see [his] villainy in the context of the difficult and complex situation Shakespeare creates for him, see if he makes sense as an individual and not merely as a type or representative of a hatred group, see if the play works independently of whatever bigotry might lie behind it or if it requires that bigotry to function as an art” (Foster 238). Shylock, being a Jew but given characteristics not very representative of his beliefs, paints an unfavorable picture of the Jewish people and culture. However, readers can gain more from the story and understand where his evil comes from given the situation, if they take on the tale without pairing his qualities with a belief system; as Foster urges, read while just analyzing the characters and their individual situations, not what religion or “hatred group” they may be affiliated with. Reading from a different set of eyes from our own is important, as we disregard our personal opinions or thoughts and learn to read more critically, understanding how and why an author writes in what he or she does.
ReplyDelete