First class of 2nd Trimester

Today, we had our first English class of the semester. As we will be working on our individual book report presentations in a few weeks, Mr. Paterson taught us about one of the things to talk about in a book report. That first thing is not just the author and title, but also the author's background. We learned that the author's background and past experiences have a lot to do with the story's plot, characters, and more. You might be thinking, "How?" The answer is that us people all have different perceptions of things, because what you've experienced shapes your thinking. Mr. Paterson showed and explained some examples. One example was the Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. The novel's storyline seemed awfully similar to the situation his country was facing due to war. Although the author denied that there is a connection, it was clear to me that the historical background of when this book was published had a strong influence on JRR Tolkien's writing. There were many other examples that proved to me that it is vital to include the author's background in my future book reports. I'm very intrigued to know more about James Dashner's life and see how it might've affected the book I'll be introducing, "The Maze Runner".