We study literature to discover new perspectives of the functioning of society, its values and morals, and how it may affect us both temporarily and collectively. We may study literature through individually analyzing passages, discussing our interpretations with our peers, or evaluating the purpose of novels such as TTTC. We can then apply these new understandings to current issues and our own values, possibly altering some of our perspectives on certain topics.
We study TTTC because it gives us insight to different aspects of society, including its expectations, roles, pressures, and morality. This allows us to make current connections where we may evaluate the extent of morality on subjects that may influence us both individually and collectively.

2. How are we affected by literary texts in various ways? How are we impacted by TTTC?
We are affected by literary texts because they are able to shape our perspectives about certain topics and provide insight to new understandings that we may not have noticed or thought about previously. In this way, they force us to reevaluate our morals and opinions and give us a new outlook on how to approach situations or conflicts. 
Therefore, we are influenced by TTTC because when analyzed well, it is able to provide us with many new perspectives about the function of society and how it is able to influence us in our daily lives. It provides us with warnings about how society may control us as well as advice about how to approach situations in order to avoid these restraints. Understanding these perspectives gives us a new outlook on how to approach conflicts within our personal lives as well as with large issues that influence large groups of people. 

3. In what ways is meaning constructed, negotiated, expressed and interpreted in TTTC?
In TTTC, O'Brien reveals truths about society based on anecdotes of war stories throughout the book. Each vignette conveys a different theme, whether it be about the loss of identity, the influences of trauma, beauty in difficult environments, societal pressures, or the emotional effects of guilt. Each theme then provides insight to a different flaw of society and leads us to think about current connections of how these interpretations may apply to our own lives.

4. How does the structure of style of TTTC affect its meaning?
The style of TTTC greatly influences its meaning because each vignette represented a different flaw of society. Each vignette provided insight into societal perceptions and their harmfulness as well as morality. Through analyzing, we can pull out  advice or warnings about how these interpretations may apply to our own lives. Therefore, its style was able to build the theme of the story that we should have a good understanding of the intentions of society so that we can appropriately evaluate its morality based on our own values. 

The cultural and historical context is very significant to the production and meaning of a literary text because oftentimes the text makes connections with the external cultural and historical influences. Without understanding the background and purpose of a literary text, it is difficult to analyze its specific meaning. For example, if we had not first understood the fight for black rights throughout American history, it would have been difficult to understand the context of many of the Langston Hughes poems we read, especially when alluding to specific developments such as the abolition of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. 

We approach literary texts from different times and cultures by first investigating and learning about the cultural and historical context. We have to keep an open mind while attempting to understand a literary text so that we can put ourselves into the shoes of the speaker. For example, the black history project that we did at the beginning of the unit proved to be very important when understanding the meaning of several of the Hughes poems we read because it gave us the context that the text was based off of. 

The impact of a literary text may change over time because many texts are based off of the historical context of which they were made, so as time goes on they may become less relevant of less easily understood. For instance, some of the Langston Hughes poems referred to specific historical developments during the fight towards black rights and they encouraged a call to action that was specific to that time. However, although the impact of a text may change, the meaning of a text can alter over time to match the current historical and cultural context. In the Langston Hughes poems, many of the texts references a specific struggle among the larger fight for full equality. This means that many of the messages of the poems related to a universal and timeless message of the fight towards equality that could be altered to match the specific context of the current issues.

The structure of a literary text is able to emphasize and point out new aspects of the theme or author's purpose that could not be understood upon surface level reading. For example, in Beloved, the author's utilization of Stream of Consciousness as well as prolepsis and anelypsis gives the audience insight to some of the character's perspectives and allows us to make connections between them. We are then able to analyze rhetorical devices deeper and can gain a better understanding of the author's theme.

Time and Space

The cultural and historical context is very important to the understanding of the text because without background knowledge, it is much harder to analyze beneath the surface of a text and begin to make connections and notice patterns. For example, without understanding some background knowledge of the Middle Passage, Fugitive Slave Act, Underground Railroad, and basic facts of slavery overall, it would be very difficult to understand the story-line let alone begin to interpret themes and rhetorical devices/comparisons.

Chronicle of A Death Foretold offers insight into Columbian culture because it portrays many of the communal and traditional standards for gender, morality, honor, and more. As readers we are able to make interpretations about their priorities as a culture, such as how honor to one's family may sometimes trump the immorality of an act. Also, we can see the harsh responses of Columbian society when these strict standards of honor are broken, often causing the person to be ostracized by the community and subject to much blame for the immorality of others. When societal expectations such as a woman's purity are broken in Columbian culture, morality is often disregarded in order to restore honor.