Culture in Literature

What is historical and cultural context?

• the message that a writer of a story or novel wants readers to understand

• the time, place, and social conditions that influenced a work of literature

• a story of a person's life, written by that person

• a way to figure out if the details in a story or novel are true

Read this passage from "To Build a Fire." Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about the world that Jack London describes?

"For a moment he sat and stared at the spot where the fire had been. Then he grew very calm. Perhaps the old-timer on Sulphur Creek was right. If he had only had a trail mate he would have been in no danger now…. Well, it was up to him to build the fire over again, and this second time there must be no failure. Even if he succeeded, he would most likely lose some toes. His feet must be badly frozen by now, and there would be some time before the second fire was ready."

• The people have tamed their environment.

• The area is not heavily populated.

• The people are tough and self-reliant.

• People live with the threat of danger and death.

Reread this excerpt from Pride and Prejudice. Considering what you learned about English women in the 1800s, why do you think that families were so eager to find husbands for their daughters?

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."

• The men were especially charming.

• The families wanted grandchildren.

• They wanted to visit the new husband's home.

• Women didn't have many other options.

Think about the tone of the Pride and Prejudice passage shown here. How do you think Jane Austen feels about the marriage conventions of her time?

"Mr Collins's present circumstances made it a most eligible match for their daughter, to whom they could give little fortune; and his prospects of future wealth were exceedingly

fair. . . .The whole family in short were properly overjoyed on the occasion. The younger girls formed hopes of coming out a year or two sooner than they might otherwise have done; and the boys were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte's dying an old maid. Charlotte herself was tolerably composed."

• It is impossible to infer anything about Austen's views on marriage.

• Austen finds marriage to be too romantic and silly.

• Austen dislikes the businesslike aspects of marriage.

• Austen thinks the marriage customs make people happy.

This passage is from The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which is set in Puritan New England in the 1600s. Which of the following would probably NOT help you understand this novel?

"The grim beadle now made a gesture with his staff.

‘Make way, good people; make way, in the King's name!" cried he. ‘Open a passage; and, I promise ye, Mistress Prynne shall be set where man, woman, and child may have a fair sight of her brave apparel, from this time to an hour past meridian…. A lane was forthwith opened through the crowd of spectators. Preceded by the beadle, and attended by an irregular procession of stern-browed men and unkindly visaged women, Hester Prynne set forth towards the place appointed for her punishment."

• the beliefs and customs of the Puritans

• the background and experiences of the writer

• the laws of New England in the 1600s

• the foods commonly eaten at that time