Setting

Read Norton p. 282-287 to better understand the importance of setting in a story. Often setting can be highly symbolic and also reveal important insight on the characters.

This essay (and subsequent essays) should have a more formal tone and avoid personal pronouns “I” and “you.”

Select ONE of the following stories and analyze (primarily) the significance of the setting, although you may bring in other literary elements as appropriate. State your opinion without using “I” (see p, 1918-20).

“The Veldt,” 328–consider the futuristic nature of the house, alongside the primitive nature of the Africa veldt.

“The Open Boat,” 433–consider the tension between the experience on the ocean and life on the shore, and the community inside the boat itself. Optional: you could compare this story with the movie “The Life of Pi.”

“A Pair of Tickets,” 293–consider how place and personal identity are sometimes inseparable.

“Story of an Hour,” 568–consider the role of women around 1890, particularly in Louisiana, and the descriptions in Mrs. Mallard’s bedroom. (If you wrote about this story in your Response Essay, you cannot use this again.)

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