Gurraj Purewal
Mrs. Sanchez
AP English Lit and Comp
5 July 2017
Importance of Weather
Chapter 10
You may say that every story need a setting and that weather is part of the setting. That is true, by the way, but it isn’t the whole deal (75).
In chapter 10 Foster discusses how weather plays a more important role than just being a part of the setting in literature. Weather helps us visualize the setting but it also usually has a symbolic meaning. Authors also use weather as a device to put characters in literature into certain situations that might not have been possible without the weather that the author is telling us about. Weather can also help us understand the theme. Weather such as rain can show us that there is a cleansing affect going
Within stories weather can often be personified in order to reflect and enhance the mood or tone of the story. Certain weather indicates certain moods, this can help visually enhance the story for the reader and provide extra context for analysis. In the short story The Painted Door by Sinclair Ross, the author demonstrates the idea that if both of those in a marriage are not fully committed it could lead to discontent for all, and how environmental issues could play a part in this. The storm within the story is used to represent Ann’s anxiety about whether her husband will come home or not; and as the story continues and the storm gets worse, so does her anxiety. It can also be seen as a representative of her inner conflict in deciding between
As in many of Flannery O'Connor's stories, weather is an important indicator of characters' moods and important moments. As Tom Shiftlet drives off with the younger Lucynell Crater in the car, supposedly to go on a honeymoon, "The early afternoon was clear and open and surrounded by pale blue sky;" he still has a chance to redeem himself. But after he abandons her at The Hot Spot, he has lost his chance at salvation; this moment is enforced by the weather: "Deep in the sky a storm was preparing very slowly and without thunder as if it meant to drain every drop of air from the earth before it broke." After the hitchhiking boy has thrown himself out the passenger door, all is really lost for Tom Shiftlet, and "there was a guffawing peal of thunder from behind and fantastic raindrops, like tin-can tops, crashed over the rear of Mr. Shiftlet's car."
In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, numerous references are made to different conditions of weather. Even the title of the novel suggests the storminess present in nearly the entire book. The often-changing weather serves to signify the characters’ personalities, as well as the changes that they go through during the course of their lives.
World War One was one of the bloodiest wars recorded with nearly 38 million casualties. A war to stay out of. However, the United States of America was correct to have entered World War One when they did. America’s gain of power as a world leader, the new technology that was developed, and internal political changes prove that the United States of America was correct to have entered the war at the time that they did. The United States entered the war at a prime time for economic and political gain with relatively view casualties.
Weather is used in every piece of literature to give the writing a since of tone. Rain typically represents a drowsy, sad and mellow atmosphere, while heat brings out the frustration between characters. In The Great Gatsby weather is used in these general terms, but has two very important details that the average reader often overlooks. The two types of weather, heat and rain, are brought to life and acts as a mask to hide the true feeling of the characters. In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses weather as a symbol of the revelation of truth that Daisy and Gatsby come to on their own.
The idea of close reading involving weather is represented in Jack London's "To Build a Fire". Throughout the story the characters experience a strong confrontation with Nature and the effects of a brutally cold winter. London uses the idea of weather as an important plot device by making it the central conflict in the story. London would not have been able to achieve his Naturalist perspective without this plot device. We are also introduced to the atmosphere by use of weather.
Julius Caesar and The Great Gatsby both utilizes the changes in weather in the narrative to symbolize the moments that were happen. In Julius Caesar a storm happens with “Thunder and lightning” and “scolding winds” this is used to represent the status of Rome at the moment . however it’s also used to create the mood, foreshadowing the death of Caesar, making it storm on the day he will die (Shakespeare). This is similar to The Great
One of the first items the author states is that all symbolism is intentional, there are no accidents when it comes to analyzing famous literature. He describes certain authors like James Joyce and T.S. Elliot as “intentionalists” or writers who purposely try to control every part of the story through symbolism. The author Thomas Foster teaches us never to overlook anything in a novel even if it be little things like the color shirt they are wearing or what the weather is like outside. Building more off the last statement, precipitation, whilst being a little detail added into a story, holds a lot of important roles in moving the story along and even providing hardships for characters to overcome. Even more than that though, he says “It’s never just rain”, rain provides as a symbol in the story so that if someone is in the rain it’s almost as if they are being cleansed.
Chapter ten of How to Read Literature Like a Professor explains the important role weather plays on literature. For instance, snow is not just snow in a novel. It symbolizes so much more in both positive and negative ways; it is stark, filthy, playful, and clean, and you can do just about anything with it. In “The Dead,” Joyce breaks his main character down until he can look out at the snow, which is “general all over Ireland,” and then the reader realizes snow is like death. It paints the image that “upon all the living are the dead.”
In literature, weather is a mechanism used to enhance and create mood. In the novel Life of Pi, it is used successfully in this way. However, Yann Martel’s use of weather in the story also portrays the overwhelming commotion in Pi’s subconscious as he undergoes 227 days at sea. The parallels between the weather and Pi’s journey of transcending his safety net, his normalcy, and his childhood are evident throughout the novel. Weather is a representation of the wholehearted connection Pi has with nature, as it often accurately represents his thoughts and emotions. Yann Martel uses weather as a medium to encapsulate the reader and put them in the novel, but also to convey the dire circumstances of Pi’s mind.
When it comes to literature, weather can be used in many different ways. It can symbolize theme, set the mood of the story, and even affect the plot. In Tangerine by Edward Bloor, the weather acts as a plot device and as a symbol.
Weather is a symbol that is in many pieces fro all different genres whith different symbolic menings. The symbolism that f. Asott Fitzgerold was udsed in the novel The great gastby describes change in everything. There are 4 seasn with each unique weather that symbolizes time and the societys change. Weather in The Great Gatsby symbolizes everything and evryonee. Fitzgerad uses the
In the natural world, weather is unpredictable and can strike at any moment. However, in literature the author has the power to decide when a storm will hit. As explained in Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the author always has a purpose behind a weather occurrence. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger has instances of snow and rain that undoubtedly serve a deeper meaning than just drenching the protagonist. The instances of snow and rain in Catcher in the Rye bear symbolic representation of struggle, which ultimately leads to a cleanse.
The weather does more than fit the scene’s energy; often, the weather mirrors the protagonist’s attitudes and feelings, helping readers sympathize and connect with the characters. The first several chapters, set at Gateshead, are rainy, cold, and dreary, paralleling Eyre’s hopeless outlook. According to Thomas Foster, one of rain’s several potential purposes in a novel is to add an air of mystery, isolation, and misery. For example, when Jane is locked in the red-room, “the beclouded afternoon was tending to drear twilight...the rain
Foster’s insights about seasons and weather in literature change the story’s interpretation by clarifying their purposes. Foster’s main idea in the chapter It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow is weather always has a purpose; for example, rain, which has an “association with Spring,” can allow a “character to be cleansed symbolically” and “can bring the world back to life.” This insight is clear in the short story as outside Mrs.Mallard’s room the “trees were all aquiver with the new spring life” and “the delicious breath of rain was in the air.” The rain and spring weather may be dismissed as merely setting, but Foster’s insights allow the deeper meaning behind the inclusion of rain and spring to be clarified. The rain and spring show how Mrs.Mallard was cleansed