Prompt #2 (King Soloman)

I actually really love the whole point that Foster makes about how "writing and telling belongs to one big story". What Foster means in saying this is that in essence, nothing is completely original ideas from previous stories are being used, and many authors are using their previous experiences as readers to, either intentionally or unintentionally, relate their work back to other literary works.

Throughout reading this book, I have been attending Governor's School for the Arts, and in our intensive class we are currently reading/having discussion of the novel Frankenstein, and we cover the many different parallels not only within the story but also between the novel and other popular stories, some that have been passed down in terms of who has told them. Mary Shelley was an incredible writer, and even in her original title related her story back to the Greek myth of what happened with Epimetheus, Prometheus, and Zeus (the original title of the novel is Frankenstein; or, the Modern Day Prometheus). This is a clear example of an intentional outside literary work on her own novel, and it enhances the experience not only by showing what she was relating the protagonist to, but also by revealing some of the changes in the social aesthetic during the time that this novel was written. I really love this, as it makes me look at literature and the little intricacies woven together that makes a novel new and interesting but also deeper in its meaning. This is something that I have not truly experienced until now, and I am so glad that I can now.


Lauren Young

Comments

  1. Mrs. MacJuly 6, 2017 at 4:25 AM

    I love this too. I was just reading an article about The Iliad and The Odyssey and it discussed how particularly in the ancient world, art was never about "originality", but rather tapping into what was already out there and honoring that story through a sort of emulation. It also makes me think about how connected human beings are throughout time and place. It really defends the archetypal theory.
    Mrs. Mac

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  2. UnknownJuly 6, 2017 at 3:33 PM

    I agree on your whole statement, Lauren, as when I had read through the book it had given a sense that the author had wanted to explain this whole "one big story" analysis as much as he could whether it be references to certain pieces or just having complete passages from stories to his advantage. Your real life occurrence during your reading is a prime example to use as proof for Foster's theory, finding other sources and seeing the similarities yourself is what I think Foster is trying to do through his book. Foster wants his readers to find parallels whether blatantly or in complete secrecy and it worked.

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  3. UnknownJuly 16, 2017 at 8:29 AM

    Well I had no idea we were at GSA Lauren. I thought we were at Governor's Honors Academy but I'll let it slide this time. :D

    I love how you can take your classes and make them instantly relevant to what we are doing for our summer assignments and you have an excellent point concerning originality. To take what you said one step further, I don't know why originality or authenticity is so important to some people. I can see why someone would oppose one author ripping off another, but I believe the prompt may be urging us to not only accept those similarities, but to celebrate them as tasteful homages, rather than cheap rip-offs. When people start to realize that every tree in the proverbial forest is the spawn of one, it will open the doors for some very enlightened discussion.

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