Chapter One: Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not):
The concept of a quest is dissected in this chapter; we learn what they consist of, how to identify theme in literature, and how they differ from trips. A quest is a trip in which we stumble across obstacles, shift our priorities (or our mission) and develop our self-identification. The last aforementioned aspect is most important because “…[A] quest is educational. [The questers] don’t know enough about the only subject that really matters: themselves”(3). The theme of a quest can be found in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In the opening of the novel, Holden can be seen as immature through his hostility including wanting to kill his classmate, Stradlater, for dating Jane, and for lying to almost everyone he encounters throughout the story. Holden’s mission is to go home, but his journey includes procrastinating to avoid confronting his parents about being expelled from his boarding school. The challenges he encounters include dealing with his emotions while not completely understanding them. This can be seen when he hires a prostitute and soon realizes he is not ready for any of that activity. Finally, his maturation can be marked by his acceptance of the inevitability of growing up and losing innocence.
Chapter Two: Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion:
The theme of sharing a meal and its importance in literature is discussed in this chapter. Foster explains that sharing a meal represents, “…an act of sharing and piece…”(8) and “…a bond of community…”(11). Whenever characters share food, they demonstrate their maturation or metanoia, or we see how the plot has evolved over the context of a meal. Therefore, the gathering of people around a table allows their similarities and differences to be accented thus demonstrating their position at that moment in the plot. This concept is utilized in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird when Jem invites Walter, one of Scout’s classmates, over for lunch. At the table, Scout criticizes Walter, which evokes Calpurnia to remove Scout from the dining room and scold her. This marks an important time before Scout’s maturation, as the purpose of the meal was to get Scout on good terms with Walter, while instead Scout intensified the situation. We see through Scout rejecting the sharing of communion with Walter that she is still juvenile, which creates contrast with the end of the novel. This also contributes to the theme of the novel, discrimination, because the Finch family was trying to end the prejudice that Scout possessed towards Walter, due to his poverty, by sharing a meal and demonstrating community with all people.
Chapter Three: Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires:
In this chapter, Foster discusses the theme of vampires, or rather, “Placing our desires, particularly our uglier ones, above the needs of another”(22). This theme of self-serving selfishness is present across all genres of literature from children’s stories to classical literature and often is portrayed as a monster, or more particularly, a vampire. According to Foster, this theme specifically involves people or things that take advantage of young or naive characters and deprive them of their vigor and innocence. This theme is relevant as people are continually manipulated by society, the economy and the government, as many live off the innocence of others. This theme is exemplified in Shaw’s Pygmalion through the protagonist, Eliza Doolittle. Henry takes advantage of Eliza, by promising her elevation in society through his experiment that he performs only to test his skill of language, not to help Ms. Doolittle. He verbally abuses her many times, and reaps her innocence and livlineess to the point of her breakdown. He attempted to replace her personality with the mundane facade of the upper class, and deprive her of her unique conduct and character, just as a vampire would. Henry represents the older figure that corrupts his young victim to the point of her destruction in the theme of vampires.
Chapter Four: Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?:
Foster examines, in this chapter, the concept of how all stories are based off one story. This is important to know and understand, so we can be vigilant and can recognize the analogies and references to other stories we know and therefore understand the new story on a more profound level. “…[a story] gains a kind of resonance from these different levels of narrative that begin to emerge; the story is no longer all on the surface but begins to have depth”(27). This repetition of stories is demonstrated by the similar plots of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Foremost, both literary works both contain feuding groups, the Greasers and the Socs in The Outsiders and the Montagues and the Capulets in Romeo and Juliet, which restrict friendships and love interests among members of opposing groups. In addition, both stories involve a character who commits suicide because they cannot live without a person who died. In The Outsiders, Dallas goes on a suicide mission after learning that Johnny died and in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet killed herself after discovering that Romeo had died. Finally, at the conclusion of both works, the opposing groups resolve their differences and denounce their fighting. These parallels exist because The Outsiders was based off the story of Romeo and Juliet as is many other stories of forbidden love.
Chapter Five: When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare:
This chapter is a continuation of the last but specifically addressing Shakespeare. Foster explains that most authors allude to Shakespeare in order to expand our understanding on the piece itself and Shakespeare's work. This can be accomplished because Shakespeare's plays are globally renown and contain themes and subjects that are still relevant today. “The author may be reworking a message, exploring changes (or continuities) in attitudes from one era to another, recalling parts of an earlier work to highlight features of the newly created one, drawing on associations the reader holds in order to fashion something new…”(39). This concept of using Shakespearean ideas and reinventing them is present in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. Both stories contain themes of love, isolation and youth mortality due to fate. In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel falls in love with Agustus, however both have cancer; therefore a love blossoms that is destined to collapse. Eventually, Agustus dies, similar to the fact that Romeo died, however Hazel is able to overcome her grief, unlike Juliet. Therefore, John Green borrows Shakespeare's ideas and themes accompanying forbidden loves, and builds a modern story with some original content.
Chapter Six: …Or the Bible:
This chapter continues the concept that literature is based on older stories and focuses on the bible as the title describes. Foster explains that many pieces of work are influenced by the bible and use it as to make allusions, as symbolism and/or to add depth to a plot or characterization. Many authors, religious and nonreligious alike, use the bible to create, “…resonance…that feels heavy yet sprinkles with promise or portent, it almost always means the phrase, or whatever, is borrowed from somewhere else and promises special significance”(50). John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is bursting with biblical references and allusions. Foremost, drought and famine, like the Joads experienced during the Dust Bowl, can be seen throughout the bible, such as in Genesis. In addition, the journey to California for refuge resembles the promised land, and Rose of Sharon’s baby being sent up the river like Moses. Even the title includes the word “wrath” which is used innumerably in the bible to describe God’s anger and punishment for the people. The biblical allusions in Steinbeck’s novel add strength to his words and the story in general by establishing connections between an American experience in the 1930s and that of biblical times.
Chapter Seven: Hanseldee and Greteldum:
This chapter continued the concept that literature is based on other literature, with a concentration on fairy tales. Foster discusses the impact of traditional fables based on the fact that they are globally renowned and common knowledge for most readers. These familiar stories are reinvented daily, although in contrast to how Shakespeare or the Bible is used as reference, usually these folk tales are incorporated by their plot and characters with a blend of originality and tradition. According to Foster, the reinvention of these legends are popular because “…we want strangeness in our stories, but we want familiarity too”(58). For example, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has aspects that resemble the fable of “Hua Mulan” by Xu Wei. Both stories include a young woman volunteering herself to fight in order to save a family member. In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her sister’s place in the games since she feels she has a better chance of surviving than her sister would. In “Hua Mulan”, Mulan takes her father’s place in the war because it was unlikely that her father would survive the war since he was old and ill. Both stories contain themes of familial love and sacrifice, as the young women leave their homes to protect a family member with the consent of their parents. One major difference lies in the fact that The Hunger Games is an empowering novel for girls and young women as Katniss stays true to her compassionate self, for example when she treated Rue like her own sister, and she proved her intelligence and athleticism in the area; in contrast, Mulan does prove to be powerful on the battlefield, however she returns to her domestic work and life after the war, yielding to the traditional feminine standards.
Chapter Eight: It’s Greek to Me:
This chapter discusses the influence of myth on literature. Foster defines myths as stories that are important to a community, not limited to ancient Greek tales. Myths were used to explain the unknown in society and the World and “[this] explanation takes the shapes of stories that are deeply ingrained in our group memory, that shape our culture and are in turn shaped by it, that constitute a way of seeing by which we read the World and, ultimately, ourselves”(60). Therefore, these tales resonate with us and teach us about our tendencies and how the world functions, thus they retain importance as they are constantly told in new stories and new medias. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is based on Pyramus and Thisbe in part of Ovid’s Metamorphoses; both stories contain feuding families which restricts two young people from expressing their love. The similarities do not end there; in both stories, the male thinks that he has discovered his female counterpart dead, and therefore he decides to kill himself. Then, the female finds her love dead and kills herself. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Thisbe leaves their meeting spot out of fear of the lion present, and by leaving her veil behind, Pyramus believes that the lion ate her, so he proceeds to stab himself. Finally, both stories are similar in that both lovers kill themselves using the same tool of destruction; Ovid wrote that both lovers stabbed themselves with the same sword, while Shakespeare wrote that Juliet attempted to kill herself through poisoning from kissing Romeo’s lips (although this does not work so she resorts to stabbing herself).
Chapter Nine: It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow:
In this chapter, Foster analyzes weather and its impact on the mood and plot of literature. He states that, “… every story needs a setting and that weather is part of the setting. That [statement] is true, by the way, but it isn’t the whole deal”(70). He explains that rain can symbolize cleansing, restoration (new growth), spring (awakenings), and rainbows (divine promise), fog represents ambiguity, and snow can illustrate ideas of inhospitality, cleanliness, and brashness among other things. In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, weather foreshadows turmoil and disastrous events. For example, when the conspirators are plotting to murder Caesar, there is lightning and thunder which suggests natural imbalance. Similarly, on the night that Calpurnia has her foreboding dream about the stabbing of Caesar, there is also thunder and lightning. Due to the lack of technology in the time of Shakespeare, weather-related aspects of the play were blatantly stated by characters, and therefore the symbolism is even more prominent. These signs of ominous weather reflected the ominous state in Rome at the time of Julius’ murder; there were various warning signs about the death, but he chose to ignore them and therefore weather is used for further characterization to prove Julius’ arrogance.
Chapter Ten: Never Stand Next to the Hero:
This chapter explores the purpose of characters and plot; in particular, how all non-protagonist characters are used to track the development of the hero, to move the plot along, or as a sacrifice for the hero. According to Foster, “[p]retty much everyone else [besides the protagonist] exists as a plot device and is subject to cancellation whenever the plot demands a sacrifice”(84-85). He also discussed how characters can be round or flat, meaning the author chooses to either discuss all aspects of their life, or to illustrate only one part of them. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is an example of how the death of supporting characters is used to further emulate themes and move the plot along. For example, when training begins for the games, we are introduced to Rue, a young and innocent girl who shows promise through her cunning ways, yet timidness. Katniss assumes the role of protector for Rue as the girl reminds Katniss of her young sister, Primrose. Rue is stabbed with a spear, in the games, although Katniss did her best to protect her from death. This death of innocence further proves how cruel the games, and therefore the government, is and therefore by attempting to protect Rue, Katniss’ character is developed and her death shows how dishonorable government can be which further confirms the purpose of the novel.
Interlude: Does He Mean That?
This chapter discusses how authors almost always intentionally create the allusions, symbols, and patterns present in their work by using intentional rhetorical and literary devices. Foster states, however, that “[s]ince proof is nearly impossible, discussions of the writer’s intentions are not especially profitable”(92). Therefore, focussing on the actual devices used in literature and their implications are more important than the intentionality of the devices. SYNTHESIS NEEDED.
Chapter Eleven: More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence:
This chapter discusses the significance of violence in literature. Foster states that, “[v]iolence is one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings, but it can also be cultural and societal in its implications”(95). The acts are never accidental, but rather they illustrate passion, ignorance, rebellion, uprising, and/or terrible social economic or political conditions; they also function to thicken or move along the plot. Violence is prominent in Shakespeare's Hamlet as many of the main and supporting characters die from murder. The killings of each character represent the passion held by each murderer, which contributes to characterization. For example, Polonius is accidently stabbed by Hamlet who was passionate about avenging his father and ending the incest that was his uncle Claudius’ marriage with his mother Gertrude by murdering Claudius. Another example is Laertes murdering Hamlet for causing the suicide of his sister Ophelia. These acts of violence- stabbing and murder- demonstrate passion, love and hatred and the motives illustrate more about the character and therefore contribute to development.
Chapter Twelve: Is That a Symbol?
In this chapter, Foster explores symbolism in literature and how symbols can represent various ideas depending on the readers’ interpretations; “…some symbols…have a limited range of meanings, but in general a symbol can’t be reduced to standing for only one thing”(105). For example, symbols of the same thing can represent different concepts in different works such as with rivers in literature by Twain or Crane. Symbols hold significance because they convey relevant messages indirectly which resonates with the readers. Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, is bursting with symbolism from the seven rooms to the clock and everything in between. First, the castle itself is isolated from the rest of the village and it represents the gap between the rich and the poor and how the wealthy locked out the destitute, both literally and figuratively. In addition, the clock represents time and how fast it flies in our lifetime; each hour when the clock chimed, it briefly reminded the party goers that death is closer, but they ignored it and continued to party, just as people tend to fear death on their birthdays but for the rest of the year, they ignore the clock. Finally, there were seven themed rooms in the castle that represented the stages of life. All these symbols contribute to the purpose of the piece which is that death is inevitable.
Chapter Thirteen: It’s All Political:
Foster explains, in this chapter, that most literature is political, meaning, “…the story is meant to change us and through us to change society”(116). He also explains that political does not have to mean directly supporting a political party or leader, but rather it usually involves criticism of politics, the economy, or society at that time. Finally, he explains that political involvement is almost inevitable in writing since an unjust or corrupt society is almost always the topic that drives authors to create literature. Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, is a prime example of politically influenced literature. The novel is based on Ovid’s Metamorphosis but closely examines gender roles in the Victorian era as well as discrepancies between the wealthy and the poor. Eliza, a poor flower girl, is taken in as an experiment by Henry who attempts to transform her into a proper high-class woman. Throughout the novel, Henry makes many discriminatory jokes and statements against women and the upper-class as Shaw criticizes how women were valued and how shallow the rich were. Finally, in the end, Eliza leaves her life on the social ladder and marries a poor man, Freddy, with whom she opens a modest flower shop and Shaw proves that happiness is not is possession but in character.
Chapter Fourteen: Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too.:
This chapter discusses the presence of Christ figures in literature. These characters embody characteristics of Christ such as experiencing suffering and agony, having disciples, being good with children, and being associated with fishing or carpentry, among others. Most importantly, each figure’s story, “…organizes and informs the lives of those [they leave] behind”(132). They are important in literature because they represent hope and compassion in a bleak world and they remind us to serve others and our community. In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Jean Valjean represents Jesus. The novel begins with Jean Valjean finishing his years in jail for stealing bread in addition to attempting to escape (agony) ; his beginnings draw parallels to Christ because he was poor, he tried to feed others, and the symbolism of bread itself is found all throughout the Bible. After breaking parole and starting a new life under the name of Madeleine, Valjean discovers that a man is being wrongfully convicted as Jean Valjean. Madeleine, the real Valjean, confesses, thus proving he is morally good. Also, Valjean takes custody of an orphan, Cosette, to free her from the abusive Thénardiers (he’s good with children) and he later saves Cosette’s future husband, Marius, from dying during the war, thus proving his compassion for others and the sacrifices he makes in his life to better the lives of others.
Chapter Fifteen: Flights of Fancy:
In this chapter, Foster discusses the symbolism of flight in literature. Flying usually represents escape from confinement, “…flying is freedom, we might say, freedom not only from specific circumstances but from those more general burdens that tie us down”(135). However, it can also have angelic symbolism, as one with wings usually soars down to help the ground-dwellers. Finally, flight can represent the soul, as it is believed in some religions that when a person dies, their soul rises to Heaven. The play, Wicked, deals with flight prominently. The protagonist, Elphaba, “defies gravity” when she breaks away from the stigma about her appearance and from those who limit her potential because of how she looks. This flight is freedom from oppression and the small-minded community that ostracized her since her birth. In addition, her friend Galinda who becomes “the good witch” floats down from above in a bubble, which also touches on the theme of flight. She is seen as almighty because of her appearances, rather than skill, which further proves the superficiality of the community.
Chapter Sixteen: It’s All About Sex…:
Foster analyzes, in this chapter, how sex is portrayed in literature, more often, how it is disguised. Sex was a taboo subject basically until the twentieth century, so authors had to use symbolism, such as a lock and key, to express it; “…sex doesn’t have to look like sex: other objects and activities can stand in for sexual organs and sex acts…”(144). Therefore, being able to recognize sex through symbolism helps further comprehension of a literary work as it functions as character development or a plot device. Subliminal sex is prominent in Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera. Erik, the phantom, is an alluring character who seduces the young and innocent Christine. The phantom kidnaps Christine and forces her to love him; this contains hints of sexuality through the contrast of masculinity and femininity. Eventually, after telling Raoul about Erik, Erik kidnaps both of them and tells Christine that she must marry him or that he will obliterate the opera house, so she complies. The sexuality is not directly stated, but rather alluded to several times throughout the book.
Chapter Seventeen: …Except Sex:
This chapter discusses how sex is rarely about the act, but rather something else. It can symbolise anything from liberation to rebellion or be used for further characterization or theme development. Nevertheless, the actual sex is not important, but rather the effects and consequences of it; “[f]or the most part, even our sexiest writing doesn’t have all that much sex in it.” (155). George Orwell’s 1984 is an example of a novel in which the circumstances and consequences surrounding sex are more important than the act. In this futuristic society, the government, more specifically Big Brother controls every aspect of each citizen’s life: including sex. The government abolishes it to destroy emotion and passion so that there will be no uprisings. Winston and Julia go against the government and have sex, but the sex is about rebellion and expression rather than just intercouse. They believe they are safe from government spying at the time, but they were duped and ended up both paying the price.
Chapter Eighteen: If She Comes Up, It’s Baptism:
In this chapter, Foster analyzes the significance of interactions between a character and water. He states, “The rebirths/baptisms have a lot of common threads, but every drowning is serving its own purpose: character revelation, thematic development of violence or failure or guilt, plot complication or denouement”(169). Most prominently, allowing for a character to be revitalized and reconnected with themselves or others, is symbolic of baptism and allows further characterization and contrast among others and their past self. However, this voluntary change can be negative if they do not wish to be saved or changed, in the case of suicide, which moves the plot and contributes more to their character as well. In Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the protagonist of the title name experiences rebirth at a river with the help of a ferryman. Siddhartha was a promising Samana until he quit to listen to the teachings of Gotama Buddha; after Gotama Buddha could not satisfy Siddhartha’s burning questions, Siddhartha decided to find his own path towards enlightenment. The young man crosses a river, signifying his transition from adolescence to independence. He gains new experiences with a courtesan named Kamala, and through working for a merchant named Kamaswami, but he still hasn’t found enlightenment. Finally, he flees the town and meets the river again, where he is depressed and tries to commit suicide by jumping into the river; he is saved by the “om” emitted by the river and he decided to learn from the ferryman more about the river where he later finds enlightenment.