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Importance of setting in literature
The importance of setting in a story
Setting in literature and why its important
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While the setting for Sherman Alexie's "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona" and William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" differ, their settings develop different themes and perspectives. These two stories are similar in some ways and different in others because, one is in the Northwest of Arizona vs. the Deep South. Depending on where you are can determine the mood, tone, and sometimes it can even symbolize something. In “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona” the settings change throughout the story. As for “A Rose for Emily” the setting stays the same through the whole story. The setting helps to set the mood, it can have a symbolic meaning and sometimes it helps in explaining why the characters act the way that they do. In these two stories the setting is important and plays a major role.
In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix Arizona” the first setting is on an Indian tribal land. “Just after Victor lost his job at the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), he also found out that his father had died.” It is a federal agency responsible for management of Indian land...
Have you heard of the book Maniac Magee? Maniac Magee becomes an orphan at the age of three. His parents died in a trolley accident and ran away after living with his aunt and uncle for 8 years. Maniac’s real name is Jeffrey. He is a kind hearted person who is athletic and he’s always thinking about others. Maniac has trouble finding a permanent home and being accepted in the black community even though he’s white. In both the movie and book they have similarities and differences.
The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is an older book containing a entertaining storytelling contest between a group of pilgrims on a pilgrimage. The pilgrims, on their pilgrimage, venture from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas á Becket. During their pilgrimage, the Host introduces the idea of a storytelling contest. He claims the trip to the shrine of Saint Thomas á Becket will be boring to travel in silence. The Host lays out the plan of each pilgrim telling two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back from their adventure. Upon their return, the winner, decided by the Host for the most entertaining and meaningful tale, will receive a meal paid by the rest of the pilgrims. At his own cost, the Host guides the group of pilgrims, while the pilgrims pay for their adventure. To decide who starts the contest off, the members draw straws. The admired Knight is up first.
There are many commonalities between “Where are you going, Where have you been?” and other folktales too. One such folktale is Cinderella. In the story of Cinderella, she is often dreaming of escaping the situation she is in. Connie also dreams of escaping the constant nagging that she is receiving from her mother. She also wants to escape constantly being compared to her older sister June. Every girl also wants to be attractive and has this want to feel pretty or appear pretty to others. In the story of Cinderella, she is often dressed in tattered and dirty clothing while at home and doing chores (Kozikowski). This is why going to the ball and wearing the big gown is such a big deal for her. For once in her life she feels and looks beautiful. Connie is struggling with the same sort of self-image problem. Connie is constantly being told by her mother that she should be more like her big sister June. Whether it is her hair being dirty or her room not being clean enough, she constantly feels like she will never be good enough or as perfect as her older sister. Both Cinderella and Connie have to deal with a family who does not full appreciate them or give them any of the support they need. Cinderella is made to think that her sisters are much better than she is and much prettier than she is as well (Kozikowski). She is made to do chores and labor to make her less beautiful and desirable to others. Connie’s situation, although not as bad as Cinderella’s, is one of constant comparison and judgment. She too had to live with the constant reminder that her mother feels like her sister is better than her in every possible aspect. Just as Cinderella, Connie is immediately associated with a feeling of helplessness and uncleanliness from the ...
In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix Arizona”, Victor has become psychologically troubled because he has put his own traditions behind. Throughout the story, the readers find out that Victor has an internal conflict due to the unhealthy relationships in his life. His father abandons him at a very young age, which causes Victor’s loss of guidance and self-identity. The day that Victor’s father abandons his family, Victor gets “really drunk and beat[s] Thomas up for no apparent reason at all”(276).
Whether the setting of a story is insignificant or important strictly depends on the way the author develops the time, place, atmosphere, and social context. In Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily” the setting becomes a huge contributor toward the overall mood and timeline of the stories. Faulkner wrote these two short stories in such a way that the audience feels like they’re living in that dusty old house or the farming community in rural Mississippi.
“This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona” discusses the physical and mental journey of Victor, a Native American man in the state of Washington, as he goes to Phoenix, Arizona to claim his father’s remains and his savings account. While on this journey, Victor learns about himself, his father, and his Indian culture with the help of his estranged friend, Thomas Builds-the–Fire. The author, Sherman Alexie, plays on the stereotypes of Native Americans through the characters of Victor and Thomas. While Thomas is portrayed as the more traditional and “good” Native American, Victor comes across as the “bad” Native American. Through the use of this binary relationship, Alexie is able to illustrate the transformation of these characters as they reconcile with each other, and break out of these stereotypes in the process.
Money is a very important attribute to have, but worrying about it too much could maybe get you killed. In the canterbury tales there are two tales. One of them is the pardoner's tale and the other is the wife of bath's tale. I believe that the pardoner's tale is the better tale. (Geoffrey Chaucer) author of (The Canterbury Tales). In the Canterbury Tales the narrator goes on a pilgrimage and for entertainment he has the people he went on the pilgrimage with tell him tales. And he would reward whoever told him the best tale. The pardoner's tale is about three friends who let greed and money get to their heads which end up killing their friendships and themselves. The wife of bath's tale is about a knight who let's lust get to his head instead of loving someone for who they are. Although both tales are great tales and give a great moral lesson, The pardoner's tale is the better tale of the two because of its ability to teach a lesson while still creating a great story.
William Faulkner's, "A Rose for Emily," is a short story that is narrated by an anonymous character to be considered as the voice of the home town and tells the story out of order. The story is based on the life of Emily Grierson and how it connects with the South after the Civil War. There are many parts in the story that show symbolism in varieties of ways. Some of these symbols include Emily's house, her hair, her clothing, and even the "rose" that is brought in the story. Symbolism is shown throughout many different ways through all forms of literature. It is mainly shown through the main theme as well as the smaller themes that are throughout the story. Symbolism is used to represent ideas or qualities through the use of symbols.
Thinking back to our childhood, we all remember hearing many kinds of fairy tales. Some of them inspired us others confused us, and most of them taught us valuable lessons. Through out centuries tales and stories have been used as a valuable tool to pass on our culture to new generations. There is a strong belief that these fairy tales mirror and influence society. All cultures interpret tales in their own unique way. They add and subtract various aspects of the tale to fit the needs of their particular society. The same tale in the United States is different from the tale told in Asia. A good example of tale evolution can be seen in one of the most famous tales ever told which is “Cinderella”. As a professor of women’s history Karol Kelley points out in her essay Pretty Woman: A Modern Cinderella “There are some 700 versions of Cinderella”.This fairy tale as many others has been changing for many years, and in recent years Cinderella has come under some criticism for its depiction of women’s roles in society.
The setting and tone go hand in hand during the story as both have dark elements that portray the message of the story. For instance, we get a glimpse of the setting when it says, “Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting into dirty water” (Carver 344). We also get a preview of the tone when it says, “Cars slushed by on the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too” (344). Both of these lines set the mood for the story and provide of bit of foreshadowing for the events to come. Both the tone and setting in the story help to make the events of the story come into play and reinforce how things can go south in a hurry when it comes to
William Faulkner’s "A Rose for Emily" is perhaps his most famous and most anthologized short story. From the moment it was first published in 1930, this story has been analyzed and criticized by both published critics and the causal reader. The well known Literary critic and author Harold Bloom suggest that the story is so captivating because of Faulkner’s use of literary techniques such as "sophisticated structure, with compelling characterization, and plot" (14). Through his creative ability to use such techniques he is able to weave an intriguing story full of symbolism, contrasts, and moral worth. The story is brief, yet it covers almost seventy five years in the life of a spinster named Emily Grierson. Faulkner develops the character Miss Emily and the events in her life to not only tell a rich and shocking story, but to also portray his view on the South’s plight after the Civil War. Miss Emily becomes the canvas in which he paints the customs and traditions of the Old South or antebellum era. The story “A Rose For Emily” becomes symbolic of the plight of the South as it struggles to face change with Miss Emily becoming the tragic heroin of the Old South.
In “A Rose For Emily”, by William Faulkner, plot plays an important role in how
In Faulkner’s tale “A Rose for Emily” there are many historical elements throughout the story; Faulkner uses them to give an authentic feel to the story and to add to the setting. A recurring theme that I found was reference to the reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. The setting of the South after their demise in the Civil War adds character to the story and to the characters. The attitudes people had and the way people treated Emily with respect was a tradition of the “Old South” that is presented throughout this tale.
Faulkner’s writing style is not the typical writing style that authors often use. Stated by Houghton, “...Some of his novels ' narrative techniques are also present in the stories and include extended descriptions and details, actions in one scene that then recall a past or future scene, and complex sentence structure”. His gender has no influence whatsoever in his writing, his purpose is to mirror the complexity of the characters and issues within the short stories. “A Rose for Emily” is one of his many stories in which he establishes the depth of the settings and characters. He compliments an object and a character together. In “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily has passed away and the whole town is aware of the tragedy, as a narrator Faulkner uses is complementing style to show that the house in which she lived in and her are inseparable and now that she is gone so is the house. He describes both the house and Emily, “And so she died. Fell ill in the house filled with dust and shadows”(Faulkner#PT4) and Miss Emily, “She died in one of the downstairs rooms, in a heavy walnut bed with a curtain, her gray head propped on a pillow yellow and moldy with age and lack of
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.