This book interprets themes, concepts, and secret language frequently found in the writings. Therefore, it shows us how to make your everyday reading practice more pleasing and enjoyable. How to Read Literature Like a Professor was written to help us ascertain those concealed truths by looking at literature with the eyes and the literary codes of the ultimate professional booklovers, the academy professor (Foster, 2013). Foster, the author of this book, uses various real examples to reveal how deep reading can make literature more entertaining.

This text has helped professional readers to better their understanding of literature.  Furthermore. This text suggests that literary genres that may seem far away from our familiarities could be more applicable than we presume. However, this essay is going to examine and analyze How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

In chapter 1, the author introduces the concept of the "quest narrative" by inviting the readers to envision they are reading a story about a boy named Kip, who is sixteen-years-old in the summer of 1968. This imaginary description of the "quest" to find Wonderbread assists in demonstrating the idea of intertextuality. The author characterized Gregor as a nomadic salesman and the leading role of the story. Gregor's care for his family and his father's debt makes him retain his job, although he hates his job. The fact that Gregor does not like his job but keeps working shows that he is codependent. Thus, it tries to please others, prove worth of self, and seek external justification at great costs but less reward. He is also hideous and unnatural to others. For this reason, Gregor retains some of his inner life and skirmishes to bring together his persistent humanity with his physical state. Gregor takes on a "caretaker" role as he cares for the family and pays his father's debt. This shows that he is codependent.

Gregor gives a strange reaction to his abnormal condition after waking up and realizing that he is now an insect in Frank Kafka's metamorphosis. He surrenders completely to the foreign reality without second's concern for why he has become an insect (Foster et al., 2012). In most cases, people would be curious and anxious about such a transformation. Therefore, Gregor becomes the pitiful character in this narrative. He is also forced to deal with mental, physical, and emotional issues. Being in the body of an insect, he still has the mind and the commemorations of a human being. He hides in his room after his family finds him revolting, longing for some human company, and listening to his family's talks in the distance. He then prefers to be independent and act on his thoughts and feelings rather than taking in his family's views. Both as a man and as an insect, Gregor patiently accepts the misery he faces without complaint. After his father's business botched, he took on the job he did not like without question and accepted the family's role of money-earner. This is a sign of independence.

According to Frank Kafka, Gregor's transformation completely changes his outward appearance, leaving his mind unaffected. This creates a lack of agreement between his mind and body. He tries to stand upright when he gets out of his bed after walking, although his body is not suited to being upright. Gregor then thinks of going to work, even though he can't, by any means, do so. He later finds out he does not like milk left for him by Grete, though milk was his preferred drink when he was in the human body (Bollen, 2003). He fails to reunite the two parts of himself in ways that he continues to think with a human mind, but his body is not human.

Being subjected to a new body, one's mind starts to change per their physical needs and wants. One's physical appearance alters the ability to fully bring your mind and body into synchronization. For instance, Gregor behaves more and more like an insect. He craves different foods than when he was human and starts to prefer tight, dark spaces and enjoys crawling on the ceiling. The mind and body separate, even though humanity never vanishes completely, one may feel conflicted.

Gregor finds it difficult to connect his thought and feelings to his family due to his physical appearance, leaving them without any connection to his human side. As a result, they come to see him progressively as an actual insect. Physical appearance affects personality because most people form opinions by what they see in a person physically and respond to the person accordingly. Gregor's insect body has an amplified impact on his mindset. He finds himself at ease, hiding in the dark. It also takes him time to understand that he can no longer play a role in his family as a money-earner and not go outside in his present condition. Physical appearance will alter one's mentality; Gregor still feels human feelings and has strong memories of his human life. His body prevents him from finding a new role in his family, making him feel repulsed and embarrassed about his house presence.

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