Setting and Point of View

the main criteria writers use when they decide of POV to tell a story is

how the POV they select will affect their narratives

a naive narrator's background can also

limit his or her ability to understand a situation

Physical setting

physical setting can influence a story's mood as well as its development Ex: time of day

minor character

plays a relatively small part in the story

stories set before the development of modern transportation and communication networks may hinge on

plot devices readers would not accept in a modern story

setting=

where and when time and place

unreliable narrators

whether intentionally or unintentionally misrepresent events and misdirect readers

nature & the outdoors

-an outdoor setting can free a character from social norms of behavior -an outdoor setting can also expose characters to physical dangers -natural settings: hills shorelines valleys mountains meadows tree lakes fields & streams -living creatures -seasons time conditions -extreme weather conditions may serve as a test for characters

Outdoor setting

-can free a character from social norms of behavior -can expose characters to physical dangers

functions of setting

-helps establish literary credibility ( versimilitude) -may be a strong guide to character -may be organizing element such as framing where by a work begins/ends with descriptions of the same scene forming an enclosure -literary symbol -establish works atmosphere or mood which refers to a permeating emotional texture within the work -some authors use setting ironically

Objects of human manufacture & construction

-indoor setting=significant -characters can be physically constrained by indoor setting -psychologically limiting in indoors -other indoors can have symbolic function details about objects of human manufacture interior and exterior of houses -details about personal possessions ( jewelry shoes)

Whether a story is set primarily

-indoors or out-of doors may also be significant: characters may be physically constrained by a closed in setting or liberated by an expensive landscape.

historical & cultural conditions & assumptions/ geographical setting

-knowledge of the period =essential -knowing the approximate year or historical period can help to better understand characters & events -readers need to know where a story takes place: explains language & customs & character motivation

advantages of limited omniscience

-more flexible, they take readers into a particular character's mind just as a 1st person narrator does but w/o the 1st person narrator's subjectivity self deception or naivete -allows narrators to focus on thoughts fears and reactions the child while at the same time giving readers information -makes connections between ideas & displays a level of language & a degree of insight -enables narrator to maintan some distance

3 basic types of setting

-nature & the outdoors -objects of human manufacture & construction -historical & cultural conditions and assumptions

Interior setting may be

-psychologically limiting -a symbolic function

disadvantages of 1st POV

-restricted to observations only that the narrator could reasonably make ( ex child) causes the passage to lack the level of vocab syntax and insight necessary to develop the central character and the themes of the story -sacrifices the objectivity and detachment that characterizes the 3rd person limited omniscient narrator

1st person narrator

-the narrator's personality and speech color the story creating a personal or even an idiosyncratic narrative. the 1st person character flaws or lack of knowledge may limit his or her awareness of the significance of events

advantage of omniscient

-they have none of the naivete dishonesty gullibility or mental instabilities that can characterize 1 person narrators -since not characters their perception is not limited to what any one character can observe or comprehend so they can present a more inclusive view of events and characters than 1st person narrators can do

Historical setting

A particular historical period and the events and customs associated with it can be important to your understanding of a story: therefore some knowledge of the period in which a story is set may be useful (or even essential) for readers

Sometimes the story's central conflict is

Between the protagonist and the setting (northerner in the south) this type of conflict may drive a story's plot and also help to define the characters

Setting of a work of fiction

Establishes its historical geographical and physical context

A conflict between

Events and settings ( ex: arrival of a mysterious stranger in a typical neighborhood) can enrich the story

First person

I or we

Where a work is set

Influences our reactions to the story's events and characters

Setting is

More than just the approximate time and place in which a work is set; setting also encompasses a wide variety of other physical and cultural elements

In other stories the writer may

Provide minimal information about setting telling readers little more than where and when the action takes places. However in many cases a particular setting is vital to the story (perhaps influencing a characters' feelings or behavior as it does in the stories in this chapter)

In some stories

Setting is more important in some works than in others and in others no particular time or place is specified perhaps bc the writer wants the story's events to be timeless and universal

When

When a work takes place is equally important

irony

a discrepancy between what is said and what readers believe to be true

The historical setting establishes

a story's social cultural economic & political environment and anyone of these factors may help to explain why events occur as well as why characters act ( and react) as they do

weather can serve as

a test for characters

When deciding on a point of view for a work or fiction

a writer can choose to tell the story either in the 1st person or in the 3rd person

regional differences may

account for differences in plot development and character's motivation

Omniscient

all knowing narrators -moving at will from one character's mind to another -can convey their attitude toward the subject matter

knowing where a story takes place can help to explain

anything from why language and customs are unfamiliar to us to why characters act in ways we find surprising or hold beliefs that are alien to us

knowing the approximate year or historical period during which a story takes place can help readers to

better understand characters and events. this knowledge can explain forces that act on characters and account for their behavior, clarify circumstances that influence the story's action and justify a writer's use of plot devices that might otherwise seem improbable

disadvantages of Objective POV

creates a great deal of distance between the characters & the readers

when you read you should look for

discrepancies between a narrator's view of events and your own. discovering a story has an unreliable narrator enables you not only to question the accuracy of the narrative but also to recognize the irony in the narrator's version of events. you gain insight into the story and learn something about the writer's purpose

only... can be introduced in the story ( 1st person)

events and details that the narrator could actually have observed or experienced

limited omniscience

focusing on only what a single character experience, nothing is revealed that the character does not see hear feel or think

A story may not

have a recognizable geographical setting: its location may not be specified or it may be set in a fantasy world -choosing unusual settings may free writers from the constraints placed on them by familiar environments thus allowing the to experiment with situations and characters unaffected by readers expectations or associations with familiar settings

third person POV

he she they from the point of view of a narrator who is not a character.

Geographical setting

in addition to knowing when a work takes place, readers need to know where it takes place.

having the benefit of experience readers

interpret events differently from the way these narrators do

historical events or cultural norms may

limit or expand a characters options and our knowledge of history may reveal to us a character's incompatibility with his or her milieu

Persona

literally means mask and is the term for writers who personalities & opinions are different from the narrator. by assuming this mask a writer expands the creative possibilities of a work

the size of a town or city in which a story takes place

may also be important

many stories

move through several time periods as the action unfolds and changes in time may also be important Ex: approach of evening ( or of dawn) can signal the end of a crisis

writers create

narrators to tell their stories and often the personalities and opinions of narrators are far different from those of the author

occasionally omniscient narrators move

not only in & out of the minds of the characters ut also in & out of a persona who speaks directly to readers ( popular technique during 18th century) -permitted writers to present themselves as masters of artifice able to know and control all aspects of experience

writers gain a

number of advantages when they use 1st person narrators -able to present incidents convincingly ( readers are more willing to accept a statement than an impersonal observation of a 3rd person narrator) -it simplifies a writers task of selecting details -restricted view can create irony

dramatic irony

occurs when a narrator ( or a character) perceives less than readers do ( main character sees less than the readers)

verbal irony

occurs when the narrator says one thing but actually means another ( convey opposite of literal meaning)

situational irony

occurs when what happens is at odds with what readers are led to expect ( contrasts with unexpected events that unfold there_

3rd POV has 3 categories

omniscient, limited oniscient and objective

observor

reports events experienced or related by others

persona

representing the voice of an author

sometimes 1st person narrators are

self serving, mistaken, confused, unstable or even insane

irony may be

situational dramatic or verbal

sometimes the narrator is a character who uses

the first person -often this character is a major character who tells his or her own story and is the focus of that story -sometimes the 1st person narrator tells a story that is primarily about someone else, such a character is usually a minor character or an observer

Narrator

the person telling the story -determines what details are included in the story and how they are arranged ( the plot)

the perspective of the narrator affects

the story's style language and themes

point of view

the vantage point from which events are presented.

Atmosphere (mood)

the various physical attributes of setting -sometimes the mood or atmosphere that is created helps to convey a story's central theme -also it can be linked to a character's mental state perhaps reflecting his or her mood ( Ex: darkness and isolation can reflect a character's depression) - can also influence the character's state of mind causing them to react one way in a crowded hectic city but to react very differently in a peaceful rural atmosphere

The narrator of a work is not the same as

the writer ( even when the writer uses 1st person_

some narrators are unreliable because

they are naive, they are immature sheltered or innocent of evil these narrators are not aware of the significance of the events they are relating

all 1st person narrators are

unreliable because they present a situation only as one person sees it

another important aspect of setting

weather. a storm can threaten a character's life or just make the character and readers think danger is present distracting us from other more subtle threats

third person objective narrators

who tell a story from an objective ( or dramatic) point of view remain entirely outside the character's minds -events unfold the way they would in a play or movie: narrators tell the story by presenting dialogue and recounting events they do not reveal the characters ( or their own) thoughts or attitudes -they allow readers to interpret the actions of the characters without any interference -narrator is distant seemingly emotionless and this perspective is consistent with the author's purpose

One of the 1st choices writers make is

who tells the story. -this choice determines the story's point of view -the implications of this choice are far reaching