How Space and Setting Creates an Atmosphere - Essay Example

? How space and setting creates atmosphere Introduction Setting in a novel is the background of the narrative that helps in creating the atmosphere. Setting offers hints to the reader that certain things are not just the victim thinks or sees them to be. The setting of a story arouses sense of doom and unease. A strong atmosphere creates the mood of the story in a novel. It does not only set the things that the reader should expect, but also allows the reader to obtain a sense of the created world in the story. For example, mystery, fear and romance may be evoked by a spooky castle. Besides, it accords information to the reader concerning the characters involved in the story. A fancy nightclub in Hollywood may inform the readers the exact type of people that are likely to be found there. Therefore, an atmosphere can be a time of the day or a setting. This paper hence seeks to discuss how space and setting creates atmosphere in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', and Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas'. Jane Austen in her book ‘Northanger Abbey’ is very careful when she invests in each place with the type of personality of its owner. For instance, ‘Northanger Abbey shows the preoccupation of the General with his tendency of outshining his neighbors. The immense house is full of lavish furniture, and the greenhouses belonging to the General have exotic fruits growing in them that are not available widely in England. This is in contrast to Henry’s Woodston which is a modest home that has his good taste reflected and wiser judgment depicted. The space in the ‘Northanger Abbey’ is also depicted even by the striking differences seen in her volume one and volume two. Whereas one puts focus on the Bath’s social life, volume two entirely has its setting at the Northanger Abbey. The style of writing by Austen changes between the two volumes. For instance, there is an extended part that parodies melodramatic Gothic novels of Anne Radcliffe in volume two, and the depictions of the scenes of ballroom and witty dialogue in volume one. This create an atmosphere of the whole book (Mill 2001) In the two books, Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', and Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas', the authors have created good settings and space in almost a similar manner. Both the authors chose an effective setting that evoke particular atmosphere intended for the story line. Jane Austen and Ursula Le Guin described the scenes involved in their books so well that showed the setting to the readers. The readers can easily conclude what kind of atmosphere or generate the mood from just the description of the setting. The authors used only the senses that are effective in order to create the atmosphere in their books using the settings of the story. The setting and space in the two books have also created the atmosphere by using natural elements. In Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', she uses natural things like marriage and party halls to depict an atmosphere form the setting. This makes the atmosphere known to the readers and they can easily deduce what kind of activities they expect from such things as the result of marriage and the people and events in a party. The two authors have also indicated the use of time as space in the setting to create the atmosphere. It is evident that time may bring about varying expectations to the readers when setting an atmosphere up. Sense of time pulls different elements of metaphoric together in the theme of the story as well. For instance in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', the relationship between General Tilney with his children is described with time, in the beginning the General was a domineering father and Miss Tilney and Henry could not even express themselves fully in his presence. And over the years, the temper of General Tilney even worsened. Another way in which the space and setting in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', and Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' has created an atmosphere of the various stories is through the use of evocative and strong language. This has created a strong sense of atmosphere and place. The strong and evocative language used in these two books not only pulls different elements of metaphor, theme or description together, but also create a strong atmosphere for the readers. For instance, the discussion of marriage between Catherine and Henry in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey' shows the use of strong language creating a strong atmosphere for the readers. According to Mill (2001), the 'Northanger Abbey' by Jane Austen in its setting features three sets of siblings and three families prominently. The actions also take place in three different places. That is, Bath, Fullerton, Woodston, and Northanger Abbey. Woodston and Fullerton are two similar villages, and Northanger Abbey and Bath are also place representing different settings. These are then used to create an atmosphere in the book. The actions in the book take place in a year not specified in the early 19th Century in England. All characters are depicted as rich relatively although some appeared to be a little bit more than the others. For instance, general Tilney is extremely wealthy while the Morlands and Thorpes do not have as much money. Although the two families would qualify to be called lower gentry and exist at the lower end of the upper class, they are however still at the higher social station than those growing and the middle class as well as the arising merchant class in that period. The setting depicted at the beginning of the novel is at a small village, Fullerton, where Catherine was raised. The author compares intriguingly the home of Henry in Woodston with Fullerton. There is the praising of the domestic life and the country life in the text. “…now, there was nothing so charming to her imagination as the unpretending comfort of a well-connected parsonage, something like Fullerton, but better; Fullerton had its faults, but Woodston probably had none.” (26.16) The setting in the urban areas creates the atmosphere of the high society and the urban life that is depicted in Bath, a place where Catherine had her misunderstandings and several adventures. In spite of the title, Bath is actually the epicenter of “Northanger Abbey”. This is due to the bulk of the actions that take place in Bath, both bad and good. The setting there shows an atmosphere that Catherine’s stay in Bath allowed her to socialize in a manner that in Fullerton would have not been conceivable. For instance, she goes shopping, meets eligible men, goes to play, goes on carriage rides, and interacts with new people. Basically, the action in the novel is in Bath. This setting hence creates the urban atmosphere to the readers. It is hence evident that Northanger Abbey as both the book and the place would have not happened without the existence of Bath. It is Bath that allows for the Northanger Abbey. This is because even Catherine would have never got the invitation to move to Northanger Abbey if Bath where she socialized in was not in existence. The same would have not taken place if she was never the subject of some hilarious rumors that only spread in Bath. According to Mill (2001), in contrary to Fullerton, Bath is full of strangers being an urban place. The Bath’s urban environment brought about the knowledge of Catherine to new people and led her to Northanger Abbey. Northanger Abbey as a place functions like a real place and a location for the upper class of life and the parental tyranny. Northanger Abbey also acts like the imaginary construct, it is a place which Catherine confuses with most of the books that she read and characterizes it with secret manuscripts and tragic murder mysteries. In comparison, Catherine got several misunderstandings and a lot of mishaps in Bath, while she had a little growing up and learnt lessons in Northanger Abbey. In this setting with a lot of actions taking place, Catherine returns home in the end. She moves with Henry later to Woodston as a wiser and older person. The atmosphere created by this setting is that, if at all Northanger Abbey and Bath are places where there are comedic adventures, and then Woodston and Fullerton are the places where people move to settle down immediately the hijacks are completed. On the other hand, the Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas', Ursula Le Guin give a description of the Omelas, more particularly the Festival Summer, in such away that the innocent past is evoked. She gives a description of music, a festival and a precession. The setting here creates an atmosphere that this it is not practically the Day Parade of Macy. This is because the music is just a gong, flute and tambourine but not recorded. The readers are also given the atmosphere from this setting that children are naked in bright air with their feet and ankles stained with mud, and not hunched over electronic toys and plastic. According to Bloom (1986), in the process of describing the Omelas, Ursula Le Guin stops to have a consideration of the atmosphere created to the readers from the prevailing setting. She also considers that the expectations of her readers may end up corrupting her efforts to describe Omelas. Ursula Le Guin asserts that people do not have a good habit which is driven by sophiscates and pedants in making considerations of happiness as something stupid. The treason of the artists is that they refuse to admit the terrible boredom resulting from pain and the banality of evil. To them only evil is interesting and only pain is intellectual. Because of this reason, the atmosphere created by Ursula Le Guin in her book links the reader with her in her description of Omelas. Ursula Le Guin offers particular choices to the readers in order to enable her setting and space create an atmosphere with the readers. For instance Ursula Le Guin asks the readers questions and invites the readers to visualize Omelas and at the same time she gives limitations. She asks readers whether Omelas have technology, she answers that and says yes to the washing machines and at the same time declines to the helicopters. She also gives an okay to drugs and then places a limitation that provided they cannot be addictive and that given people from Omelas do not take those drugs. According to Bloom (1986), another setting in the Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’, which creates an atmosphere to the readers is her description of the basement, that she describes as under the beautiful Omelas’ public buildings and in the ceiling of its spacious private room. In her description of the setting, the readers get the atmosphere created. Her description of the room creates some mood and an atmosphere to the readers. She says that the room in question is two paces wide and three long, like a no longer used tool room or a broom closet. In that room is a child about six seated. She says the child is near ten and is feeble minded, she adds that the child may have become imbecile out of malnutrition, fear or neglect. She says that the child in some occasions vaguely fumbles with its genitals and toes, while seated in a corner far from two mops and a bucket. The child according to Ursula Le Guin find the mops horrible, the child shuts its eyes, the door is also locked and no one is likely to go in there. That setting creates an atmosphere to the readers. The mood also changes and most probably the readers may become sympathetic. The setting used by Ursula Le Guin's in her book ‘Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas' forces the readers to have an image of a suffering, starving, and begging child fed in their minds. Ursula Le Guin tells the readers that the child is locked in a room that is full of its own excretions. The author also informs the readers that the whole city is aware of the child and des not do anything to help. This setting creates an atmosphere to the readers that fills their stomach with butterflies and leaves their head filled with images of their siblings scared and festered. The mind of the readers begins contemplating any probable reason for such an inhumane act by the people of the city. All over sudden, Ursula Le Guin tells the readers that the misery and suffering of the child is an insurance of the prosperity and happiness of the whole city. This presents the antagonist of the narrative. This is depicted through the major conflict in the story where a man is in conflict with himself. Such a setting creates an atmosphere to the readers of what to expect in the story line. At the end of the story, a way out of the Omelas prison is given. Ursula Le Guin tells the readers that some people walk away after seeing the child from Omelas. Such people choose to walk away from Omelas together with everything in it. Happiness and freedom is not guaranteed. In fact people who walk away are asked to walk in the darkness alone. There is only one hope that is presented according to Ursula Le Guin that people who walk way from Omelas seem to know exactly where they are headed. From there, Ursula Le Guin throws question at the readers which initiate the creation of an atmosphere from the prevailing space and setting at that particular moment. According to Bloom (1986), the setting of the location of the city of Omelas also has something to do with the atmosphere of the story. The readers are told that Ursula Le Guin devised the name of the town after reading a sign on the roadside backwards. Hence, the name “Omelas” is anagram of Salem. Ursula Le Guin has clearly stated this as not specifically relevant. In particular, Ursula Le Guin has made assertions that the similarities between Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a Russian novelist, who wrote Crime and Punishment that is related to morality, and her work only occur to her in retrospect and that it was never a main influence in her writing of the story. In her story, Ursula Le Guin shows an atmosphere of air filled with genuine excitement over the festival with its prancing horses, noisy running children, the flag adorned boats, and the joyous bells clanging greatly. Suddenly, the narrator who fails to give an identification of him or her ceases the descriptions and asserts that such descriptions give particular assumptions. The narrator then says that the people in Omelas are not barbarians. In fact the narrator says “…I do not know the rules and laws of their society, but I suspect they were singularly few." The narrator goes ahead to explain that there is happiness among the people of Omelas and that it is only those who are presumably enlightened that have the bad habit of considering happiness as a bad thing encouraged by sophisticates and pedants as stated before. Conclusion In summary, space and setting as used in the two books, Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', and Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas', creates atmosphere to the readers in an effective manner that allows the readers to deduce what to expect from the actions and build up a mood of the story line. For instance, in Ursula Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas', a suffering, starving, and begging child fed in their minds. Ursula Le Guin tells the readers that the child is locked in a room that is full of its own excretions. This creates an atmosphere to the readers who develop sympathy to the child and begin conceiving an image of their siblings in the same situation. In Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', the same happens in terms of both the setting and space. The actions in the three places, Bath, Woodston, Fullerton, and Northanger Abbey depict the atmosphere expected from such places depending on their urbanity. The use of the setting and space evokes the thoughts making various events take place due to the mood that is created and the described setting. Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey', as a social drama puts focus in the lives of the characters and the impact that their ever changing relationships have on them. Most probably, the book was influenced by inadequate events in the life of Jane Austen which led her to the dramatizing of the small things that were done by the characters such as Catherine Morland in the novel. Bibliography Bloom, H. 1986. Ursula K. Le Guin. New York: Chelsea House Mill, J. 2001. Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'. United States of America: Hacket Publishing Company, Inc. Read More