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Secondary 4 English · Context and values in texts

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. What term means the time, place and culture in which a text was created? (three words)
2. What are 'values' in a text?
- ☐ (a) The price of the book
- ☐ (b) Beliefs about what is important, good or right
- ☐ (c) The number of chapters
- ☐ (d) The names of the characters
3. When a text presents a value positively and encourages readers to agree with it, the text is said to…
- ☐ (a) challenge the value
- ☐ (b) endorse the value
- ☐ (c) ignore the value
- ☐ (d) translate the value
4. Why might a modern reader respond differently to an older text than its first readers did?
- ☐ (a) Because the words in the book have changed
- ☐ (b) Because the reader's own context – their time, culture and beliefs – is different
- ☐ (c) Because older texts are always wrong
- ☐ (d) Because modern readers do not understand stories
5. In Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Lucas marries Mr Collins mainly for a secure home. What does this reflect about the novel's context?
- ☐ (a) Marriage was often a woman's main path to financial security.
- ☐ (b) Women commonly ran large companies.
- ☐ (c) People usually married for fame.
- ☐ (d) Marriage had been banned.
6. What term means the time, place and culture in which a text is read or viewed? (three words)
7. An original advertisement says: 'Every real man needs a powerful car to show who's boss.' What value does it endorse?
- ☐ (a) Saving money
- ☐ (b) A stereotyped idea of masculinity linked to power and status
- ☐ (c) Caring for the environment
- ☐ (d) Equality between all people
8. Which sentence is the strongest analysis of context and values?
- ☐ (a) The book is old.
- ☐ (b) I did not like the characters.
- ☐ (c) Written in a society that valued obedience in children, the story endorses respect for elders, though a modern reader may question the harsh punishments it presents.
- ☐ (d) The story has a beginning, middle and end.

Answer sheet

1. context of production — The context of production shapes the attitudes and values in a text.
2. Beliefs about what is important, good or right — Values are beliefs such as loyalty, equality, tradition or freedom.
3. endorse the value — To endorse is to support or present positively.
4. Because the reader's own context – their time, culture and beliefs – is different — The context of reception shapes how readers interpret and judge a text.
5. Marriage was often a woman's main path to financial security. — In early nineteenth-century England, many women had few ways to support themselves apart from marriage.
6. context of reception — Each reader brings their own context of reception to a text.
7. A stereotyped idea of masculinity linked to power and status — It links being a 'real man' to power, dominance and owning a powerful car.
8. Written in a society that valued obedience in children, the story endorses respect for elders, though a modern reader may question the harsh punishments it presents. — It links context to values and considers a modern reader's response.