Abstract:
This thesis examines the use of setting in short fiction as a tool to reveal
character interiority. Through the identification and analysis of fourteen writing
techniques drawn from seven short stories, it shows the importance of setting for
communicating thoughts and feelings that the characters have not, will not, or cannot
express, as well as for cultivating negative capability, circumventing imitative fallacy,
and creating complex, human characters. It argues that setting is a tool that writers may
employ in a diverse number of ways, namely by using setting symbolically, as
atmosphere, in interactions with the characters, or as a revealing subject for narrative
voice. It concludes with two original works by the thesis author, in which she applies a
number of the techniques she has identified over the course of the project.
Description:
73 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of English and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2014.