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1.1 - Understanding Context in Fiction Answered

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499 views4 pages

1.1 - Understanding Context in Fiction Answered

Uploaded by

JoãoPauloRisolidaSilva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Understanding Context in Fiction

Objective
In this lesson, you will analyze how historical context can influence purpose and meaning within literature.
.

Evaluating Context in Fiction


“Art cannot be created in a vacuum .”
❖ This means work of art will always reflect some influence of
the artist, the time period, and the setting
in which it was created.
❖ All forms of art are all affected by the world in
which they were created.
The historical background of a work gives us insight into the purpose
of the work , why the author chose to treat a
certain point in a certain way, and what the author is trying to say to
the reader through the characters .

• Authors are bound to pass their historical biases, attitudes ,


and perspectives on to their works.
• The background information that exists outside a work of literature and the
environment that influences it are together known as its context .
• Our understanding of the context can help us better understand the meaning and
purpose of the work.

How does contextual information about the Klondike gold rush help readers understand Jack London’s story
and his purpose in the excerpt from “To Build a Fire”?
Jack London spent some time as a prospector in the Klondike. He was aware of how dangerous ignorance could be in such harsh
conditions. “To Build a Fire” reflects London’s experience with many foolish prospectors who died from the cold and of malnutrition.
The contextual information suggests why the unnamed prospector in the story might have been overconfident: He was new to the area
and might have been misled by popular and sensational accounts of the gold rush. These accounts depicted the prospectors as heroes
discovering new frontiers and making their own fortunes. They did not describe the suffering of life in the Canadian wilderness.
Contextual information also helps us understand the author’s purpose: to expose the truth about the dangerous conditions faced by
prospectors during the Klondike gold rush. London informs his readers of what exactly prospecting involves and the importance of
knowing the dangers of the environment and one’s own limits.

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Historical context helps us
❖ understand a text better.
❖ evaluate a text more fairly.
• The context includes the beliefs that people generally held when
the author wrote the text, as well as the author’s personal beliefs
on the subject.
• It’s tempting to apply our _______________ judging
contemporary beliefs and attitudes when _______________ a literary work,
influenced
without considering ideas that _______________ the author. However, we risk interpreting the text through
moderns
a _______________ narrow
lens, which could result in a _______________ view of the work.

List four questions about context that can help you judge a work more completely.

◆ Did the author adopt a mainstream viewpoint or did the author’s work critique society?

◆ Did the author's beliefs conflict with those of society at large at the time?

◆ How do the beliefs of the author's time and place differ from your beliefs?

◆ What major social issues of the time did the author comment on through the work?

Reading Selection
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
dramatic
Jane Austen lived in a period that included ___________________
American
historic events, such as the beginning of the ___________________
Revolution in 1776 and the start of the French Revolution in
1789
___________________.

◆ Despite writing in such momentous times, Austen does not refer


historical
directly to major ___________________ events in her work.
cultural
However, she does focus on the ___________________ aspects
of the time.

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◆ ___________________,
Marriage money
courtship, ___________________, and property were important matters in
Austen’s time.

Analysis
Austen uses various story elements to express
criticism
___________________ of her culture throughout the novel.
narration
Austen also uses the ___________________ and a focus on
upper-class
___________________ stereotypes to humorously
mock
___________________ her characters’ reactions and views.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single


man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want
of a wife.

ironic
This statement has an ___________________, playful
___________________ tone. If it were stated by one of the
culturally
characters, it might have seemed like a normal, ___________________ acceptable point of view. But because
narration
it is part of the ___________________, different
the statement carries a ___________________ meaning. In this
introductory
___________________ statement, Austen wishes to let the reader know that this idea is
absurd
___________________ values
and that the culture in which she lives does not reflect her ___________________ or
ideals
___________________.

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Focus on Language

In this video, you saw many ways in which words


can mutate and change.

Record each part of speech in the table.

Root Word Part of Speech

blanket noun
to cover verb
discover verb
discovery noun
covert adjective
undercover adjective
analysis noun

Summary
Why is it useful to read a story with the help of background information that explains the context?

You can read and make sense of any story but the story takes on new meaning when you get insight
into its context.

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