Geography Matters…

Mrs. Lyons

AP English

August 31st, 2010

What does geography tell us?

• Setting• History of the location/people

• Symbolism• Mood/tone

• Define/develop a character

History of location/people

• Shows how the characters are going to act• Different dialects in works of literature• Author’s example: The Old Man and the

Sea can only take place in the Caribbean

Symbolism

• Moving locations = change• General rule: when writers send characters

south, it’s so they can run amok (murderous frenzy)

• Hills/mountains = overcoming obstacles• Author’s example: “The Snows of

Kilimanjaro” by Hemingway

Mood/tone

• Describe location (bright, dark, joyous, gloomy, romantic, suspenseful?)

• Author’s example: “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe (gloomy/dark)

Define/develop a character

• Shows why the character is in that location• Author’s example: Bean Trees by

Barbara Kingsolver

My Own Example

• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines• Without the novel being set in the

Southern United States in the 1940s, racism wouldn’t be the main issue in the book

What is one thing that geography can tell us in literature?

A. SatireB. ConsonanceC. Mood/toneD. Alliteration

CORRECT!

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Moving locations =

A. ChangeB. InsanityC. RefugeD. Persecution

CORRECT!

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The gloomy description of the setting in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”…

A. Develops the main characterB. Provides history about the locationC. Gives the themeD. Sets the mood/tone

CORRECT!

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According to the author, if a character travels south…

A. They are starting a new lifeB. They are visiting familyC. They have gone crazyD. They have nowhere else to go

CORRECT!

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What is one thing being on top of a mountain can symbolize?

A. UnpleasantnessB. PurityC. DarknessD. Fog

CORRECT!

Let’s stop.

INCORRECT!

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THE END