Reading a Novel

Hi,

I would like to share my views on the historical and cultural background of a novel and how it relates to reading a novel.

Firstly, I think that it is necessary to understand the historical and cultural context of a novel before reading it. I find this essential because I believe that doing this aids the reader in understanding more about the context of the story and from there, he can be able to relate to the story better and understand certain parts of the story that depicts a scene of the history. For example, take the book "Animal Farm". It was written during the time when Communism ruled Soviet Union. This motivated George Orwell to write the novel to illustrate what was happening at that time. However, if one does not know these facts, he may just think that the novel is a fantasy story where farm animals can talk. Thus, it is necessary for a reader to understand the historical and cultural aspects of the story as it reveals a lot of secrets and helps the reader understand the true meaning behind the story.

I also think that understanding the author's backgrond helps us a lot in finding out the purpose the author wrote the book and the prejudices he might include in the story. Let me use the example of "Animal Farm" again. Geogre Orwell was against the system of Communism as his personal experiences taught him that greed is imminent in every part of the world. Therefore, he wrote the novel to criticise it. Thus, reading up on the author's background can help us to identify the key message of the story.

Finally, although I think that the historical and cultural contexts, and the author's background are important when reading a novel, I have to admit that it is still possible to appreciate a text without reading up on either one. This definitely applies to non-fictional books, where most of the reader's creativity is put to use. I also have to say that since young, I have always enjoyed reading good books but have never put these skills into practice. Thus, it is possible to do without reading up on the backgrond of a novel, but it will definitely bar the reader from finding out more secrets beneath the surface of the story.

Loo Nathanael (18) 2I1