enrty #7 researching stuff

I have to be honest, when we first started researching in class, I was thinking "What is this for? Why are we doing it?" afterwards, when i was actually researching, I realized that it was all about understanding the text a little more. I mean, before (or after in my case, but i think it's better before) you read or reread a book, you should research it and find out what it's backround is like, where the author found inspiration, why or when the author began writing, and when did the author first write the book you are about to read. I did the research after, but i still learned a lot about the book and the author.

For example, I found out that E.B White first got inspiration to write Charlotte's Web because, he loved being in his barn, and he had a pig. It made him sad that the poor pig was destined to be killed so he decided to write a story about that pig and how it survives the few reasons why humans originally kill pigs. Because they are too small and we humans are too lazy or don't have enough time to care for such small pigs, and to eat them. He also observed a big grey spider in the corner of the barn. This is how Charlotte was created.

Another thing that I found was that, the author of Bridge to Terabithia, Kiristen Paterson, was very lonly when she was young, and the main reason for that was because she moved away from home many times and she wore hand me down clothes and had different hobbies for a girl. While most girls preffered to go home and watch tv and do the 'normal' things a girl does, Kristen preffered to go home and write. She wrote many plays that the kids in the class acted out. But even with this, she was still the one that didn't belong. Just like Leslie.

All these little connections between the author and the story itself are very meaningful and important to the story. And it is important that we do some research so we know what it is we are reading.

There is always a reason books are written. And the author has to get inspiration from somewhere right? That's why it's our job to find out what that inspiration is.