America The Beautiful The setting is one of the most essential parts of a story or excerpt. It creates vivid images in people’s minds, and can aid audiences in perceiving the story in a more insightful way such as understanding why an author chose a setting or what the author is trying to tell us by using a setting. In fact, one of the most important aspects of romanticism is the setting. Since romantic authors have a dislike towards civilization, they must present and utilize the setting in an effective way. This is evident in the short story “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving. The historical setting may also impact how and why an author presents information such as in “A Model of Christian Charity” written by John Winthrop. Washington
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John Winthrop use of a metaphorical “city upon a hill” setting can be seen as portraying his values. Winthrop explains the city upon a hill as a place where “The eyes of all the people are upon us, so that if we should deal falsely with God…we shall be made a story and a by-through the world” (101). Being a Puritan, Winthrop believes strongly in the idea of hard work. His values of working and functioning as a community are seen in the city upon a hill. If the community cannot work together then their failure will result in embarrassment. On the other hand if they are successful then they will be greatly praised for their success. If the hill was not used in this setting then the idea of hard work and seen by all wouldn’t be as effective. Winthrop’s use of a metaphorical setting such as this also shows readers that these types of settings can be just as effective and efficient as a physical …show more content…
Rip Van Winkle’s themes of freedom from control and change are displayed in the temporal setting and the physical setting. Not only does Irving’s use of setting influence the themes, but the setting also makes readers question themselves about their environment and how they have changed as people. Winthrop’s setting gives insight into the Puritan theme of hard work and it also does somewhat of the same thing since it makes the American audiences question their status as a city upon a hill. The setting also reflects their opinions on America as a whole and these opinions may give audiences even more insight since the readers are from England instead of America. It bring up the question, “What did the Europeans think of the new world at this time?” These questions and insights only reinforce the idea that a mere setting can be such an important aspect to any story whether a tall tale or a sermon. It only goes to show that an author may put significance behind a setting whether temporal, physical, or metaphorical. Maybe by paying more attention to the setting, we can discover questions, intentions, and things that we never would have discovered
John Winthrop use of a metaphorical “city upon a hill” setting can be seen as portraying his values. Winthrop explains the city upon a hill as a place where “The eyes of all the people are upon us, so that if we should deal falsely with God…we shall be made a story and a by-through the world” (101). Being a Puritan, Winthrop believes strongly in the idea of hard work. His values of working and functioning as a community are seen in the city upon a hill. If the community cannot work together then their failure will result in embarrassment. On the other hand if they are successful then they will be greatly praised for their success. If the hill was not used in this setting then the idea of hard work and seen by all wouldn’t be as effective. Winthrop’s use of a metaphorical setting such as this also shows readers that these types of settings can be just as effective and efficient as a physical …show more content…
Rip Van Winkle’s themes of freedom from control and change are displayed in the temporal setting and the physical setting. Not only does Irving’s use of setting influence the themes, but the setting also makes readers question themselves about their environment and how they have changed as people. Winthrop’s setting gives insight into the Puritan theme of hard work and it also does somewhat of the same thing since it makes the American audiences question their status as a city upon a hill. The setting also reflects their opinions on America as a whole and these opinions may give audiences even more insight since the readers are from England instead of America. It bring up the question, “What did the Europeans think of the new world at this time?” These questions and insights only reinforce the idea that a mere setting can be such an important aspect to any story whether a tall tale or a sermon. It only goes to show that an author may put significance behind a setting whether temporal, physical, or metaphorical. Maybe by paying more attention to the setting, we can discover questions, intentions, and things that we never would have discovered