It was a cold dreary night, the rain beat against the single pane bedroom window, and the young heartbroken adolescent lays there gazing at the ceiling. Not quite a full moon, but it gleamed through the shimmer curtains which accented the room. This one sentence can allow the reader to have a clear image of where the character is placed as well as the room and placement. It also makes the reader think of the mindset the character may be in. The setting in a story allows one to institute a sense of mood, lifestyle, and geographical location. Both short stories “Aguntando” by Junot Diaz and “Mariel” by Ruth Sims demonstrate vivid images of different settings. For the most part the setting describes the location of the story, it also has the tendency to set the temperament of a particular time in the story. The setting is one element that will send the reader on an emotional rollercoaster by influencing various moods, personalities and atmospheres within a short story.
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The man whispered” Imagine – in here with all these other maricones and no room to do anything!” “He snickered, and Alejandro felt like a wild animal caught in a trap” (Sims, par 5). The social setting can affect the protagonist in many ways. Alejandro felt trapped and afraid. He was caught and had no room to escape. The author portrays Alejandro’s current setting as a very cramped place, a place where he was stuck and could not get out. He just wasn’t stuck physically he felt trapped mentally. In a dangerous place with other undesirables. The setting often has the capability to influence the characters mood, values, social and family roles. The social setting allows the reader to see the social network, how their situation has impacted their view on life and his/hers peers or family. The example above allows one to see the many ways that the setting can influence various aspects of a
The Broken Spears is a book written by Miguel Leon-Portilla that gives accounts of the fall of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish in the early 16th century. The book is much different from others written about the defeat of the empire because it was written from the vantage point of the Aztecs rather then the Spanish. Portilla describes in-depth many different reasons why the Spanish were successful in the defeat of such a strong Empire.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
Author Mariano Azuela's novel of the Mexican revolution, The Underdogs, conveys a fictional representation of the revolution and the effects it had on the Mexican men and women who lived during that time. The revolutionary rebels were composed of different men grouped together to form small militias against the Federalists, in turn sending them on journeys to various towns, for long periods of time. Intense fighting claimed the lives of many, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves. Towns were devastated forcing their entire populations to seek refuge elsewhere. The revolution destroyed families across Mexico, leaving mothers grieving for their abducted daughters, wives for their absent husbands, and soldiers for their murdered friends. The novel's accurate depiction also establishes some of the reasons why many joined the revolution, revealing that often, those who joined were escaping their lives to fight for an unknown cause.
As one can see, Maria in “I Only Came To Use The Phone” and the children in Lord of The Flies were heavily affected by the setting in their respective stories which caused them to go from their normal/typical selves, then to them a little bit on edge and or anxious, and then finally to mad and or insane. Setting plays a huge role is stories such as these two.
The short story, Ashes for the Wind by Hernando Tellez, the central conflict is focused around two groups, the all-powerful government and powerless farmers. The struggle that is going on is one that is commonly seen in poor third world countries where the government controls everything and where the people make up the complete work force. The story reveals Juan Martinez’s inner beliefs, that he is a stubborn yet proud man that will stand for everything that he owns even if that means death. Even after voting for the wrong side, Juan protects his family from the evil that is the law. Arevalo’s motivations were such that he did not stand up for the family that he grew up with. His betrayal of the political system and his father leaves Simon’s
Rafael Trujillo was the infamous dictator of the Dominican Republic. He was often feared by some and loved by others. Trujillo often attracted followers by utilizing his sexual intrigue. He would take advantage of woman to boost his political power and to put his subjugates on a higher pedestal . Trujillo also changed the “common Dominican household”, with this being he aided in changing the gender relations between males and females. Trujillo also utilized the infamous trait that various men from Latin America take pride, Machismo. With this being said Trujillo utilized gender relation, sexual intrigue and machismo to his favor to get the citizens to jump on his bandwagon causing them to legitimately agree with his regime.
The novel Upside Down, by Eduardo Galeano depicts the injustices and unfairness of several branches of the global society. The differences between the colonized and the colonizer as Galeano writes is always growing and so is the gap between rich and poor. The author challenges western and eurocentric minds as to why on average, countries in the northern hemisphere have a higher standard of living than countries in the southern hemisphere. At first as a reader I thought the writer was whining about the unfairness of the world, but it is the social opiates such as the false idea of capitalism and choice that keeps us in check in this so called democracy. The author forces the reader to open their hearts to a concept that today's capitalist, power hungry society has almost forgotten
As a journalist in 1920 for the New York Herald Tribune, Sophie Treadwell was assigned to go to Mexico to follow the situation after the Mexican Revolution. (Mexican Revolution 1910-1917) She covered many important aspects of the Mexican Revolution during this time, including relations between the U.S. and Mexico. She was even permitted an interview with Pancho Villa in August 1921 at his headquarters. This interview and other events that she experienced in Mexico are presumably what led her to write the play Gringo. In Gringo Treadwell tries to depict the stereotypical and prejudicial attitudes that Mexicans and Americans have about each other. There is a demonstration of how Mexican women are looked at in the Mexican culture and how they see themselves. The play also corresponds to similar events that occurred during the Mexican Revolution.
The setting of a story is the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs.(Meyer 1635) The setting can also set the mood of the story, which will help readers to get a better idea pf what is happening. The major elements of the setting are the time, place, and social environment that frame the characters. (Meyer 1635) "Trifles by Susan Glaspell portrays a gloomy, dark, and lonely setting. Glaspell uses symbolic objects to help the audience get a better understanding for the characters. The three symbolizes used are a birdcage, a bird, and rope.
The story has different elements that make it a story, that make it whole. Setting is one of those elements. The book defines setting as “the context in which the action of the story occurs” (131). After reading “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemmingway, setting played a very important part to this story. A different setting could possibly change the outcome or the mood of the story and here are some reasons why.
The setting or settings in a novel are often an important element in the work. Many novels use contrasting places such as cities or towns, to represent opposing forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. In Thomas Hardy's novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the contrasting settings of Talbothays Dairy and Flintcomb-Ash represent the opposing forces of good and evil in Tess' life.
In the book Insurgent by Veronica Roth, setting is one of the most important and influential aspects of the story. The setting of a book or story is one of the most important things to the reader as it allows them to imagine the environment surrounding the characters. It creates a tone and an attitude which change the way the reader feels as they continue further into the writing. Roth is able to use the setting of Insurgent as a parallel to the book’s plot and her character’s emotions which helps the reader relate to them. The setting foreshadows most of the plot and helps to develop the characters/factions through small amounts of symbolism.
“Who is more to blame though either should do wrong? She who sins for pay or he who pays to sin?” Throughout “You Foolish Men” by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz the central question lies around who is to really blame for the suppression of women. De la Cruz attempts throughout her poem to portray men as ludicrous for their a double standard of women. However, De la Cruz blames human nature more than men for the suppression of women.
A person's ability to develop is due to two factors, maturation and learning. Although maturation, or the biological development of genes, is important, it is the learning - the process through which we develop through our experiences, which make us who we are (Shaffer, 8). In pre-modern times, a child was not treated like they are today. The child was dressed like and worked along side adults, in hope that they would become them, yet more modern times the child's need to play and be treated differently than adults has become recognized. Along with these notions of pre-modern children and their developmental skills came the ideas of original sin and innate purity. These philosophical ideas about children were the views that children were either born "good" or "bad" and that these were the basis for what would come of their life.
Setting is one of the most significant elements in a story. The setting goes far beyond the simple physical attributes and external face value. It seems "Eveline" solely takes place in Dublin in an old room, but the setting actually plays a key role in the story. The setting in "Eveline" helps the reader to better understand the behavior of the main character. The setting in "Eveline" is paralyzing, and this helps the reader to understand why Eveline does not go with Frank to Buenos Aires.