Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?

     The concept in this chapter can be astonishing for many people. After thinking about it for a while, however, I understand the reality of Foster's idea. He writes that all literature stems back from other literature. In fact, every story we've read has been told before. At first glance this seems to be an insult to authors everywhere. I could understand why people would think that Foster is merely saying no one has been original for centuries, but that is not so. His concept throughout this chapter is that every story has it's own twists and ideas of course, but the underlying story has come from other literature.  The thought that "stories grow out of other stories" and "poems out of other poems" is an intense thought. Foster simply means that once an author has made a connection between the new piece of literature they are working on and an old piece of literature the story automatically becomes more alive and deeper in meaning.
     Let's take "The Sun Also Rises" by Earnest Hemingway for example. Where have we seen a love story in which the two that are clearly meant to be together can't seem to make it work, before? Well the first thing any one should think of would be the incredible story of Romeo and Juliet. Of course these two stories have many differences but they have the same underlying story. "The Sun Also Rises" has Brett, a beautiful lady who has several different men falling for her and Mike, her fiancé for most of the novel. Is this recognizable? Wasn't Juliet supposed to marry someone other than her true love, Romeo? At the end of "The Sun Also Rises" Brett calls her good friend Jack, who is desperately in love with her (but know he has no chance) and Brett speaks how they could be so great together. Jack simply replies by saying wouldn't that be nice. Clearly, they would be perfect together but Brett can't get past one small defect Jack has. This is where the story differs from Shakespear's story; Romeo and Juliet can't be together because of a family feud whereas Brett can't get past her selfishness and accept Jack as he is. This is when we realize that although they may be different, they are quite similar as well.
     This is just one example of how literature is all one big story. Foster wants the reader to understand that once we recognize where we have seen the story before, the more we are able to  connect with it. 

Every Trip is a Quest

     Every book has a story in it. I find that the most intriguing books are those that are unexpected and spontaneous. Different events occur throughout each novel and as the events connect we begin to see a story come together. At some point we are able to understand how each unexpected event connects with one another. As soon as we understand why the events that are happening are happening, we soon recognize the quest that the character has been on. The first chapter in "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" describes the idea of the quest that our characters must take.
     Thomas C. Foster explains that the reason for a quest is always for self knowledge. Now, at first this didn't make sense to me considering there are some very different novels out there with very different story lines. So how could Amir from "The Kite Runner" have the same quest for self knowledge as George and Lennie from "Of Mice and Men"? On the edge of both of these stories they seem completely different. George and Lennie hope for land and search for jobs that will help them succeed with that dream, whereas Amir is simply living his life with his father and eventually tries to adopt his old friend's son. They seem completely different. If we look closely enough, however, we realize all three characters are dealing with friendship. Amir's friend, Hassan, has passed away and his son needs someone to live with, while George ends up killing Lennie out of mercy. Although these situations are quite different, we realize that underneath the surface both Amir and George are helping a friend, and they have both accepted what needs to be done. This acceptance is part of the self knowledge that Foster has spoken of. Even though every story is different, we see the resemblance in the quest for self knowledge.
     Another main point that I understood from this chapter was how the original quest is not usually the same as the final quest. Things change throughout the novel and different events occur that change the final quest. Take Kite Runner for example; Amir is working up towards the Kite contest but as it ends he starts a quest to make Hassan get kicked out of the house. Later he wishes to be married and once he is married he goes to find Hassan's son after he learns that Hassan and his wife have passed away leaving their son an orphan. The whole story was not about the one kite contest. The story progressed and Amir's final quest was to help Sohrab, Hassan's son, get to America and live happily with Amir and his wife. What is great about Amir helping Sohrab escape an abusive orphanage is that Amir once witnessed Hassan being abused and did nothing about it. This is when we realize that Amir's overall quest was to learn how to handle knowing of abuse and taking action to help, rather than sit back and watch it happen. Amir has gained self knowledge by the end of the novel.