One of the top considerations authors put into their writing
is where the story should take place. Whether
it be at high altitude, steep, or flat surfaces, why is geography in literature
a big deal? The geography in a work of literature allows the reader to consider
its implications. For example, harsh geographic conditions could imply harsh
conditions the characters will face. In chapter 19 of Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster
explains that humans inhabit spaces, and at the same time the spaces inhabit
humans. Physical surroundings play a bigger role than what you may have thought
before.
Literary
geography usually has literary meaning. Southern places have the tendency to
have raw encounters with the character’s subconscious. Low places associate
with unpleasantness and/or death, while high places associate with isolation
and/or death. The book uses the example of Napoleon’s mission to conquer
Russia. The reason this task could not be completed is because Russia’s harsh
winter was too ferocious for Napoleon’s soldiers. Even the Russian soldiers
carried the characteristics of the weather, so Napoleon’s soldiers had no other
choice but to back out. Geography has the ability to shape and define the story line
and even the characters themselves.
Last year, I went to see The Dallas
Opera’s opening night of Everest by
Joby Talbot. The story took place at
the high altitudes of Mt. Everest. There, dreams for a group of men are lost in
the ferociousness of the weather. The men felt so isolated and hopeless that
they began to go insane and some even died. The songs in the opera even gave
that isolated feel. In this case, the isolation and death were associated with the high altitude just as the book explained.
Likewise,
in the movie 127 Hours, the main character (played by my favorite person James
Franco) goes on a hike alone in some canyons in Utah. What he thought to be a
quick adventure turns into a nightmare. He and a boulder both managed to both
fall into one of the crevices of the canyon. He was fine except the fact that
his arm got stuck between the boulder and the wall of the crevice. He spends
about 5 and a half days stuck there. He had no access to a phone and had not
told anyone of his whereabouts. During that time, he had enough time to think
about his life and even enough time to have quite a few hallucinations. He
finally decides the only way he’s going to make it out, is if he amputates his
own arm. This disturbing film which I highly recommend anyone seeing just because
it’s uniquely painful to watch, hits the nail on the head that the book had
explained. Low places suggest unpleasantness and death, and I don’t know
anything that could be more unpleasant than amputating your own arm.
Setting
isn’t just a setting. Geography in literature isn’t just geography. Geography
has the power to influence characters, plots, and themes. Meredith Bond from
the Washington DC Writers of America chapter, explains an article that setting
can set tones, provide conflicts, and can affect the characters in a story. Her
opinions along with Thomas Fosters, really helped me understand the huge role
of settings and geography in literature. Her article can be found at romanceuniversity.org/2012/12/07/the-importance-of-setting-with-meredith-bond/.
