How to Read Literature like a Professor (Ch.19-Interlude)

So much for "tomorrow" eh? Well anyway, I hope this post will be better than my last; if it gets too long, I'll cut it in half.

So, chapter nineteen. After you know that just about everything an author puts in his/her book is important and there for a reason, you pretty much assume that geography is one of those things. I assume it is, I just have a pretty hard time figuring out why it's important. Or better yet, what it is about the geography that makes it important to the story. And as I was reading I read over this quote, then read it again, and now that I think about it, it makes more sense to me: "Geography in literature...can be revelatory of virtually any element in the work. Theme? Sure. Symbol? No problem. Plot? Without a doubt." Geography definitely sets the mood of the story or novel (though, I assume it sometimes changes in a novel, right?) I also find it interesting that geography also has a role in character development and can be considered a character by itself, like when the author explained how the American soldiers attacked the tiny village out of anger and fear of possibly not being able to conquer the larger geography. Ah, mental note: "when writers send characters south, it's so they can run amok."

I couldn't help but add this in here: HA! So THAT'S what the leopard's death in the beginning of "The Snow's of Kilimanjaro" symbolized.

Anyway, on to chapter twenty! It's nice knowing about something that he talks about; well, at least I think it's nice. I found the part about seasons being important in early mythology to be very interesting, for I didn't know this. I'll be sure to keep what he says about seasons in mind while I read.

A World Wide Web of writing. Geez. But it's true. You can't really disagree with the author here, because everything does essentially come from stories, books, poems, etc., of the past. It's mind-blowing just thinking about it, but it makes perfect sense. I could only imagine how difficult it is for writers to write something but at the same time keep it authentic. I guess it's impossible. Wait, no, it is impossible. I need some sleep.

Reading this interlude and writing about it made me think of a picture:



This was a pretty choppy entry :/
Tomorrow I hope to finish this book and continue What is the What.
I need to start the other books! I'm taking too long with this one, haha.