• PART ONE
• Joyce Carol Oatesàèere Are You Going? Where Have You Been?(506) and
• Flannery Oïnnorà`Good Man Is Hard to Find(page 367)

This week we read two stories known for how the setting impacts the readeràresponse and the overall message of the piece. Those two stories are `Good Man Is Hard to Find!nd èere Are You Going? Where Have You Been?/p>

For this discussion, start by asking at least one question about each piece. After asking those two questions, explain which author you think used the storyàsetting more effectively to create an unsettling and, at times, even frightening mood. Which author ultimately did a more effective job of using setting to convey the message of the story they told? Finally, which story do you consider more frightening, and why? Be sure to incorporate specific textual examples to support your analysis.

PART TWO  

In this exercise we will continue building on the work we did in this weekàforum, focused on how critical a storyàsetting is and how that setting can enhance a writeràmessage. You will select a story with a setting that resonated with you and analyze how the authoràchoice of setting made a difference to the story. For instance, we don typically see a happy-go-lucky kids3tory occurring in the middle of the night on a stormswept mountain, or a hero on a perilous journey through a field of wildflowers, right?

Don worry, you don need to select a story that is as unsettling as either of the two we read this week! To prepare for this paper, start by doing some brainstorming of your favorite stories. These can be pieces you have read or that you have seen in a movie or TV. I suggest jotting down at least ten ideas. Think about your favorite books, short stories, movies and TV shows.

Once you have that list of ten, make some brief notes about the setting for each of those ten. Step back, take a look at the list and decide which story you think has the best setting, and why. Also start thinking about how the different elements of the setting help emphasize the message of the story or how they convey certain feelings.

For example, if I select one of my favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption, I would list the following for the main setting in the novel:

-Shawshank prison: cold stone walls, small widows, dark and damp laundry room, outside rec area, prison bars, steel stairs, not a lot of natural light, etc. etc.

I could then go on to explain how each of these elements emphasizes what the message of the story is. I might say that even though prisons may not have a lot of natural light in the first place, the lack of light emphasizes how the men are trapped in the prison and how they feel. The attention to the bars on their prison cells helps emphasize the feeling of being trapped, and all the cold stone in the prison signals to readers there is little warmth there and the men are lonely.

Obviously there are other settings in this story that would be important to analyze, but I don want to give away anything! Think about the major components of the setting for the piece you select. If everything occurs in one setting, think about the most important aspects of the setting in that single location.

Here is a suggested outline for your paper:

Paragraph 1: Explain which piece you have selected and why the setting is so critical to the telling of that story.

Paragraph 2: Provide a brief summary of the piece you selected. This summary should be roughly five sentences and focus on the most critical details, just so your readers has a general idea of what the piece is about.

Paragraph 3: Discuss the first location/component of the setting. Provide your analysis of how this location/component is critical to the storyàoverall message and the feelings readers/viewers should be experiencing. Include specific examples to support your analysis.

Paragraph 4: Discuss the second location/component and provide your analysis of why the setting is critical by incorporating specific examples.

Paragraph 5: Focus on a third location/component of the setting. Continue to provide specific examples that support your analysis of why the setting is so critical to furthering the story and its message.

Paragraph 6: Concluding paragraph. What final thoughts do you want to leave your readers with? Why was the authoràchoice of setting so effective?