On "How to Read Literature Like A Professor" and Hello Kitty Post-It Notes

Rinse and Repeat.

With August just around the corner, the inevitability of the upcoming school year was accompanied by rustling pages and the frantic skimming of text upon text. Throughout all four years of high school, summer assignments and first-week quizzes acted as recurring reminders of the fast-approaching academic year. Now a rising senior, I assumed I would approach these novels the same way I had always done—lather, rinse, and repeat. Read the novel. Take note of symbolism, character motivations, and tone. Flag each literary element down with a Hello Kitty Post-It note.

By design, our first assigned reading for AP Literature was How to Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster—to say that this novel completely upturned the way I interpreted literary elements and tropes is a vast understatement. From identifying the presence of vampirism in places we least expect to providing wise tidbits of literary truths such as, "If it's square, it's a sonnet!", Foster's wisdom guided me through the semester, accompanying me through fishing trips with Chief Bromden and lamentations in Denmark with Prince Hamlet.

Above all, Foster's lighthearted how-to guide answered perhaps the most frequently-asked question which riddles the high school literature student's brain: "Did the author really mean that? Or was it just a mere coincidence?" There were times where I was skeptical of my own interpretations of literature (what if Kesey didn't intend for McMurphy to be a Christ figure?), but after Foster's explanation, it seems silly that I doubted that, yes, there is a literary significance to why it is raining in that scene. No, the author did not make it rain merely to satisfy the 'character-walks-home-while-crying-in-the-rain' trope, no matter how alluring it may be to the tween/teen audience. Symbols, allusions, and patterns are not accidental, as any writer, published or unpublished, is more likely than not an avid reader. Foster taught me to place my faith and trust in the author and in their life's work—for that, I am not only a better reader, but an improved thinker, peer, and student.

Now, my rinse and repeat looks slightly different than it did a few months ago: my Hello Kitty Post-Its mark shifts in weather, eating as a vehicle for communion, crosses and the number 12, and Faustian bargains. Although neatly packaged in 338 short pages, How to Read Literature Like A Professor's impact is nothing short of immeasurable.

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