Context is everything in stories and in life. In the last blog, we explored the relationship between context and complication. This time, we’re going to examine the ways to establish context within your story.
There are two ways in which context affects story—the context of the plot (or event, in the case of nonfiction) and the context of character.
In 1963, Jimmy Breslin wrote his famous article in The New York Times about President John F. Kennedy’s funeral. While the other reporters focused on the funeral itself, Breslin chose to interview the man who dug the president’s grave. This allowed Breslin to offer a unique perspective on the day by offering a different context on the passing of the president. He contrasted his narrative about Jacqueline Kennedy’s strength with the care shown in preparing JFK’S grave. This new perspective offered a different framework for loss. It also allowed Breslin to show how the assassination affected everyone, from heads of state to the gravedigger. It was a masterpiece in journalism that succeeded because of context.
You can achieve that kind of context in your fictional stories too. Here are some ways to frame your characters and plot:
Historical
This uses the framework of time. We are all defined by our moment in history, of the events that happen through our lives that affect us and challenge us. Time allows us to ground our characters in an era with social norms and events that influence their reactions. Be mindful of the time period you choose for your story and take the events that happened in your character’s life into account when setting up conflicts and complications. Is your story a period piece? If so, consider the events of that time period—the inventions, the milestones, the news. They could affect your characters. Also be vigilant in your research. There is nothing that gains criticism faster than mistakes in history or fact.
Cultural
Cultural context is the context of place. It’s the ambience and energy of your setting and all that entails. The feel of New Orleans in summer is different than summers in Antarctica or Ireland. The heat of Louisiana changes the pace of life and the way people interact. The culture of New Orleans is unique among American cities. Think of cultural context as the difference between setting your story in New Orleans versus San Francisco, California. Keep in mind that culture is fluid. People move from one culture to another and bring their traditions and behaviors with them. Consider an immigrant who finds herself in a vastly different culture. How would that affect her actions? How would the culture of place and past affect her? Explore the opportunities inherent within the culture of your story and seek opportunities to share that culture with your readers.
Social
Social context refers to the society your characters live within or fight against. Society and its rules will dictate proper behavior. If a person laughs raucously at a comedy club, it’s expected. If they do it at a posh gallery opening, if might not be. Likewise, if a character is the product of high society, the will tend to react one way, while someone from a more modest background might react differently. We are all products of our society in one way or another. What are the rules of the society within your story? Is your character part of or rebelling against that society? Or are there multiple societies within the larger one (for example, various cliques within the society of a high school)? Consider how the answers to these questions will affect your character’s actions.
Philosophical or Ideological
These refer to the beliefs and ideas that affect human behavior. They vary from individual to individual and community to community. They are either rigorously adhered to or pushed against. The ideas you base your characters and community on may be backstory or background information that is never overtly shared. That’s okay. But you do want to know what your characters believe in and what they will take a stand on and why.
Personal
This is the context of your character’s backstory—what came before that is influencing their behavior and actions now. This is personal and can give great insight into your character. It’s Harry Potter growing up in a cabinet under the stairs instead of in the magical community as the savior of the wizarding world. How different would he have been had he grown up with Hagrid or the Weasleys? Each one of us has our own history that affects how we live and see the world. It’s important to include that in your characters’ backstories to give them depth.
For you fellow English majors out there, you might have noticed a missing context—authorial. As writers, we cannot control this. It is the context we bring to the story by nature of creating it. While it is helpful to consider the author when breaking down a piece of literature for class, it is not as helpful to bring awareness to our own role as the writer. It’s best to keep our eyes on the contexts found within the story itself and not fret too much about what our own contextual baggage we may be inserting into the work.