Setting And Irony: The Location Of The River

Every story has a setting. Whether it is in this world or one that is completely imaginary, the setting of any story is necessary in order to understand the characters. The characters in the following three short stories are shaped by their setting and would not be the same if the setting was different. Over the course of each story it is easy to see how vital the setting is in order for the reader to fully understand the characters and their lives. Therefore, while the reader reads these stories they must analyze how the setting affects the characters, the obstacles that the setting creates, and what it tells us about the characters.

The book “A River Runs Through It” was written by Norman Maclean, who used many literary devices throughout his writing. The story follows a representation of Norman Maclean’s life, in which he recalls memories of his brother, Paul, and their fishing adventures. While the story itself is fun and intriguing, it is Maclean’s use of figurative language that grabs the reader’s attention. One can almost relive the moments mentioned as if he/she were there when it happened. The three particular literary devices that stood out were simile, personification, and tone.

Characters in the text The Secret River by Kate Grenville represent a variation of attitudes and views towards the colonisation of Australia and the Aboriginal Australians. While many characters are indecisive about their opinion on the natives, some characters have a clear mind-set on how they are to be treated. The characters of Thomas Blackwood and Smasher Sullivan represent the two very different sides of the moral scale, and the other characters fit between these sides. Smasher is a vicious, cold-hearted man who shows no respect or humanity towards the Aboriginals. On the other hand, Blackwood’s character contrasts Smasher with his humanity and general respect to the original owners of their new home. The

Even though both John Freeman “Beirut” and Philip Appleman “Nobody Dies in Spring” poems use setting as camera to pull the reader closer to the main action and setting as action to describe how the setting of Beirut and New York has changed in springtime, they still differ significantly on their use of setting as mood. While Freeman has chosen setting expresses a sad and dark emotional reaction, Appleman set his setting in a way that creates a mood of happiness and full of life.

In the passage “Two Ways of Seeing a River,” author Mark Twain attempts to share the feelings of loss he experienced after he was disillusioned to the beauty of the Mississippi River. Twain was a famous Nineteenth century author who had previously worked as a steamboat captain and who grew up along the river. The organization of the paragraphs in relation to each other is linear, and the content of each paragraph is dominated by a different rhetorical device.

In the section “On the Rainy River” from the novel The Things They Carried, author Tim O’Brien describes his difficulty in choosing between going to war or going to Canada. O’Brien implements many different rhetorical and stylistic strategies to express his dilemma. His use of juxtaposition, rhetorical questions, and somber diction enhance his frustration of his two choices. O’Brien uses juxtaposition to compare his option of running away to Canada with what he would rather do: live his life. O’Brien describes a scene he has imagined of himself running away.

However, setting is essential to pay attention to because it creates the message of the story; this is done by describing the geographic location, time, surroundings, and small details that help the reader have a better comprehension of the literature. For example, the protagonist mentions the uncomfortable and difficult situations they must endure due to the extremely dry climate. The quote, “Outside, the water has been sucked from everything. The veins in the leaves are hollow, the ditch grass is crackling. The sky has absorbed every drop. It’s a thin whitish-blue veil stretched from end to end over us, a flat gauze tarp,” helps to describe the setting (Erdrich). The setting is presented in the beginning of the story as one of the hottest days of June and takes place in the town of Argus, Dakota. The lack of rain creates concerns about the growth and prosperity of vegetation in the

Imagery, detail, and symbolism play a crucial role in this work. Imagery has the function of painting a picture of the situation in the reader’s mind so that he or she is able to develop a version of the story individually. It makes the reading a more personalized experience that helps the reader to understand what’s going on. When O’Brien was just about to escape to Canada to avoid being drafted, he described the scene that was presented in front of him. “The shoreline was dense with brush and timber. I could see tiny red berries on the bushes.” In this quote, the reader can visualize the setting of the lake where he has to make his life-changing decision. It appeals to the visual sense by describing the shoreline and even the sense of

Throughout The City of Ember, the mayor displays irony . Egocentric, the mayor only cared about himself, therefore would leave Ember without necessities so he could enjoy his stock without it being shortened. Doon tells Lina that “‘ The mayor has a secret treasure room in the pipeworks ‘“(158). After finding the storage room, Doom explains to Lina that the mayor had been hoarding food, keeping it from the citizens.(F)Thus, when Doon and Lina go to tell the guards about the mayor it is discovered that the mayor had bribed the guards with food . The guards, who are supposed to keep the civilians safe are not taking their best interests at heart. They were hoping to get help from the mayor in working out the instructions and getting people

Irony clutters the pages of The City of Ember. For instance, in the middle of the novel, Doon and Lina discover that the mayor has a secret storeroom full of supplies in their quest to save Ember. In her novel, DuPrau states, “‘A room? What’s in there?’... ‘Everything’… ‘And someone was there, in the middle of it all, asleep.’... ‘The mayor!’ Lina whispered”(158). When the storeroom plot twist arrives, it becomes clear what had been going on. Lina had been carrying messages between Looper, a shopkeeper, and Mayor Cole, the person receiving stolen goods from Looper. It also makes sense that the door in the Pipeworks was roped off and locked so no one would discover the Mayor’s treasure room. The secret treasure room is very ironic because

The stylistic choices of symbols and setting description are crucial to the engagement of the reader and ultimately the expression of the main theme. The message of each story is enhanced by little details like symbols and setting that add layers to the story and make it more interesting. The use of setting to display the characters emotions reflects how humans are influenced by their emotions, while the use of symbols reflects how there is often a deeper meaning or a hidden message behind common things, such as names or games. The authors’ stylistic choices of symbols and setting enhance their stories and help the reader further grasp the message. and settings are all three common things that most everyone has, plays or sees.

The setting creates challenges and opportunities for characters. For example when Ellie was left vulnerable and when the climber in the poem “Ascent” has finger pain. In all different genres, setting affects the text whether it’s physical challenges or emotional challenges.

The theme of freedom, throughout the novel, takes place on the Mississippi River. In the story the main purpose of the river is to be a symbol of freedom. Rivers are seen as

Swaying trees in the distance, blue skies and birds chirping, all of these are examples of setting. Setting can create the mood and tone of characters in a story. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, the story starts out with our two characters, Jig and the American, also referred to as the man, on a train overlooking mountains. “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemingway). In the case of this short story, the hills provided Jig something to take her mind off of the grueling conversation she was having with the Man. As said by a critic, “the story itself is comprised almost entirely of dialogue. Although there is a situation, there is no plot”

People watch other individuals experience irony all the time. When something is ironic it means that the thing that was to happen, did not happen the way it was thought to happen. Sometimes irony happens to those who least expect it or irony happens to everyone. There have been songs, television ads, and stories written about irony or that have included ironic events or details. One piece of literature that contains a lot of irony is Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”. Crane uses irony in many different ways in the story to tell of four individuals who survive their ship being wrecked and everyone else aboard has drown.