Nonfiction authors generally have a purpose for writing: To inform, to entertain, to persuade, or a combination of the three. Consider the purpose of your book. For your comment on this post, include a quotation (with the page number, as always) that shows the author's purpose for writing. Then, in a few sentences, explain what the quote reveals about purpose. Comment by Friday, 12/7.
5 Comments
Anna D.
11/30/2018 06:24:36 am
The author's purpose for writing is to persuade the readers. A quote that shows this is, "That's the fear that seems to drive many of us to embrace silence or deception. But too often, we're just telling one more lie, this one to ourselves" (Luxenberg 48). Very often, we tell ourselves that knowing the truth of something will be more painful than not knowing what it is. So, we proceed to stay in the dark forever. Luxenberg is trying to tell us that we are not doing ourselves any favors by choosing to stay ignorant about certain truths about our families and lives. He hopes to persuade us to learn about our family secrets before it's too late.
Reply
S. Matthews
11/30/2018 10:01:25 am
This book was written for a very specific purpose, which is shown very early on in the book. "I wanted to find out more. I couldn't write about all the "forgotten" people, but I could write about one" (Luxenberg 22). Luxenberg wrote this book to inform people how things once were here. Obviously, much has changed over the time, and many of the people who once resided behind the walls of this asylum have been all but forgotten. Luxenberg wanted to not only bring light to how things used to be, but inform the readers about the people these things once affected, long ago. He wants the readers to be aware of these things that have happened and preserve the memories of the people whose existence is already fading from the memories of the public.
Reply
Zoe M.
12/2/2018 05:38:20 pm
The author's purpose behind this book is to inform readers about the truth behind his family. A quote that shows this is, "In this shroud of silence, the secret takes on the characteristics of an artifact- interesting to examine and exotic to behold, but mysterious and often impossible to fathom" (Luxenburg 48). All throughout her life, Luxenburg's mother seemed to have a close relationship with each one of her children, and was very open about her life. The revelation of her sister's existence however, has since put that statement up in the air. Luxenburg finds this discovery hard to believe at first, mainly due to to the lack of information surrounding his long lost aunt. Through writing this book however, he hopes to clear any confusion and let readers know the truth.
Reply
Kate C.
12/3/2018 07:54:06 am
The purpose of writing this novel for the author was to inform his readers of the mysteries that a family holds and to entertain with keeping the readers questioning what's going to happen next within his true story. The author writes, "[r]osetta stones do not yield their secrets so easily" (Luxenburg), on page 47, depicting that his family secret is like the Rosetta Stone, covered in a shroud of mystery, waiting to be decoded. He keeps the readers on their toes about what is to happen next and keeps them questioning his mother's motivations as to why she hid her sister for so long. He keeps the reader engaged through the enigma that his mother created, entertaining the readers while also having them wonder if their families' hold any secrets within.
Reply
Emily D.
12/5/2018 12:45:54 pm
The purpose of the novel is to persuade readers to change their views on mental health as he tells the story of his aunt. The author asks a question that proves this. "How can we, as a society, overcome the shame long associated with the mentally ill if state laws mandate that their history be kept in the shadows?" (Luxenberg 54). In this quote, the author shows his view on mental heath and the long history of shame and misjudgment of those who suffer from mental illnesses. He wants to help get rid of the shame surrounding mentally ill people through Annie's story. He believes that the key to overcoming the shame mentally ill people have faced from the rest of society is to let their stories be heard.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
PriestArchives
January 2019
Categories |