ENGLISH 2 : OBSTACLES 02.02

In this lesson, we will examine how time and place affect the way we react to our obstacles.

You will look at the historical context of your story to see how it influenced the details of the story

Understanding this important aspect of literature will help you answer this question: How does my current time and place affect the obstacles we face today?

In this video, author Batt Humphreys discusses his novel Dead Weight which takes place in Charleston, South Carolina. Although fiction, this novel is based on the true story of a young man who was charged with a crime he did not commit.

Historical Context

Time and Place

Think of your favorite movie. If you were to change the time to be 200 years in the past (or 200 years in the future), what might change about the story? If you were to move the location 2,000 miles away, what else might change?

Think of this class. If you were taking it 30 years ago, what might be different? If you were taking it in another country, what else might be different?

Obstacles

Though the movie's basic story or class's lessons might be similar, the way they were approached and handled would change. Throughout time and around the world, people feel grief when they experience loss, and they feel stress when they take on new responsibilities. The obstacles themselves do not change, but the way people react does. This is because historical context (time and place) significantly impacts how we handle the obstacles we face.

Though the movie's basic story or class's lessons might be similar, the way they were approached and handled would change. Throughout time and around the world, people feel grief when they experience loss, and they feel stress when they take on new responsibilities. The obstacles themselves do not change, but the way people react does. This is because historical context (time and place) significantly impacts how we handle the obstacles we face.

Cause and Effect

Cause and effect plays a major role in determining how people respond to their environments. What has caused an obstacle to exist? What specific effects does it have on the person's life? What effects will certain reactions have down the road? The answers to all of these questions depend on the historical context.

As you read your story:

Think about the time and place in which it was written and the time and place in which it is set.When is the main character living? Is it long ago? Now? In the future?

Authors have historical context, too, and this can tell us about their values. Whether the author lived through the events of the book or not, it is likely the author had an opinion about them. Use the historical context of the author to determine:

Authors have historical context, too, and this can tell us about their values. Whether the author lived through the events of the book or not, it is likely the author had an opinion about them. Use the historical context of the author to determine:

-the author's purpose
-the author's point of view

These details will help you understand the elements that make up the plot of your book, whether it is fiction or nonfiction.

Elements of Literature:

• Plot
• Setting
• Conflict
• Point of View
• Theme
• Character

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