Read Coming of Age in the Dawnland, textbook pp. 23-31. Then, determine the author's purpose: Purpose is the reason an author writes a particular piece. The author might seek to inform readers, to entertain them, or to persuade them to agree with his or her point of view. An author's purpose is not usually stated in the text. Instead, readers must INFER the purpose, or draw a logical conclusion based on strong evidence in the text. To determine the author's purpose, answer the following: 1. Think about what the text says explicitly. What ideas does the author state directly, and what facts and examples does he include? 2. Analyze the author's style. (Read about style on p. 32) What words and images do you find especially powerful? What tone does his writing convey? 3. Based on your analysis, what can you infer is Mann's purpose in this excerpt?