Chapter 6

Writing about Structure:The Organizationof Fiction, Poetry,and Drama

Fiction. Poetry. and Drama

Structur~ refers to the ways in which writers arrange materials in accord ~ith thegeneral Ideas and purposes of their works. Unlike plot, which is concerned WIthcon-

flict or conflicts, structure defines the layouts of works-the ways the story, play, orpoem is shaped. Structure is about matters such as placement, balance, recurringthemes, true and misleading conclusions, suspense, and the imitation of models orforms such as reports, letters, conversations, or confessions. A work might be dividedinto numbered sections or parts, it might begin in a countryside (or one state) and con-clude in a city (or another state), or it might develop a relationship between two peo-ple from their first introduction to their falling in love.

Formal Categories of Structure

Many aspects of structure are common to all genres ofliterature. Particularly for storiesand plays, however, the following aspects form a skeleton, a pattern of development.

The Exposition Provides the Materials Necessary to Put the Plot into Operation

Exposition is.the laying out, the putting forth, of the materials in the story-the main:~~cte.rs, their backgrounds, their characteristics, interests, goals, limitations, potentials,

~lC assumptIons. Exposition may not be limited to the beginning of the work,:alherel,tdlsm~st expected, but may be found anywhere. Thus, intricacies, twists, turns," se ea s, blind alleys surprise d h . . t in-, 's, an at er quirks may be introduced to interes ,tngue, perplex, mystify and I d . th de-

th " , " p ease rea ers. Whenever something new anses, to egree at It IS new) It IS a part of exposition.

The Complication Ma ks th B . . .r e eglnmng and the Growth of the ConflICt

The compUcation is th d Thmajor participants ~ onset an development of the major conflict-the plot. evalues they are t e protagonISt and antagonist, together with whatever ideas and

represent, such as good a il f d de-pendence love or hat . II' rev , ree am or Oppression, independence or

, e, Inte tgence or stu idity knpi I .or owledge or ignorance.102

Chapter 6 • Writing about Structure103

The Crisis Marks the Decisions Made to End the Conflict

The crisis (a separating, distinguishing, or turning point) marks that part of the actionwhere the conflict reaches its greatest tension. During the crisis, a decision or an actionto resolve the conflict is undertaken, and therefore the crisis is the point at which curiosity,uncertainty, and tension are greatest. Usually, the crisis is followed closely by the nextstage, the climax. Often, in fact, the two are so close together that they are consideredthe same.

The Climax Is the Conclusion of the Conflict

Because the climax (Greek for "ladder") is a consequence of the crisis, it is the story'shigh point and may take the shape of a decision, an action, an affirmation or denial,an illumination) a realization, or a reversal of expectations and intentions. It is the log-ical, even if sometimes improbable, conclusion of the preceding actions; no new majordevelopments follow it. In most stories or plays, the climax occurs at or close to theend. In Anton Chekhov's play, The Bear, for example, the climax is that Smirnov sud-denly holds and obviously touches the angry Mrs. Popov as he is instructing her inhow to hold her dueling pistol, with which she is hoping to shoot him. Everything thathappens prior to this situation leads to it. In this sudden embrace, he immediately losesallhis anger toward her, and impetuously declares his love. This unexpected reversalis magnificently comic. Comparably, but with no such reversal, and no such comedy,the climax of Amy Lowell's poem "Patterns" is the very last sentence of the speaker'smonologue: "Christ, what are patterns for?" This outburst crystallizes the speaker'sdeveloping sorrow, frustration, anger, and hurt.

The Resolution or Denouement Finishes the Work and Releases the Tension

The resolution (a releasing or an untying) or denouement (untying) is th; completingof the story or play after the climax; once the climax has occurred, the work s tension anduncertainty are finished and most authors conclude quickly to avoid losing their readers'interest. For instance, the denouement of Katherine Mansfield's "Miss Brill" comprisesa few short details about the major character's returning home, sitting down, andputting away her muff. Edgar Allan Poe ends "The Cask of Amontillado" by the narra-tor's pointing out that all the events happened 50 years before. Shirley Jackson ends"The Lottery" quickly by pointing out the swiftness with which the townspeople awardthe"winning" prize. Frank O'Connor ends «First Confession" with a short conversationbetween the brother and sister. In other words, after the story's major conflicts are fin-ished,the job of the denouement is to tie things up as quickly as possible.

Formal and Actual Structure

Thestructure just described is a formal one, an ideal pattern that moves directly from be-glnnlOgto end. Few narratives and dramas follow this pattern exactly, however. Thus, atypical mystery story holds back crucial details of exposition (because the goal is to

104Part II • Writing Essays on Designated Literary Topics

mystify); a suspense story keeps the protagonist ignorant but provides readers with abun-dant details In order to maximize concern and tension about the outcome.

More realistic and less "artificial" stories might also contain structural variations.For example Welty's "AW, P h" d '

. . ) orn at pro uces a double take because of umque struc-turing. During most of the story, Phoenix's conflicts seem to be primarily age, solitude,and poverty Instead of being able to ride on public transportation, for example, sheIStaking an unaccompanied walk through difficult and dangerous terrain, At the end,however, Weare introduced to an additional difficulty_a new conflict-that enlargesOur redsponsesto include not just concern but also heartfelt anguish, for what had ap-peare to be a difficult walk b irtualj ' , 'II"A"tAT l>' • ecomes a vrrtua YInsurmountable problem with I ness.

nom Path IS)Ustone exampl fh ' , " imnacrf k eo ow a structural varranon maximizes the impao a wor .

There are many other p ibl ' . ckI . OSSl e varIants in structure. One of these is called flashba lor se ective recollection' hi h ' ,

' t d . ) III W 1C present Clrcumstances are explained by the selectivem ro uction of past eve t Thf h ,n s. e moment at which the flashback is introduced may bea part 0 t e resOIUtlOnof th I d f

li b th e pot, an the flashback might lead you into a moment 0c max ut en go from the t d I th hexpositio L t ' re 0 eve op e details that are more properly part of t eflashb kn. thod agam consIder our brief story about John and Jane (p. 96) and use the

ac me 0 of struetunng the story:

Jane is now old and a noi id dher to part ith J h se outsi e causes her to remember the argument that forcernent aboutWh

l0 h

n~any years before. They were deeply in love but their disagree-er WIS es ror a care d 10 0 J .'

her mind the h d er an equa tty split them apart. Then she pictures 10yearss ean Johnh hanni thCOntrastsher prese t h . a:e spent appily together after they married. She enn appmess w th h 0

and from there she II h 1 er memory of her earlier, less happy rnarnage,astrous contlict d rlecad

Ser youthful years of courtship with John before their dis-

eve ope Then she I k 'IJohn smiles back d th . 00 s Overat John, reading in a chair, and smr es..en etwoembrac E h . .'• 0 e. ven t en, Jane realizes that she IScrymg.

In this little narrative the action b .the past flood the p ., egms and remains in the present. Important parts of

rctagonisr s mem . fl hb h hthey happened Men . h ory in as ack, though not in the order in w IC

. lory mIg t be used til' . h 11Wagner's poem "The B " . . s ructura y in other ways. An example ISS e Yaxes, whIch ISa . dThe events of the poe d' I narratIve spoken by a mother to her dea son.

, mare ISCosed thro h th '. thpoem s Conclusion dep d . ug e speaker s memones of the past, but ehen s on the speak ' t '., h sc anged to a point be60 th d th er s emporary consIderatIOn that tIme ali· reeeasothth . tillvmg. The poem thu '. a s e can speak to her son as though he IS ss seanngiy Illustr t h . , Inshort, a technique like sel t' a ~s t e POIgnancy and finality of the situatIOn.iii ec Ive recoUectlOn . . 0

n cantly from a strictly C aI permJls a umque narrative that departs slg-lOrm and chro I . aJEach narrative Or dram h . no ogre structuraJ pattern.d· a as a Umque t daccor mg to simple h s ructure. Some stories may be structure"Rh' geograp y or room

me Boat Trip" Camed't . arrangements, as in Irving Layton's poem. I atlon upon c tl b drng to thoughts of cattle d' as es 0 served by a tourist on the Rhine lea _, " cars Urmg the W, Id ,,,paSSants The Necklace" ( Or "ar IIHolocaust) or in Guy de Mau-I a1 a movement fro 'ac street), Or in Poe's "Th ekron a modest apartment, to an attic flat, to a~ th e as ofAmOnlill d "c drom e street level to the Mao a progressive movemen t downwar

Ol1tresorfamil I) IY vau ts .A story may unfold in an apparent Y

Chapter 6 • Writing about Structure105

accidental way, with the characters making vital discoveries about the major charac-ters, as in Susan Glaspell's Trifles. Additionally, parts of a work may be set out as frag-ments of conversation, as in O'Connor's "First Confession, or as a ceremony, as inNathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," or as an announcement of a party,as in "The Necklace." The possible variations in structuring literary works are almostliterally infinite.

Youmight also aid yourself by drawing a scheme or plan to explain, graphically, thestructure of the work you are analyzing. Mansfield's story "Miss Brill," for example, maybe conveniently compared with a person running happily along a narrow path deepwithin a dark forest and making a turn only to plunge suddenly and unexpectedly off asteep cliff.You might draw this comparison like this:

In writing an essay about the structure of "Miss Brill," you could employ this scheme asa guide. This is not to say that the structure of the story could not be profitably analyzedin another way but that such a scheme might help you to give insight, meaning, andform to your essay.

Sometimes the use of an illustration can create an insight or series of insights thatmight at first not have been clear to you. For example, Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 73 hasthree quatrains and a concluding rhymed couplet.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Sonnet 73: That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold (1609)Quatrain I

That time of year thou mayst in me behold,When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

Quatrain II

In me thou seest the twilight of such day,As after sumset fadeth in the West,

Which by and by black night doth take away,Death's second self that seals up all in rest.

106Part II • Writing Essays on Designated Literary Topics

Quatrain III

In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death bed, whereon it must expire,Consumed with that which it was nourished by.

Couplet

This thou pe ., t h' h akrceiv S • W tc m es thy love more strong.To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.

We can see a numbe f li k . h. r or tm s connectmg the quatrains and the couplet. Eacquatram refers both to th k'

'. e spea er s present state and also to conditions that arequatrai or Will pass-specifically, autumn, sunset, and a dying fire. In addition, thequa rams are grammaticall II I E hwith the " y para e. ac one includes the phrase "in me;' together

In th parlallehlphrases thou mayst behold;' "thou seest," and "thou seest" again.e coup et t h " h '

ring t th k e prase t ou perceiv'st" and the word "that" as a pronoun refer-a e spea er appear so th t hmai '. kand hi I' ,a eac major unit contains references to the spea erIS rstener, In each of th . .

specific II . . e quatrains, death IS a common topic. It is spelled outa y in quatrams II and III d . f

which d . d . ' an quatrain I refers to barren branches romymg an yellowmg leaves hell . . . tsuch eire t ave ra en. The speaker states that he IS 10 JUsurns ances so that his I di h

must leave ere I :,. h cone u mg statement "To love that well, which t auong m t e concludin I' fi

Wemight make theseli " g coup et IS a irting resume of the poem.of the Venn dia h inks vivid through a graph, not unlike the well-known method

gram t at uses ellIpses t h. "[1834-1923] E I' h loci . 0 s ow connectIOns among sets (after John venn

, an ng IS ogician) Allow! C he. ddent and distinct II . wmg ror t e ract that each part must be In epen-. as we as connected a pi h mi Ipmg triangles with li f ' an or grap might be made of four over ap-

, a st 0 common ele . I d " "k ("ments me u ed within the triangles as a e .

I (l) in me, thou mayst behold(2) autumn(3) dl!ild leavl$, dying year(4) surruner, the speaker

Jl ru in me, thou seesr(2}tWilight(J}death'ssem d(4) daylight <1. n self, dying day

, u,espeaker

JJI (t) in me, thou seest(2) dying fire(3) death bed, dying lire light(4) fire, the speaker

Conne<:t11l6 LinksI GrammatICal u.. .2,Endofyuroi;·lli lism:(a)inme,(b)thou .. st.J Death or5()~me 01 the dYing of the light1 Thil\g3that M ng aPProaching de.ath.

ve Pissed or will pass,

COUPLET(l) this, thou perceiv'sr(:2) __

(3) the speaker(4) the speaker

Chapter 6 • Writing about Structure 107

In our sketch, interconnecting triangles show the structure of parallels and commontopics, but in analyzing another work you might prefer circles, lines, planes, other geo-metric figures, or a drawing like the poor fellow falling off the cliff. If you wish, youmight make a list, and you always have the option of simply studying carefully and tak-inggood notes. What is important is that you attempt to look at the work you are study-ingas a structure of some sort so that you may write an essay about this structure. Makinga drawing or a graph has the virtue of giving you a visual grasp of the fact that the partsof a unified work are distinct and connected-important discoveries both for your un-derstanding of the work and your writing of an essay.

Writing about Structure inFiction, Poetry, and Drama

Youressay should concern arrangement and shape. In form, the essay should not restateOrsummarize the part -by-part unfolding of the narrative or argument. Rather, it shouldexplain why things are where they are: "Why is this here and not there?" is the funda-mental question you need to answer. Thus, it is possible to begin with a considerationof a work's crisis and then to consider how the exposition and complication have builtup to it.A vital piece of information, for example, might have been withheld in the ear-lier exposition, as in Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" and Jackson's "The Lottery;' andintroduced only at or near the conclusion. Therefore, the crisis might be heightened be-cause there would have been less suspense if the detail had been introduced earlier.Consider the following qnestions in planning to write about the story's structure.

Raise Questions to Discover Ideas

If spaces or numbers divide the story into sections or parts, what is the structuralimportance of these parts?If there are no marked divisions, what major sections can you find? (You mightmake divisions according to places where actions occur, various times of day, chang-ing weather, or increasingly important events.) ..If the story departs in major ways from the formal structure of exposition, com-plication, crisis, climax, and resolution, what purpose do these departures serve?What variations in chronological order, if any, appear in the story (e.g., ga~s in thetime sequence, flashbacks or selective recolJection)? What effects are achieved bythese variations?Does the story delay any crucial details of exposition? Why?VVhateffect is achievedby the delay?Where does an important action or a major section (such as the climax) ~~g~n?End? How is it related to the other formal structuraJ elements, such as the CrISIS. Isthe climax an action, a realization, or a decision? Towhat degree d~es it relieve thework's tension? What is the effect of the climax on your understanding of the char-acters involved in it? How is this effect related to the arrangement of the climax?

Organize Your Essay about Structure

Introduction Your essay should show why an entire narrative is arranged the way itIS-to reveal the nature of a character's situation, to create surprise, or to evoke sympathy,

•108 Part II . Writing Essays on Designated LiteraryTopics

reveal nobility (or depravity) of character, unravel apparently insoluble puzzles,ex-press philosophical or political values, or bring out maximum humor. However, youmight also explain the structure of no more than a part of the story, such as the cli-max or the complication.

Body Your essay is best developed in concert or agreement with what the work con-tams. The location of scenes is an obvious organizing element. Thus) essays on thestructure of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and Mansfield's "Miss Brill"mightbe based on the fact that both take place outdoors (a dark forest for one and a sunnypublic park for the other). Similarly, an essay might explore the structure of Maupassant's"Th N kl "b. e ec ace Y contrasting the story's indoor and outdoor locations. In Glaspell'sTrifles, much is made of the various parts of a kitchen in an early twentieth-centuryIowa farmhouse, and an essay might trace the structural importance of these.

Other ways to consider structure may be derived from a work's notable aspects)sU:,has the growing suspense and horrible conclusion of Poe's "The Cask of Amontilla-do or the revelations about the "sinfulness" of Goodman Brown's father and neighborsill Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown:'

Conclusion The co clusi h Id hi .In USlOns au rghhght the main parts of your essay. Youmaya so deal briefly with th I' hi he re atrons 'P of structure to the plot. If the work you aveanalyzed departs from bronolosi I a: tf . c rona ogica order, you might explain the causes and errec s

a this departure You . h Id b . hb . r arm 5 ou e to focus on the success of the work as It aseen brought about by the author's choices in development.

Illustrative Essay

The centralidea thesis sentence d .organization A '. • ~n tOPiC sentences are shaded here to stress the goal of strong. s your Instructor Wishes yo . h . ys

, u mtg t use this or a similar system in your own essa -

Wu INancywUProfessor LylesEnglish 100I December20I0

The Structure of EudoraWelty's "A '" P th"?On th uri worn ae s ace, EUdoraWelty' "A W

The narrau e i '. s ern Path" is structured simply.v IS not difficult to foil .

ow, and things go forward in straight

III

OSee pages 359-64 for this story.

Chapter6 . Writing about Structure 109

Wu2

chronology. The main character is Phoenix Jackson, an old, poor blackwoman. She walks from her rural home in Mississippi through the woodsto Natchez to get a free bottle of medicine for her grandson,who is a hopeless invalid. Everything takes place in just a few hours.This action is only the frame, however, for a skillfully structured plot. * Themasterly control of structure is shown in the story's locations and in the wayin which the delayed revelation produces both mystery and complexiry.l

The locations in the story coincide with the increasing difficultiesfaced by Phoenix. The first and most obvious worn path is the rural woodswith all its physical difficulties. For most people, the obstacles would notbe especially challenging, but for an old woman they are formidable. InNatchez, the location of the final part of the story, Phoenix's inability tobend over to tie her shoe demonstrates the lack of flexibility of old age.In the medical office, where the last scene takes place, two majordifficulties of the plot are brought out. One is Phoenix's increasing senility,and the other is the disclosure that her grandson is an incurable invalid.This set of oppositions, the major conflicts in the plot, thus coincide withlocations or scenes and demonstrate the power against Phoenix.

The most powerful of these conditions, the revelation about thegrandson, makes the story something like a mystery. Because this detailis withheld until the story's end, the reader wonders for most of the storywhat might happen next to Phoenix. In fact, some parts of the story arefalse leads. For example, the episode with the young hunter's dog isthreatening, but it leads nowhere; Phoenix, with the aid of the hunter, isunharmed. That she picks up and keeps his nickel might seem at first to

be cause for punishment. In fact, she thinks it does, as this scene with

the hunter (paragraphs 55-58) shows:

... he laughed and lifted his gun and pointed it at Phoenix.

She stood straight and faced him.

"Doesn't the gun scare you?" he said, still pointing it.

-----;Central idea.TheSis sentence.

[21

13]

14J

IS)

IIQPart II . Writing Essays on Designated Literary Topics

Wu3"No, sir, I seen plenty go off closer by, in my day, and for less

than what I done," she said, holding utterly still.

But the hunter does not notice that the coin is lost, and he does notaccuse her. Right up to the moment of her entering the medical building,therefore, the reader is still wondering what might happen.

Hence, the details about the grandson, carefully concealed until theend, make the story more complex than it at first seems. Because of thisconcluding revelation, the reader must go through a double take, a

reconsideration of what has gone on before. Phoenix's difficult walk intotown is then seen not as an ordinary errand but as a hopeless mission ofmercy. Her character also bears reevaluation: She is not just a funny oldwoman who speaks to the woods and animals, but she is a brave andpathetic woman carrying on against crushing odds. These conclusionsare not apparent for most of the story, and the bringing out of thecarefully concealed details makes "A Worn Path" especially powerful.

Thus the parts of "An, Ph" ..' nom at, although seemingly simple, areskillfullyarranged Th k h

. e ey to t e double take and reevaluation isWelty'swithholdi f th . .

ng 0 e crucial detail of exposition until the very end"The result is that pa t fth ..

r s 0 e sxposnion and complication, throughthe speeches of the tt d d

a en ant an the nurse, merge with the climaxnear the story's d I

en " n Some respects, the detail makes it seemas though Phoen·' " " "

IX S entire existence IS a crisis, although she is notaware of this condo!'"" I Ion as she (eaves the office to buy the paper

wmdmill It is this 0 I buil. c mp ex til dup and emotional peak that make the

structure of "A WornP th" th .a e creation of a master writer.

Wu4

WorkCitedWelty,Eudora."A Worn Path" Wri . .

" lltlllg About Literature. By Edgar V.Roherts 12thed N v

. . ew York: Pearson, 2010. 359-64. Print.

Chapter6 . Writing about Structure

Commentary on the Essay

To highlight the differences between essays on plot and structure, the topic of thisIllustrative Essay is Welty's "A Worn Path," also the topic of the Illustrative Essay on plot(p. 98). Both essays are concerned with the conflicts of the story, but the essay on plotconcentrates on the opposing forces) whereas the essay on structure focuses on the place-ment and arrangement of the plot elements. Note that neither essay retells the story,event by event. Instead, these are analytical essays that explain the conflict (for plot) andthe arrangement and layout (for structure). In both essays, the assumption is that thereader has read ''A Worn Path"; hence, there is no need in the essay to retell the story.

The introduction of the essay points out that Welty's masterly structure accountsfor the story's power. Paragraph 2 develops the topic that the geographical locationsare arranged climactically to demonstrate the forces opposing the major character.

In paragraph 3, the subject is how the exposition about the grandson creates uncer-tainty about the issues and direction of the story. The early absence of this detail is thusvitalstructurally. As supporting evidence for this topic, this paragraph cites two impor-tant details--the theft of the hunter's nickel and the danger from his dog-as structuralfalseleads about Phoenix's troubles. Other structurally important but misleading detailscouldalso be used as evidence for the argument, such as the dangers of the woods and theheightof the stairs (both of which might cause fatigue or illness). The two conflicts citedin the paragraph, however, are enough to make the point about Welty's control of struc-ture,and further exemplification is not needed. The quoted passage shows how the read-er's concern is pointed toward serious conflicts for Phoenix, but not the major conflictbrought out at the end by the disclosure of the grandson's condition.

Paragraph 4 deals with the complexity brought about by the delayed information:the necessary reevaluation of Phoenix' character and her mission to town. The finalparagraph (5) also considers this complexity, accounting for the story's power by point-rng Outhow a number of plot elements merge near the end to bring things out swiftlyandPowerfully.

Writing Topics about Structure

1. What kind of story might "AWorn Path" be, structurally, if read~rs were ~nitiallytold about Phoenix's purpose as she struggles on her way to town. How might ~eearly narration of this detail make the story different from the story as we have It?

2. Consider the surprises in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," ~au~assant's"The Necklace" and Anton Chekhov's The Bear. How much preparation ISmade,structurally, fo'r the surprises? In retrospect, to what degre~ are the surprises no~surprises at all but rather necessary outcomes of the precedmg parts of the works.

3. Compare the structuring of the interior scenes in Chopin's."The Story of ~ Hour"and Maupassant's "The Necklace." How do these scenes br~ngOU~th~ :anous con-flicts of the stories? How does the presence of characters In the l?dlVI~Ua1 roomsContribute to the organization of the stories? What is the relationship of thesecharacters to the major actions of the stories? ." ,

4. Compare Anita Scott Coleman's "Unfinished Masterpieces and Dudley Randall s"Ballad of Birmingham" as stories about clashing racial and SOCialvalues. How

111

•112 Part II • Writing Essays on Designated Literary Topics

do the narrators express the values and ideas that make their attitudes clear? Howdo the stories develop, structurally, as a result of their attitudes?

5. Compare the ways in which attitudes toward law and military actions are organizedin Glaspell's Trifles, Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," Mark Twain's "Luck,"and Amy Lowell's "Patterns." How do these works structure your responses to-ward the people with power and those without power?

6. Write contrasting paragraphs about a character (whom you know or about whomyou have read). In the first, try to make your reader like the character. In the sec-ond, try to create a hostile response to the character. Write an additional para-graph explaining the ways in which you tried to organize and shape these oppositeresponses.

Chapter 7

Writing about Setting: TheBackground of Place,Objects, and Culture inLiterature

Fiction, Drama, and Narrative Poetry

Likeall human beings, literary characters do not exist in isolation, Just as they be-come human by interacting with other characters, they gain identity because of

their cultural and political allegiances, their possessions, their jobs, and where theylive,move, and have their being, They are usually involved deeply with their environ-ments) and their surroundings are causes of much of their motivation and many oftheir possible conflicts. Plays, stories, and many poems must therefore necessarily in-clude descriptions of places, objects, and backgrounds-the setting.

What Is Setting?

Setting is the natural, manufactured, political, cultural, and temporal environment,including everything that characters know and own, Characters may be either helpedOrhurt by their surroundings, and they may fight about possessions and goals. Fur-ther, as characters speak with each other, they reveal the degree to which they sharethe Customs and ideas of their times.

Authors Use Three Basic Types of Settings

1. Private homes, public buildings, and various possessions are important,in liter-ature, as in life. To reveal or highlight qualities of character and to make literaturelifelike,authors include many details about objects of human manufacture.and con-struction. Houses, both interiors and exteriors, are common, as are possessIOns suchaswalking sticks, garden paths, park benches, Christmas trees, necklaces, boxes, pis-tols, clocks, and hair ribbons. In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace~"the loss of a~omfortable home brings out the best in the major ch~r~,ct~rby f~r~Jng her to ad-Just to her economic reversal. In Katherine Mansfield s MISS Brill, the return oft?e major character to her shabby room brings out both the economic ,and erno-tIonal poverty of her life. The discovery of a quilt, still in the process of being sewed,explains the major character's feelings and actions in Susan Glaspell's Trifles.Objects also enter directly into literary action and character, A broken birdcage re-

veals the pathetic and abusive husband-wife relationship in Trifles. The dress worn

t t3