3. How to read lit.

.... Ch.11 More than it's gonna hurt you: concerning violence
Whenever I see or hear about violence, I usually cringe at the thought or sight of it. .. But as I was reading this chapter, it says that, "Violence is one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings..." which to me seemed ironic at first since the words personal and intimate made me think of ... nonviolence. But maybe because, I'm only looking at violence from the conventional perspective..
It's also interesting how violence can mean can be associated to seeemingly diverse issues... like physchological dilemma, historical or social concerns...

Ch.12 Is that a Symbol?

symbols... It's interesting yet.. annoying that symbols can mean so many things. I mean it shouldn't have only one meaning. or else according to the book, it would be an allegory. But at the same time, with so many meanings, it's confusing for the reader... Since every writer is from a different time period and there are different social/political concerns during their times....

Ch.13 It's All Political

I didn't really understand the i hate/ love "political" writing part... The edgar allan poe paragraph was interesting, as I remember reading it during junior year..
That whole Rip Van Winkle political analogy was a stretch for me... it made me think of u.s. history..well since the colonists were mentioned.

Ch.14 Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too

I liked this chapter because I saw many familiar characteristics describing Christ and I do see a lot of Biblical allusions / symbols used in the past books that I have read. One thing that stuck out to me in this chapter was when he said, "...You need to put aside your belief system, so you can see what the writer is trying to say..." I realized that before when I read, I often would read through a certain perspective and I would miss a lot of the symbols that the author intended to disclose.. perhaps those symbols weren't as evident to me because I was reading through my own perspective.

Ch.15 Flights of Fancy

I have never thought of flight as freedom..even though it makes perfect sense. Again, I read too literally in the past. ... The question of flight also leads me to ask the question... What happens when they are falling? And, of course Foster answers that.. but It can mean different things. according to situation and author ....