Summary Of Thomas C. Foster's Discussion Of The Significance Of Violence In Literature

Chapter 11

In Thomas C. Foster’s discussion of the significance of violence in literary works, one main and frequent part of literature is highlighted. Foster explains that literary violence goes beyond the mere explanation of a physical tussle. According to Thomas Foster, there are two categories of violence in literature- the injury of character on others or themselves and violence that causes harm in general. I personally agree with this because not all violence in literature is voiced through physical violence. An example is the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre, the main character of the book is repressed by her aunt and other figures. Jane Eyre’s aunt did not allow her to go out and play with her cousins and have fun like

Foster in this critique stresses to us that you should put yourself in the character’s shoes in order to appreciate the true nature of the work. He explains that you can’t just read the text to fully get all the emotions out of the novel. In order to get the full emotion you need to balance reading what the character is feeling and reading for or as the character. For example, in the novel Tuesdays with Morrie, the author Mitch Albom does an excellent job explaining how Morrie looked and how he felt when Morrie was passing. Although, in order to fully feel what Mitch as feeling at the time and how Morrie truly looked, you would need to put yourself in the positon that Mitch was in as well as . I agree with Mr. Foster’s analysis, for in order to truly feel what the author intended you to feel you need to not only read the text but feel through the text. Also, I agree with the fact that the reader does not have to feel something the same ways as someone else feels it. When putting yourself in the position that the character in is you might take it in a different way than someone else because you have a different way of living and one characters experience might be more related to you than someone else. This way of reading will in-turn help with the multi-layers of literary writing. Upon reading this my first reaction is shocked. I have never thought about actually putting myself in the shoes of the character. Have only ever read it as if I was reading about the