The Use of Setting in “Survival Zones”

The Use of Setting in “Survival Zones” Short story from Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver Individual Oral Presentation John Carges, 2007-2008

Survival Zones • Centers on Roberta and her daughter, Roxanne. • Residents of the small town Elgin. • Roxanne is torn by the choice to leave her home or her boyfriend. • Roberta is experiencing, among other things, a sudden boredom.

Creates Conflict Roxanne can’t decide if she wants to leave the simple life for the big city Roberta wants excitement in her life Creates mood Natural, organic Slow, simple Places emphasis on the idea of “home” and gives it significance. Setting in Survival Zones

Using a small town for the setting makes the idea of home seem: More important to the character Like a bubble cut off from the world Like an obstacle “ ‘Look at me, born right down the road, and after all these years of chasing my tail doing nothing, here I still am.’ ” (Page 108) Giving Significance to “Home”

Makes Roxanne seem like a “small fish in a big pond” Makes readers empathize with feeling of boredom and tedium Contrasts with quick-paced outsiders. “ ‘Remember that time you and Daddy took me up to Cincinnati to see the Christmas lights? And I cried? I get all bewildered in a city.’ ” (Page 106) “It sounds peculiar to Roberta to hear distance measured in blocks… She stands up straight with a hand on her back and feels a great weight moving through her, an enormous lifelessness.” (Page 111) “There was a time when this inconvenience seemed romantic to Roberta… But over the years it’s become just one more way of marking the passing seasons.” (Page 113) Creating Conflict

“An H-bomb is what it would take, Roberta thinks. She has lived in Elgin for more than forty years, and during that time no one she knows of has ever moved here from Cincinnati.” (Page 103) Organic, Natural Slow, Simple Bored, Melancholy Creating Mood

Setting in Homeland • In all cases a small town or community, or even a completely remote area. • Makes “Home” a more important aspect of the characters’ lives • Creates conflict with boredom

Using a rural setting makes a stronger connection to home With smaller, more focused worlds, the characters’ home is more significant. Rural often implies farming, which comes with an agricultural connection to the land. In contrast, it adds to the tedium and makes some characters more willing to leave (or contemplate leaving) their home in search of a more exciting life. Rural Setting in Homeland Cont.

Homeland Like with Roberta, children are bored of their homeland. In contrast, Great Mam doesn’t wish to return to her homeland. Great Mam encourages a connection with the land. Blueprints The isolation leads to conflict between the main characters. Disconnect between them and their old friends Homesickness Setting In Two Different Stories

Influenced by her childhood in small towns. Her comfort zone for writing is in small towns, which is visible in all of her published books. Her movements throughout life have led to her lack of a true homeland. Kingsolver and Setting

Rural Influence • Growing up in rural Kentucky and spending much of her time in Arizona and rural parts of Europe, rural or small town settings are an easy thing for her to write. • Equally, her comfort in rural areas led her to write about the fear of moving to a big city. • Felt very connected to other residents, a fact that shows in her stories.

Kingsolver has spent long periods of time in different places, and her periodic movement may suggest that she has very little sense of a defined home. This has influenced Kingsolver to write about rural areas like her own and the challenge of finding a home. From Kingsolver.com “She spent the late 1970's in Greece, France and England seeking her fortune, but had not found it by the time her work visa expired in 1979. She then moved to Tucson, Arizona, out of curiosity to see the American southwest.” Movement, Lack of Homeland

What is your connection with HOME?

The Use of Setting in “Survival Zones”