Read: The Dark Secrets of this Now-Empty Island in Maine How does knowing the historical context of a text change or alter the way readers understand the characters or events? Provide specific evidence to support your claim.

By knowing the historical context of a novel or piece of literature one can deeply understand what exactly the author is trying to convey. For instance, in the short article "The Dark Secrets of this Now-Empty Island in Maine," which describes events that occurred in the 1910s that completely altered the history of Malaga Island. Without knowing many important historical aspects and the sense of society in this certain time period, one would not completely understand the truth behind this island. Malaga Island was, “a community of mixed races” which “drew the attention of those opposed to miscegenation, and Mainers with a bigoted view,” (Jester). African Americans in the 1910s were still not accepted in society and because of this many people believed that the residents on Malaga island “would interfere with tourist’s vision of the picturesque Maine ideal,” (Jester). The state decided that the people on Malaga Island were to be evicted, and exclaimed them to, “leave and remove your homes, or forcibly be removed and your homes will be burned,” (Jester). And so the people of Malaga Island did, “Many residents floated their homes up and down the river” and even “Some perished from this ordeal, with one mother who had fallen ill,” this brutal way of expelling these people from their homes, ripped families apart by killing one another by this harsh journey. As the eviction and many important events started to fade, “The state did its best to erase the past, but an ugly linguistic reminder kept bubbling up” (Jester). The word “Malago… was a way to talk about people of dark skin, or less than average intelligence,” (Jester). A simple word that may seem completely irrelevant to one who knows nothing about Malaga Island. But to one who knows the historical context of this empty and forgotten island, it is a great ordeal and brutal reminder of its inhumane past.

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