Context analysis:
The environment (social, cultural, spiritual, personal, demographical) in which a text is engaged with.
All texts have contextual integrity, as all texts are products of human thought.
All texts are altered by context as their meaning and interpretation is a product of human right, it innately influences the writer, you cannot write without thought.
All human thought is necessarily based on the context it is born out of.
“Death of the author” – the author doesn’t matter when the text goes public, it is all about the readers interpretations. This meaning that the way the author perceives the story doesn’t have any impact on how each individual reader perceives the story.
What is context?
Texts are effectively impacted TWICE by context.
The composer is impacted by the context in which the text is composed, and their own background.
The responder approaches the text with an understanding and consciousness that is based on their respective content.
Context is extremely malleable and each person will approach a text with their own, completely unique, combination of contextual factors.
Some “interpretive communities” will have a shared contextual understanding based on mutual contextual features.
Context in ‘Life of Pi’
Thinking very generally to begin with, what aspects of Yann Martel’s context may have shaped his construction of the text? You may like to research the author a little.
What contextual components do you bring to the texts that you think might alter your reading experience?
The context in how Yann Martel writes is majorly influenced by his experience and cultural beliefs. Yann Martel travelled a lot when he was younger and has experienced and been exposed to many different cultural beliefs and customs.
The contextual components that could alter our experience are also our views on other cultures, beliefs and customs. Our background knowledge of the