Small Talk: How Stories Reflect their Writers · 5:21pm Jul 6th, 2018
Really, this is just a revamp of an old blog I did a few months back
Voice of the Author: Back in what I like to call the dark days, students would be forced to adhere to a format of writing: MLA, APA, etc. despite being locked in a certain format. For example, an engineer would craft a more straightforward paper, choosing to discuss the how's and why's something truly is. Their language would be very blunt and less flowery than their English major counterparts who would try to paint a picture in a sense. After all, engineers can crafts pictures in their field of work while English majors learn to be descriptive without their pictures. In addition, English literature is carved into genres from the sensual gothic literature of Poe to the didactic social commentary of Swift, meaning that voices are different. There's a reason why no one allows first person in formal papers. We know what's important to you already through where you place your emphasis.
Language: This is an extension of the first one. I've spoken Spanish for years now. Trust me, regional dialects still annoy me to no end. Spain has several extra conjugations I didn't grow up with in addition to separate sounds to c and s. There are variations within the very same language. How you arrange and use words is a great way to determine where someone is from. Of course, words can change meanings between dialects. May I remind you of how airbender in Great Britain means homosexual gas? Language tells you location/upbringing of the author.
Values Like I said before, this is the easiest to argue for. Cultures have values that are unique to them. Suicide is seen as shameful and horrific in the West for a long time while the East didn't see much of a problem. You may wonder why someone in Eastern literature is wearing white at a wedding, and the parents are freaking out whereas in the West, it's not much of a problem. Of course, I've only scratched the surface. I'm very much against not looking at historical context to make sense of it. For example, domestic abuse used to be comedic, akin to slapstick of today in the days of Victorian England. Of course, we've changed since then. The moment you define good and evil, you've left your mark or your era's mark on the page.
In certain ways, yes they do. I think it depends on how the writer defends their choices for the what they have written both inside and outside the story.