A parallelogram is a quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. Literature is just like a parallelogram because you can almost relate any fictional character to another character in another story. Thomas C. Foster explains in chapter four of "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" that after you read enough fictional stories, you will start noticing parallels in between characters in different stories, and maybe even people from actual history.
Disney Channel is the number one recycler of characters. It's as if they don't even care if you notice because all of the shows on the network are basically the same frame with few minor changes so that they can re-brand with ease.
Main Character:
• usually toward middle or bottom of social chain at Bland Town High School
• normally has a sibling (sometimes more than one) that is constantly argued with
• siblings typically have one mushy moment per season
• main character usually has a twist that makes them a completely unrealistic teenager
For example, Hannah Montana (Hannah Montana) is an international pop sensation when she's not busy being a typical teen just trying to make it out alive of some random high school in LA. Alex Russo (Wizards of Waverly Place) is competing with her two brothers for the family custody of magical powers. Raven Baxter (That's so Raven) can see visions of the future. Kim Possible (Kim Possible) was a teenage girl who wore the exact same thing every day (and didn't get made fun of for it) and after school her and her sidekick, Ron Stoppable, served as undercover secret agents protecting the world from the worst criminals on the planet. Zack and Cody (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) live permanently at a five star hotel where their mother is the keynote entertainment. These Disney shows definitely effected my friends and I when we were younger. A thought that often crossed my mind was, "Why can't I be an international pop star who has magical powers and lives in a fabulous hotel?"
Another accurate example, though obscure, is that you may find certain parallels in between families. Sure, because of certain circumstances some familial structures can be totally different than others... but we all have one grandparent that shouldn't be smoking, but refuses to stop. We all have that one crazy aunt with a drinking problem, and an overly-conservative uncle who just wants a beer a good cigar. Even if your family doesn't abuse substances like I described above, the archetypes of those people probably appear at your Thanksgiving table every year. Foster uses the concept of parallelism to help the readers understand the deeper thinking required when reading literature. It’s not just about what you are reading in the moment, but it’s about making connections to what you have read since day one. Amateur literature readers like myself and many other high school students out there need to be making critical connections to other characters from other stories in order to start understanding this concept of parallelism in literature.
