In order to
correctly analyze “How to Read Literature Like a Professor” one
must start from the beginning, much like they do on a quest. Thomas
C. Foster begins his exploration of literature with the simplest
concept to grasp, the quest. Almost every person, if asked, could
list well-known quests easily, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Indiana
Jones, the use of quests in literature is not a new practice.
However, Foster proposes the idea that quests are in everything, not
just the stereotypical princess in despair, but everything that
contains a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there,
challenges and trials, and a real reason to go there. This could
cover anything, from a dramatic quest to get rid of a ring to a walk
around the block to clear the head. As long as the five key elements
are there, it is a quest.
A quester, the person who up until the moment of the quest was just kind of going through the motions, not really living life. A place to go, the destination of the proposed idea that started the quest. A stated reason to go there, the beginning idea that started it all. Challenges and trials, the difficult pathway to the end of the quest that helps give the quester a new view on life. A real reason to go there, the actual driving force behind the quest, unbeknownst to the quester. This last element, the real reason to go, Foster claims that “the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge. ” As Foster pointed out in this chapter quests always begin with, what seems like, a simple task. As the quest continues though, in every quest imaginable, the quester always end up on a different path completing or learning a different task.
From simple popular books like “Percy Jackson”, who goes on a quest to find a lightening bolt but ends up finding home, and self-worth to more in-depth series's like “The Belgariad” series where the main character ends up being dragged along on someone else's quest only to discover not only that it was his quest all along but also that he is the true king and all of the gods in his childhood stories are real and he is one. This is the most common theme in quests, losing the surface reason for the quest in exchange for the true purpose of the quest, self-knowledge. The quest provides an opportunity for the quester to react to many different situations and see how they react to them. Developing a definite sense of self, much like living through the first couple years of adulthood on fast forward. Quests are not simply journeys with a definite beginning and end point, the prince goes and saves the princess, but an ongoing struggle for growth that everyone undergoes in their life, just shortened from a lifetime to the length of a quest.
Now many people say that self-knowledge is not incredibly important, that knowledge of the world and how it works is necessary over knowledge of yourself. However, quests show us that since the real reason for the most simplistic and common plot line in everything is self-knowledge, that it is intrinsically important. Eric Schwitzgebel, a Professor of f Philosophy at University of California agrees in his blog post about the importance of self-knowledge. http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-intrinsic-value-of-self-knowledge.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Noelle97
A quester, the person who up until the moment of the quest was just kind of going through the motions, not really living life. A place to go, the destination of the proposed idea that started the quest. A stated reason to go there, the beginning idea that started it all. Challenges and trials, the difficult pathway to the end of the quest that helps give the quester a new view on life. A real reason to go there, the actual driving force behind the quest, unbeknownst to the quester. This last element, the real reason to go, Foster claims that “the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge. ” As Foster pointed out in this chapter quests always begin with, what seems like, a simple task. As the quest continues though, in every quest imaginable, the quester always end up on a different path completing or learning a different task.
From simple popular books like “Percy Jackson”, who goes on a quest to find a lightening bolt but ends up finding home, and self-worth to more in-depth series's like “The Belgariad” series where the main character ends up being dragged along on someone else's quest only to discover not only that it was his quest all along but also that he is the true king and all of the gods in his childhood stories are real and he is one. This is the most common theme in quests, losing the surface reason for the quest in exchange for the true purpose of the quest, self-knowledge. The quest provides an opportunity for the quester to react to many different situations and see how they react to them. Developing a definite sense of self, much like living through the first couple years of adulthood on fast forward. Quests are not simply journeys with a definite beginning and end point, the prince goes and saves the princess, but an ongoing struggle for growth that everyone undergoes in their life, just shortened from a lifetime to the length of a quest.
Now many people say that self-knowledge is not incredibly important, that knowledge of the world and how it works is necessary over knowledge of yourself. However, quests show us that since the real reason for the most simplistic and common plot line in everything is self-knowledge, that it is intrinsically important. Eric Schwitzgebel, a Professor of f Philosophy at University of California agrees in his blog post about the importance of self-knowledge. http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-intrinsic-value-of-self-knowledge.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Noelle97
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