Settingasantagonist

Inawide range ofstories–westerns,journeystories,natureadventure stories,detectivestories,warstories,prison stories,Gothic romance and mostsuccessful nongenrestories–settingprovidesthe groundwork for the action. For example, Guy de Maupassant setmany ofhisstoriesinthe aftermathofthe Franco-PrussianWar. Inthisstory ‘‘Ball ofFat,’’ he describesRouenbeforethe arrivalofthe Prussiantroops: Aprofoundcalm,afrightful,silent expectancyhad spread overthe city.Many ofthe heavy citizens,emasculated by commerce, anxiously awaited the conquerors,trembling lest theirroastingspits or kitchenknivesbe considered arms ... Shopswereclosed, the streets dumb. Whenthe Prussians come: Astrange, intolerableatmospherelikeapenetratingodor, the odor ofinvasion ... filled the dwellingsandthe public places,changedthe tasteoffood... Since acharactercanbe shown betterindefeatthaninvictory, Maupassant usesthe settingto unmask people.Aprostituteisbraveand generous –she sharesherlast foodwithagroup ofrich travellers andlets herselfberaped byaPrussianofficerinordertosetthe travellers free. Whenitbecomestheirturn to sharetheirfood, theyrefuse, despisingher on ‘‘moral’’grounds. The man-against-naturestory (inwhich acharacterstruggles,usually for survival,against anaturalelement) dependsentirely on setting.(See furtherdiscussion ofthiskindofstory inchapterfour.) For example, in ‘‘ToBuildaFire’’ byJackLondon,amanencounters apowerful antagonist, the cold, whilehehikesinthe Yukonterritory inthe middleofwinter. Ashe turned to goon,hespatspeculatively.Therewasa sharp explosivecracklethatstartled him. He spatagain. Andagain,inthe air,beforeitcouldfall to the snow,the spittlecrackled.He knewthatatfifty belowspittlecrackled on the snow,but thisspittlehad crackled inthe air. Undoubtedly itwascolderthanfifty below. London describeshow creeks freezethrough the bottom,except for springsunderthe snowwhich‘‘hidpoolsofwater’’: Sometimesaskinofice halfaninch thickcovered them, andinturnwascovered bysnow ... Therewerealternate layers ofwaterandice skin,so thatwhenonebroke through he kept on breakingthrough for awhile... wetting himselfto the waist. Insubzero temperatures,beingwetmeans freezingto death, unless you buildafire.The manfalls into aspringandbuildsafire, but awindburies itinsnow,andhefreezestodeath.Afterreadingthisstory,youwill rememberthe cracklingofspittleinthe coldmuch betterthanthe man. (Thisdetail,bythe way,turns out to be false–I’vespatinwindchill of minus eighty inNorthDakota, andnothingcrackled.But for me, London’s description still crackles.) The settingisthe maincharacterofthe story, asgrandandunforgivingasGodinthe Book ofGenesis. Settingcansometimesgeneratethe plotdirectly.For example, Nikolai Gogol based hisnovel Dead Souls on nineteenthcentury ruralRussia,

29 whereapopulation census wasconducted once every fiveyears.If the last census wasin1830,andaserfdied in1831,the serf’s deathwould be registered in1835.Gogol’splot:Aschemertravels aroundthe country buyingup deadserfs–relievingthe landowners ofthe taxonthem–to appearrich so he canmortgage hisfictitious property andraisecashto buy realproperty.Theschemerreliesonthe distance betweenthe villages so thathe won’tgetcaughtasaswindler. The settingneed not be exotic, nor doyou need itonly if youwritealong story or anovel. Evenashort piece offiction benefits from astrongsense ofplace.JimHeynen,the author ofthe story collection The One-Room Schoolhouse ,sets hisstoriesonanIowafarm.Isupposeifyoudon’tlive inIowa, the settingmaystrikeyou asexotic,but if you do,itwill not. The sameappliestoany place.Heynen’strust inthe place created agenre: midwestern farm tale.Here’s anexcerptfrom one, ‘‘Dead Possum’’: The boy whosejobwastocheckthe levelofthe big cattle drinkingtank foundadead possum floatinginit... The dead possum had abig red applewedged inits wide-open mouth.Itlooked likesomebodywithabig mouthwhohad beenbobbingfor apples. The boy wanted to yell for the others to comesee, but knewtheywouldn’tbelievehim,or evenif theydid, wouldn’tbe inthe mood.Oneofthemwouldprobably say somethinglike, Adead possum withanappleinits mouth? Whydon’tyou ask himtoshare? Isn’tthissomething?he said to the cows. Isn’tthis something? Somenodded,thenstepped past himtodrink. Heynendoesnot evenhaveadistinctcharacterhere, just ‘‘the boys,’’ whichgivesusmoreofasettingofboyhoodthanasingleboy asa character. The place–populated withanimals,vegetables,andfarm boys –makesthe story. Heynengivesyou the place–no morethannecessary –asthe storymovesalong.Thisway,there’s no risk thatthe readerwill say,‘‘Whendoesthisdescription end?Ihopesoon.’’ He offers you two viewpoints takenbythe boys. Sometreatthe dead possum asquitefamiliar–andoneboy treats itassomethingtruly extraordinary.The group ofboys,feelingjaded, familiarizeevenstrange things,but the boy whochecks the waterlevel‘‘defamiliarizes’’ them, findssomethingexotic inthe potentially drab placeon adreary day. Asa writeryou shouldattainthe skill for defamiliarizingyour immediate surroundings,likethe boy. Every placeisexotic to thosewhoarefarawayfromit. Writeabout the placesexotic to you,but it’scheaper(no airfare),andusuallymore effective, to findthe exotic inthe familiar. The trickistotreasureyour impressions ofthe placesyou knowwell. Whenyou neglectaplace, you impoverishyourself. Heynenisrighttogiveus ayoungboy asthe bearerofthe freshest vision. Itook my eight-month-oldson to the zootosee the elephants. He foundabee circlingaroundus farmoreintriguingthanadancing elephant. Insteadofgibbonsleapingintrees,henoticed fishinthe water. Itstruckmethathisperspectivehad atremendous advantage overmine. He sawthe worldwhileIsawthe zoo.

30 Bynoticingwithafresheyethe fall ofacommon apple, Newton revolutionized science.He did not need apineapple. But you need not limityourselfto the placesyou know.If you write science fiction,you donot run awayfromthe obligation to giveus a setting.Without creatingathorough setting–imaginary science and technology,fashion,architecture, cuisine, drugs–you don’tmakeagood science fiction story.Sodeviseideasandimagesthatwill be unfamiliarto the reader,but makethemappearfamiliar. Andfor historicalfiction,you can’thaveexperiencedevery placeand time.Soyou research to makesurethatyour characters in1920don’t watch television andthatyour characters inPhiladelphia of1840havethe option to ride trains or atleast listentothe whistles.

Settingfor specialeffects

Many storiesspringout ofstrongsettings,but eventhosethatdon’tuse setting.Inmovies,music andlandscapeshots oftenappearasabackdrop for the action,especially to augment suspense, romance, andsometimes simplytodazzleyou. The quality ofphotography–the selection ofdetails, the anglesoflightandshadow –engage you most. Inwriting, wecan achievesimilareffects withwordsdescribinglandscapesandcityscapes. Soconsiderthe followingauxiliary usesofsetting. Settingasquality ofvision Inadialoguescene, delicateimagery andmetaphorsmayseemunnatural to your reader,so breakawayfrom the dramaoccasionally to givebits of the stage –the clankingofspoons on china.Here’s your chance to show your skill andspeed, to buildyour reader’sconfidence inyour narrative vision. If your wordsrenderasettingkeenly,the readermightbe inclined to accept the psychologicalinsights implied inthe action anddialogue. Withsharply observed bits ofthe world, you convince.Atouch of extraordinary landscapinghereandtheremaybe enough to drawus into the story andto keepusinit. In The EasterParade RichardYatesgrabsour attention inaprintingroom scenebyengagingour perception: Workmenhurriedeverywhere, all wearingcrisp little squared-off hats made ofintricately folded newspaper. ‘‘Whydotheywearthosepaperhats,Daddy?’’ Emily asked. ‘‘Well,they’dprobably tell you it’stokeepthe ink out of theirhair,but Ithink theyjust wear’emtolook jaunty.’’ ‘‘Whatdoes jaunty mean?’’ Shortly afterthe dialogue, Yatesgivesusthisdescription: Theywatchedthe curved, freshly cast metalpage plates slide inonconveyor rollers to be clamped into place on the cylinders;thenafteraringingofbells theywatchedthe pressesroll. The steelfloor shuddered undertheirfeet, which tickled, andthe noisewassooverwhelmingthatthey couldn’ttalk:theycouldonlylook ateach otherandsmile, andEmily covered herears withherhands. Whitestreaks ofnewsprint raninevery direction through the machines, andfinished newspapers cameridingout inneat, overlapped abundance.

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