I thought back to last year when we read The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. We had already learned about the puritan's strict Christian beliefs so we understood the book better and had a deeper analysis on the book. I had never thought about it but without my knowledge from the history I would not have understood the actions of the characters. Knowing the background of a text is essential to having a deeper understanding of the story.
I never really realized how important it is to understand the history in Literature. When we received our first assignment I wondered, "Why are we reading a history lesson instead of reading the story?" I didn't understand and was a bit worried that I would be taking two history classes this year. However,without reading about Mesopotamia I would not be able to fully understand The Epic of Gilgamesh. I realized how important it is to understand the history and the origin of the text before reading it. Without taking the time to read the history we would not have known of the Mesopotamian's belief of their gods or the importance in their value of perfection and beauty. With this foundation of the history we can have a deeper understanding of the story. Now knowing how much the history of the Mesopotamians helped me with The Epic of Gilgamesh, it makes me wonder about other novels as well. Thinking about the history of literature has changed the way I analyse and view a story.
I agree with Lorena. I thought I had another history class too but I am happy I read the background. It does help knowing the history of a story.
ReplyDeleteI understand where your coming from Lorena. But reading the background/history of a book might even make the reading more exciting. Like when I read "The Sun Also Rises", I researched Ernest Hemingway's life and realized majority of what he writes happened in real life. And that some of the female characters in his writing were based on his real-life mistresses. (CRAZY RIGHT?). So I am more willing and open to reading the history/background of a text beforehand.
ReplyDeleteI'm 60/40 on the idea of reading the historical background on a story. In some ways I want to be surprised, and wonder about why things happened or why a character thinks a certain way. But then again it helps you understand the work.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lorena! Understanding the historical and or cultural background of a story can really help make the story more exciting and relatable.
ReplyDeleteI see where you're coming from. The historical context of a story can help someone understand the point of view in which it was written. But sometimes I want to be able to figure out the cultural values through the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree, knowing the facts helps me understand the story. It allows us to visualize how it might be in that certain time. That's why I enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns and the Red Tent because I understood the background , and allusions in the A Thousand Splendid Suns made the book seem more autobiographical than actual fiction.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lorena. Knowing the history and the background on the era and culture really helps the story to flow better. This a great observation and I think we will see a lot of this in class this year. With our summer reading books a lot of History was put into it to get us used to History in Literature and now I appreciate it. It makes literature easier to take in.
ReplyDeleteThis is in fact true! Many times we try and analyze things without out knowing how it actually got to that point. Whenever we do that, that leaves us questioning the story. "Well why this...." "What and the world was he or she thinking.." Things we would consider morally wrong, if you look back in history it was perfectly normal. So awesome point Lorena!
ReplyDeleteYou're so right Lorena. I didn't honestly think I would even enjoy reading Gilgamesh but I did. Sometimes we feel as though other religions and beliefs are different from our own but we have more in common than we think. For example, the flood story, the similarities are endless!!
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