The World of Importance: Context in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich

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What do you believe the most important element of a piece of literature is? Is it the characters? The plot? The use of imagery? These are all-important elements and add to the overall piece to give the reader some understanding of the story. One thing many readers pass over though is the underlying context of a story. Context is defined as anything beyond the specific words of a literary work that may be relevant to understanding of the story's meaning. Context can include but is not limited to: culture, economics, and history. In “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, underlying context is a great way for the author to give new knowledge and enrich the reader with newfound information and context. As an example, in the context of history, there was a war that was going on at the time in America and there were many emotions that came along with this war. This time period has such significance which adds to the over all power of the story. Context influences a reader's understanding of a text and it is essential to this story, especially for this and newer generations of readers in the fact that it gives background and a clear connection that a reader can either relate to or understand further. With such context, readers of this generation can get a good idea of what this story was about as well as what was happening in the world at this time. Without context, readers will have a harder time trying to connect and make sense of a story as well as missing out on a whole world of deeper meanings, this leads to a more enjoyable reading experience. History is a powerful form of context. History is one thing that almost every reader can grasp and have a great understanding of. Also, history is one thing that will always stay current. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ory and its deeper meaning. With out context, readers would have a harder time trying to grasp a full understanding of a work. In addition, they would be missing out on a whole world of deeper meanings and enjoyable works. With the example of "The Red Convertible", we get a good sense of how context can really make a story more interesting as well as it giving a reader a better understanding of characters and messages. This and generations ahead will only benefit from context that is in stories such as this. In addition to making a story, it also educates and brings the reader into a place and time in history long ago. This is important to readers of any audience. Works Cited Erdrich.Louise."The Red Convertible." Approaching Literature: Reading + Thinking +Writing. Ed. Jack Ridl. Schakel Peter. 3rd ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 126- 33. Print.

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