Foster (6-9, 11, 14) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)
"I often tell my students that reading is an activity of the imagination, and the imagination in question is not the writer's alone."
Once again my reading of Foster's text has left me feeling more enlightened and more confident in my own abilities to analyze a literary work. I always like to read the literary work before reading the assigned chapters in Foster to see what I can make of it on my own. After I make my own theories on the deeper meaning of a piece of literature, I then turn to Foster. When I read the text in Foster, my theories are either an almost exact prediction, similar, or polar opposite of what is said in Foster. But other points are made that still make my opinions valid; points like there being multiple interpretations, and symbolism is left to be depicted by the reader's imagination. Reading Foster's text is like a little ego boost, and it helps me to feel more comfortable in voicing my interpretations of a literary work.