Reflection Historical lens

    Reading both lenses through the historical lens was an interesting experience. Both books were written at  a time of racial tension. Huckleberry Finn was written at a time when the bridge between blacks and whites was much bigger than in Song of solomon. Both authors were influenced by their time period to make the writing decisions they did. In both books the idea of racism was touch in one way or another. My lens was helpful in both books. Huckleberry Finn in my opinion changed meaning if you take in account the history associated with twain. Twain was changed by abolitionist and slavery supporters. Toni Morrison was influenced by Black nationalism. During the 1970s affirmative action was taking place plus the feminist movement was on its way. I found it fun researching about about how history shaped both books. In mark twains place his early history had a lot to do with his writing. In the case of toni might have been shaped by the big movements that were going around him of equality for females and blacks. Learning more about how the past shaped and reshaped the meaning of many characters and language was what made the historical lens so interesting for me.

      Many people who read Huckleberry Finn might just look at as a racist book. By reading it through the historical hence  we can learn more about the life of the Author and how this might have shaped his writing. If you did not that twain was an abolitionist and his earlier relationship with African slaves his message would perhaps be lost. Because I did not focus on anything else, Many other good messages could have been lost as I read the book. The benefits of reading both books through a lens is that you get to look at the book in a different way. Character, places and dialogue that you might have overlooked, with a lens all those make a difference in the telling of a story. My beliefs were not really changes but the level of knowledge was altered quite a bit. I made it a necessity to know both authors from head to toe. In conclusion reading both books through the historical lens made it a unique reading experience.