Settings Enhance Masterpieces

Prompt #5

Setting, if used properly, can turn a dull story into an imagery filled masterpiece. Readers can feel the story come to life if the setting efficiently shapes the story as a whole. Settings bring diversity to a story whether it is fiction or reality. They all differ due to the different perspectives of the writers themselves and the regions they are located in. Marilynne Robinson’s, Home, and Flannery O’Conner’s, A Good Man is Hard to Find, settings differ immensely because of the geographical regions they take place in.

Marilynne Robinson’s, Home, takes place in a fictional town in Iowa named Gilead. This is a small town where everyone knows each other. The Boughton’s are a well known family and live in an old house where their older generations had lived. Passing houses down generations is something that is very common within small towns This town is not up to date with technology, and is always one step back from the rest of the state. The people of Gilead never really leave the town while they are living there. It is a town that if you leave it, you probably will not come back for a long time. Most all of the homes have been standing for many years. Everyday essentials are within walking distance and sometimes even grown at the homes. Jack seems to be working on his father’s old car to pass time and keep him away from drinking even though there really isn’t a need for one in this small of a town. “Jack opened the barn doors, and then backed the DeSoto into the afternoon light” (Robinson 315). This helps the with the setting because of the low need to drive, which contrasts the O’Conner’s setting of the family road trip. The setting of home helps show the struggle of relationship between a man and his family because of Jacks lifelong attempt get away. All throughout Jacks life he always found a way around town to avoid his family. Robert, his father, is a known religious man, so the small town setting helps shape his role within the story. It could be said by people that small towns seem depressing, and Glory’s attitude may help this stereotype throughout the novel.

O’Conner’s, A Good Man is Hard to Find, setting differs from Robinsons in many ways. To start this story begins in the state of Georgia, with a family that is planning a trip to Florida. This setting takes place in the south, which is very different from the Midwest. There is not much talk of the surroundings in this story in respect to nature.

Within O’Conner’s work, the setting changes as the story goes on. This is a family trip that goes wrong when they crashed and came upon a killer on the loose, Misfit. This series of events takes place on a back road in Florida. It was a mistake made by the selfish Grandmother, who wanted to go to Tennessee in the first place. The setting during the killing of the family was helpful because it was on a back road in the south, which brings out the grotesque writing style. The Grandmother’s hat and clothing help to show the setting and time. By her wearing very ornate clothing, the reader is able to grasp the deeply conservative values present in the south during the time.

The characters in both these stories help shape their differences in settings between the Midwest and the South. In O’Conner’s story, the restaurant owner, Red Sam, does not put his trust in anyone, he exclaims, “You can’t win . . . These days you don’t know who to trust . . . Ain’t that the truth?” (Norton 426). The significance of this quote cannot be undermined as it solidifies the setting within the story. In saying this, Red Sam is encumbering the southern mentality shown during this time period. Furthermore, not only do Red Sam’s words allow for imagery to be present, but also his actions; improving the readers overall understanding in the story.

In Robinson’s work, everyone in the town of Gilead trusts each other besides Jack of course. There is not a worry because everyone respects each other. The Midwest setting differs far from the grotesque fiction of the south. Home is a novel that leans towards probability, where as, A Good Man is Hard to Find, is all about possibility.

The observed settings within, Home and A Good Man is Hard to Find, help structure the plots as the stories progress. The story, Home, has a plot that is mostly about the growth of relationship between an obstructed man and his family. The small town assists in the showing of oddity that one man would not have a good relationship with his family. Everyone in the town of Gilead knows about the poor relationship between Jack and his family. As the plot progresses many people are starting to see a change in Jack, which could be connected to him returning to his small town at a more mature age.

The plot in A Good man is Hard to Find, is shaped by the setting because as a stated earlier the southern mentality during which the story takes place. Grotesque writing is used to describe the possibility of something negative happening on this family vacation. Being in the south led to the mystery of what could happen to a family if something negative took place. As the family gets in the car crash on a back road, the Misfit appears and takes the lives of each family member. The south was harsh during this time period which is shown as the plot grows. The location of the murders is out in the middle of nowhere, which helps drive the plot.

All in all, both these stories settings help shape them into wonderfully acclaimed works of art. Both stories bring the reader into them with help of the descriptive settings. The time and place is huge in helping make these stories seem like reality. Their settings differ greatly due to the different areas of the United States and the time they were written. This is because of how different the plots are within these stories.

Works Cited

O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J Mays. Shorter 11th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 422-433. Print.

Robinson, Marilynne. Home. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Print.

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