How to Read Literature Like a Professor By: Thomas C. Foster Chapter 19: Geography Matters Presented By: Gena Jones

What Is Geography? By definition geography is the science that describes the surface of the earth and its features, inhabitants, and phenomena. Examples: rivers, hills, valleys, mountains, islands, and etc.

Geography Plays a Major Role in the Plot of a Literary Work Explanation Example Without a setting a story, poem, or any other piece of literary work has no mood. A setting brings mood, history, and culture to a story. Without a setting where would a story be? When reading the first question asked is usually “where did the story take place”. In “The Old Man and the Sea” the geography plays a major role. The epic is set in the Caribbean Sea and in and around Cuba. The place of the novel adds to the culture and aids to explain the history of the culture. Without the setting the plot of the story would be nonexense.

Another Example The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn The geography in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a promo nit feature of the story. Huck Finn and Jim take a journey down the Mississippi River without a destination. As they travel down south the culture of the south contributes to the plot. As they continue to travel the setting continues to add to there adventure.

Foster’s Argument “ Geography in literature can also be more. It can be revelatory of virtually any element in the work. Theme? Sure. Symbol? No problem. Plot. Without a doubt?”

“The Fall of the House of Usher” -Edgar Allan Poe The story begins with vivid descriptions about the landscape and the home of the Usher’s. Poe’s describes the home as………… bleak walls Scary with white trunks of decayed trees Creepy Together Poe’s description of the home added to the suspense of the characters entrance. His description aids to the mood; like a scary movie the mood is set by a the setting.

Foster’s Argument “ Geography can also define or even develop characters”.

Foster’s Argument “Geography can also, frequently does, play quite a specific plot role in a literary work”.

In The Field “ In the Field “ is a story about a eighteen man platoon during the Vietnam War. During there time at war Kiowa, a solider, is lost in a mud slide. As the platoon continues there search for Kiowa the reason for bhis death is revealed. In the story the mud acts as a character. Not only is the mud the cause of Kiowa’s death but it also act as an enemy toward the platoon. Like an enemy the mud encourages the platoon to stop by causing them to feel tired and sleepy. As Foster suggests geography can play a major role in a plot and can also play a character.

Foster’s Argument “ When writers send characters south, its so they can run amok”.

Extended Examples High Low The word high is usually associated with purity, greater than, power, etc. So why did the chicken cross the road? Why did Jack and Jill go up the hill? Maybe it was because a higher power instructed them to or maybe there next destination was of better interest than there previous destination. The word low is usually associated with darkness, unpleasantness, less than, worst, death, hell, etc. Why in a scary movie must someone be taken down to the cellar to be killed? Why must we always fall down a hill? People are most likely to go down to a cellar to hide evidence or to even hide the killing. At also adds to the suspense of the thriller. We fall down the hill because of gravity, plane and simple.

Foster’s Main Point “ So, high or low, near or far, north or south, east or west, the places of poems and fiction really matter. It isn’t just the setting that hoary English class topic. It’s place and space and shape that bring us to ideas and psychology and history and dynamism.”

Thank you Have a nice day!