We study literature to become more knowledgeable, delve into deeper thinking, and improve as a human being by finding our own unique interpretation and meaning in the text. We study TTTC because it teaches us not only about war and its effects, but also about moral conflicts and life lessons that are important to think about to grow and expand our perspective on life.

2. How are we affected by literary texts in various ways? How are we impacted by TTTC?
No literary text is the same. They all have different ideas, themes, messages, and purposes. So, different books teach and impact us on different things. For example, a book like The Giver speculates on the concept of a utopian society with no pain, and that impacts us by teaching us that pain is inevitable and thus someone must bear it. In the case of TTTC, it impacts us by revealing the truth about war- how everything is true and yet nothing is true. How stories supercede death and keep soldiers alive. There are numerous themes and lessons but those are some of the more prominent ones.

3. In what ways is meaning constructed, negotiated, expressed and interpreted in TTTC?
Meaning is constructed through small vignettes that each have a different purpose and theme, and these are expressed as little stories or flashbacks that O'Brien recounts, sometimes in third person and sometimes in first. TTTC is interpreted as a half fictional/half nonfictional piece that shows what true war was really like.

4. How does the structure of style of TTTC affect its meaning?

The broken up structure of TTTC provides numerous lessons/truthss/themes because each chapter has its own purpose and message. It affects its meaning by allowing for more diverse and unique interpretations of the text.

    I think the use of correct cultural and historical context in a literary text gives it substance and meaning. Implementing culture and history in a poem, however, is extremely difficult because you have to bend the words somehow to convey the purpose and message of the poem. When you do accomplish this feat, it is worth every bit of time and effort because it is easier for the audience to understand and relate with the work. Not only that, but studies have proven that people are more likely to remember reality rather than fantasy.

   Literary texts are powerful ambassadors carrying even more powerful messages about culture(s). Many texts that I have read have talked about things in context of their culture, a culture that I have no experience in. After reading those texts, I had a vague idea of what their culture consisted of but even then, because the poem was not directed towards informing the audience about their culture but  rather using their culture to carry a message, it was difficult for me to grasp their culture completely. SO while I think that literary texts offer some insight into another culture, unless the whole text is dedicated to informing about the culture, there is only so much words can do.

Most literary texts are purposely written to be relevant to the time or era in which they were made. For example, Langston Hughes was a prominent writer in the era of the Harlem Renaissance, which was not only an explosion of black culture and intelligence but also a time filled with Jim Crow Laws, racism, and hardships for the black population. As a result , most of the works that Hughes produced were indicative of the hardships that black people had to endure and the oppressiveness of the white population. These works were also written with a certain style that included words/phrases that are no longer in use today. As a result, it is easy for the literary text to be interpreted differently today than it was meant to be originally interpreted. This could also result in the work having a different impact on the audience than was intended. All in all, the meaning and impact of a literary text can change dramatically over time because each generation of people is what validates the saying "In with the old, out with the new."

I think the structure and style in which a literary work is written has a substantial impact on the meaning that it conveys. For Morrison, especially in chapters 22-23, she makes use of a style of writing called stream of consciousness, in which Beloved's thoughts are communicated to the reader in a continuous and flowing line defying conventional grammatical rules. This style , while hard to decipher and even harder to understand, conveys a realistic and therefore more powerful experience of slaves in general and their "brokenness" due to slavery. Not to mention, Morrison does not forget to utilize analepsis and prolepsis in her writing, as most of the 20- something chapters consist of analepsis where the events that happened in the past are recounted in vivid detail. Prolepsis goes well in hand with analepsis, by providing the necessary viewpoints of the characters and their feelings.

Time and Space

I think all literary texts have some basis in fact but in Beloved, cultural and historical context is especially important because it is based on a real life event concerning a runaway slave- Margaret Garner. Of course, using her story as a basis for Beloved meant Morrison had to talk about events that were related to her life, including the Fugitive slave acts and general slave tendencies. I think the fact that Beloved has a basis in fact makes it extremely powerful as a literary text as it is the truth, and the truth is often more powerful than lies(fiction.) This is reflected in the readers perceptions of this book, as they have no choice but to succumb to being educated of slavery and therefore mortified at slavery and the dirty past that America never talked about.

The story of Santiago Nasar's death takes place in Colombia, and in order to convey the story as realistically as possible, Marquez makes sure to incorporate the element of culture as well. Colombian culture turns out to be responsible for many of the actions depicted throughout the novel like the idea of maintaining honor, the image of the perfect man/woman that is represented by machismo and marianismo, and even the impact of colonialism on Colombia. For example, the way that Angela Vicario wishfully dreams of proving her virginity can only be attributed to the Colombian culture that dictates a women must maintain her virginity until marriage.