Questions to novel reading

1. Why is it necessary to understand the historical and cultural context of the novel?

1. It is necessary to understand the historical and cultural context of the novel as it allows us to understand when this novel was written and if there were any events that happened in that time frame which led to this novel being written. The novel would prove to be easier to internalize if we were to read up more on the reason this novel was written.

2. How does it help to understand the author’s background? Is it necessary to learn about the author’s background?

2. It helps to understand the author’s background as many novels’ authors would write down some of their own experiences in the book. However, it is not a necessary requirement as most stories would allow the reader to make out the storyline without knowing the author’s background.

3. Is it possible to appreciate the text without pre-reading about the historical and cultural context of the novel / background of the novel?

3. It is still possible, but with higher level of difficulty to understand the novel.

Example: Reading up more on the background of this novel would allow us to know about how blacks are often discriminated in the past by the whites. Knowing the background would allow us to appreciate the story. (Know what is going on when the text is being written)