How to Read Literature Like a Professor Lesson Plan

What does Foster mean by "don’t read with your eyes"? Do you think that’s possible—and, if so, do you think it's good advice? Why or why not?

Foster means that readers should not take their twenty-first-century perspective, as well as their personal beliefs and values, to a story that has a different social, historical, cultural, and personal background. Foster uses the James Baldwin short story “Sonny’s Blues” as an example. If readers bring a more modern perspective of how best to deal with people with addictions, they will miss the more emotional ending when the two brothers connect at last over a drink. Students should discuss whether they think it’s possible to...