Robert Butler's Use Of Setting In The Story 'Christmas 1910'

Have you ever wondered why an author chooses a certain time and place in his or her novel? You may ask, why would he/she choose this time in war or why this time in rebuilding? An author that uses setting to support the theme very well as Ernest Hemingway in his short story "Christmas 1910". The setting of "Christmas 1910'' is in the Great Plains. At that time there were not many people living there, only a few went to a farm and have a more peaceful life away from the cities and people. Hemingway uses this setting to convey his theme in his novel, which is loneliness. Which makes sense because, in the vast Great Plains, all there was at the time was land, farms, and a little town far away. Which to some people, it can get very lonely, such as the main character Abby. On page 26 Hemingway shows her loneliness by writing, “John Marsh wasn't looking at me anymore, though I fancied it was something he was struggling to control.". Another supportive quote of her loneliness is on page 31 when Hemingway wrote, “trying to send some brain waves to this outsized boy...". Finally, another big sign of Abby’s' loneliness is when Hemingway wrote, "Right away my vanity was kicking up. I was glad this young man, who had a long, lank, handsome face, a little like Sam actually, had settled himself at our nicest household possession, which was this table. And I hoped he understood the meaning of the blue tarpaper on our walls." (Hemingway 23). What all these quotes show is Abby’s'

a prison or a treadmill; he did not think for a second that the places

As the story develops, the reader’s thoughts are guided by the structure of the piece in a way that Tan is able to share an important lesson through the form of a personal narrative. The opening text immediately introduces the narrator and her insecurities as she wishes for a “slim new American nose” (Tan 1). The story initially takes on a negative tone as Tan proceeds to have a negative outlook throughout the entire evening. Her overwhelming anxiety can almost be felt by the reader as she worries what Robert will think of her “noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners” and overall “shabby Chinese Christmas” (Tan 1). With the tone set, Tan continues to amplify each dreadful detail of her family’s traditional Christmas Eve dinner. This includes the actual meal, that of which appeared to be

In her memoir the author uses setting to show that language is a challenge for those in her position. The setting of her memoir took place at Leffingwell Elementary in America. Although they didn’t

With the very first words, Jackson begins to establish the environment for her plot. To begin, she tells the reader that the story takes place on an early summer morning. This helps in providing a focus of the typicality of this small town, a normal rural

#1. A Christmas Carol takes place during the time of the Victorian Era, the years of 1837-1901. We learn that the Cratchits live in a town called Camden Town during this time. Camden Town is located in an area of northwest London. Charles Dicken’s (the author of A Christmas Carol) family lived at 16 Bayham Street in Camden Town.

The story has two main settings. First, the family’s house symbolizes union but not quite right. The family was tired of the grandmother. There was an atmosphere of oppression and manipulation by the grandmother. For example, from the beginning of the story the author stated, “You all ought to take them somewhere else for a change so they would see different parts of the world and be broad” (O’Connor 485). The grandmother uses this setting to suggest that the grandmother is very demanding. Finally, into the wood O’Connor uses the setting of tall, dark and deep wood to represent something that is difficult to deal with. O’Connor also mentions that “Behind them the line of woods gaped like dark” (490). It explores the dark consequences of death, where the family encounter strangers in the wood and we only learn what’s happening from the noise people make, gunshots and screams. The setting in this story is very good which states expression of mood and it helps us to know the meaning of the

Robert Butler used setting and tone to establish thematic meaning in the story “Christmas 1910” by placing the setting at a very cold, isolated, and depressing house. This led to the thematic meaning because the main character, Abigail, is affected by the setting. If the house wasn’t placed where it was the story would be completely different.

This story begins to drive the sense of emotion with the very surroundings in which it takes place. The author starts the story by setting the scene with describing an apartment as poor, urban, and gloomy. With that description alone, readers can begin to feel pity for the family’s misfortune. After the apartments sad portrayal is displayed, the author intrigues the reader even further by explaining the family’s living arrangements. For example, the author states “It was their third apartment since the start of the war; they had

In Spring Ford Community Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol, the rhetoric utilized by the director and actors in the creation of this play helps strengthen the argument that the tale is still relevant and connects to the modern era, which is proposed in Stephanie Allen’s Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” Told Uncomfortable Truths About Victorian Society, But Does it Have Anything to Teach Us Today?. Through the use of emotional appeals and the chronological progression of the play, this production makes the tale believable and reconnects it to common themes found in modern literature. The purpose of this production is to reinforce how these themes affect life and to display a positive outlook to the holiday season, which is done by the connection of this production with the viewer.

In many fictional works the setting can change the whole story in the blink of an eye. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is a book set in WWII. However, the story is told through the eyes of a young, innocent german boy named Bruno. Bruno’s family lives in Berlin until Hitler orders Bruno’s father to move to Auschwitz to direct the camp. Bruno eventually meets and befriends one of the Jewish prisoners living in the camp. Specific parts of the setting such as the weather and the time period can heavily influence the mood, negatively or positively. Also, individual aspects of the character’s surroundings can provide the basis for important events and/or twists in the plot. Character's thoughts, actions, and feelings can be developed with help from the setting. The setting of a concentration camp negatively influences the mood, provides the basis for pivotal events in the plot, and develops the character’s thoughts and actions in The Boy In The Striped Pajamas.

The setting is in the country of Ireland, where it is usually bleak and dismal most of the time. Since the weather in Ireland is not great, the winter blues comes over the people of Ireland. In this story, I feel like the reader that each character is majorly affected by the setting. I think the author might have chosen this setting to give the reader more of a way to understand the characters by giving them a background to live in. As the reader, I think if the author gave the

The setting of the story helps to magnify its impact on the reader because it is set in a small town similar to the one many of us may know of, and that is symbolic of everything that we consider to be right in America. The story begins on a wonderful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very joyful but strikes a contrast between the surroundings of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is sober, where the adults ?stood together, away from the stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather then laughed."(268) This, in just the third paragraph, is a

William Faulkner’s use of a setting in a short story, such as “Barn Burning”, effected the entire outcome of the story from start to finish. In “Barn Burning”, a young boy must face his father and face the reality of a harsh world. He must also discover for himself that his father is wrong and learn to grow up the right way in a racial environment. Faulkner’s setting is one of the most important literary elements that help the audience understand the story.

The theme of Everyday Use is not immediately apparent, although Alice Walker begins the story by creating a familiar setting in the comfort of home that lead to the spirit of heritage and its importance in our lives. The protagonist, a single mother of two daughters, sees herself as ."..large...rough... slow-witted" and not fitting into the social strata of her oldest daughter, Dee, who ."..has held life always in the palm of her hand." The story begins with the mother preparing the yard to be ."..more comfortable than most people know....like an extended living room" for Dee's homecoming. This line early in the story also shows the mother placing a high value on comfort.