"Something had happened here. In your life there are a few places, or maybe only one place, where something has happened. And there are the other places, which are just other places." Alice Munro
The Importance of Setting and Where We're From
In the story Face by Alice Munro, the setting plays a big part in the story being told. The town where the story is set has a huge influence on the way the narrator grows up and the life he leads. His parents stay in a loveless marriage because they live in a town where hardly anyone is divorced and the neighbors talk. The fact that neighbors talk and everyone is alike has an influence on the way the father treats the narrator. The time period also plays a huge part in the story, influencing how the mother and father behave towards one another. His parent's wealth allow his mother to keep the narrator sheltered from the evils of the world for longer than other parents. The narrator chooses to leave the town because of it's atmosphere and doesn't return home until after both of his parents are dead.
Sometimes the thing that makes a place significant isn't the place itself, but what has happened in that place. In this piece, the house, specifically Bell's Cottage, is a place where both the lives of the narrator and Nancy changed, and a place where they became linked to each other forever. Just being back in the space has a profound effect on the narrator. As you prepare topics for your narratives, think of the ways you and your characters are influenced by your surroundings. What places are significant to you because of important moments that happened there?
We also looked at the topic of character again in this piece. We looked at specific passages where Munro helps illustrate important facts about characters by showing not telling. She never directly says that Sharon Shuttles is not as good of a mom as the narrator, but it's implied. Her descriptions of Mrs. Shuttles' behavior in her home and towards her child and how they contrast with the narrator's mother help us see this. Think about the exchange with the peas. As you start working on your narratives, think about the people that will feature prominently in your narrative. How can you show us what these people are like? What moments can you remember about them that perfectly illustrate who they are? What moments help illustrate who you are?
Further Exploration of Narrative
Because our class is small, I took a brief survey of the class to see how many of you might be interested in writing a story that is not a personal narrative. The majority of the class was interested. So instead of writing one five page narrative. You will be writing two 750 word narratives. One will be a personal narrative. The other will be a story of your choosing (true or not). We will be working on exercises to help us come up with ideas, and if worst comes to worst you can always write two narratives about yourself.
Homework (Due Tuesday 9/22)
- Read Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. For every line of dialogue make note on what information is given. What do you learn about the characters, the setting, the plot, etc from what the person says. Be prepared to discuss this in class Tuesday.
- Read The Unauthorized Autobiography of Me by Sherman Alexie. As you read, try and determine what common thread is found in the events Alexie chooses to include in this piece. What do they have in common?
- One Page Description of Person(s) who has been influential in your life OR One Page Description of a place where something important happened. (You don't have to have both done by then.)
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