Why I chose this lens

When looking at the biographical/historical lens, it helps me understand the time period that the author wrote their story and how time period may impact their story as a whole. For example, in my junior year, I read The Great Gatsby which refers to 2 important historical events such as The Great Depression and Civil War meanwhile reflecting upon Fitzgerald's/Nick Carraway’s thoughts or feelings throughout the roaring 20s. When doing close readings during my junior year, I didn’t feel confident when analyzing a story that was impacted by time periods since I only focused on analyzing stories based on certain literary devices, and diction that related to the theme. If I were to look at a story based on a time period, I tended to repeat myself to the point where I’m confused because of the way I construct my ideas. I feel that looking at stories through the biographical/historical lens during senior year AP English Literature will help me understand what is going on in the story through the characters’ actions and themes that are conveyed without getting confused. Looking at the historical lens more often, I can see how a story can relate to the author’s life to the point where I get to know the story more and understand who the author is in general. Historical lens interested me more than the others because it gives an idea of where the author is coming from when looking at the time period that is used to convey certain themes. When referring to the historical lens, you can figure out how the society was structured and how the role of each person was portrayed throughout the story.