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A text is intimately connected to whomever imagined and produced it—that is, its creator.
A text is intimately connected to whomever imagined and produced it—that is, its creator.
Creator (composer) - the person(s) who crafts a text for an audience.
Introduction
Introduction
People are deeply influenced by their upbringing, education and experiences. By learning more about the people who produce texts, and their backgrounds, we can better understand the creative choices they make in their work, and how effectively they achieve their intended purposes.
William Golding
William Golding
Let's consider an example of a text that is intimately tied to its creator.
In the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of schoolboys is stranded on a tropical island after their plane crashes. Initially excited by this adventure, most of the boys soon become frightened, and some resort to violence, and even murder.
Why would Golding write such a gruesome tale? The more we learn about his background, the more we understand his grim purpose.
William Golding strongly disagreed with the ways that young boys were portrayed in traditional English stories. These tales suggested that all British boys were brave and loyal with a keen sense of justice. However, Golding worked as a teacher in an all-boys school where he saw just how badly young boys could behave (nothing like your class, I'm sure).
In addition, Golding had served in World War II as a sailor in the British navy. Here, he witnessed the destructive capacity of human beings in the largest conflict in history. As a result, Golding became deeply disillusioned with the idea that Europeans were noble and civilised.
Knowing more about Golding's experiences as a teacher and sailor allows us to better understand his motivations for writing Lord of the Flies, a disturbing novel about the capacity for anyone to act savagely under the right circumstances.
Understanding Creators
Understanding Creators
When studying texts, we should always try to learn more about the people who created them.
By researching the upbringing, education and experiences of the creator of a given text, we learn to recognise "traces" of this creator in their work. This allows us to craft a more thorough interpretation of what a creator is trying to achieve, and evaluate how successfully they accomplish this.
Editor's Notes
Editor's Notes
While the term creator is a handy way to describe somebody who crafts a text, there are many other words we can use for this purpose.
The word composer is expected in some curriculums, and when analysing a particular text type, we can also use a term that is specific to that medium. For example, a book is written by an author or writer, while a poem is composed by a poet.
Whenever you are in doubt about which term to use, always check with your teacher.
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