Write about the significance of the ways three writers you have studied have used places in their narratives
F.Scott Fitzgerald uses location to distinguish between different social classes. For example Nick describes East Egg as the wealthier location when compared to West Egg. Although West Egg is the less financially secure ‘Egg’ , Gatsby lives there despite his great wealth. Therefore suggesting that Gatsby does not think highly of himself; his physical state pours wealth and happiness yet his mental state dramatically contrasts by being trapped in a postwar society where necessities were scarce and precious. Another way Fitzgerald draws importance to location is the water that separates Gatsby and Daisy. The water acts as a physical barrier between the two lovers where their feelings and emotions drown due to the strain of separation.
Christina Rossetti uses religious locations within her poems to set the scene. For example in the poem ‘The Covent Threshold’ Rossetti displays a great interest in ‘stairs that mount above’ and ‘stairs are meant to lift us higher’. The location of stairs entwined with religious beliefs allows the reader to interpret their own ideas about where religion allows you to go. The reader can determine whether the stairs lead to heaven or a wooden door. Rossetti also makes reference to rural locations such as ‘hills’ and ‘mountain’ which link to the idea of open space and freedom; Rossetti’s physical heaven on Earth.
Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ does not contain concrete evidence of exact locations, only vague insights to where the father and son are heading. This concept allows the reader to be part of the journey, somewhat the third traveller due to only discovering where the duo are as soon as they realise their coordinates. McCarthy also puts locations under questioning, for example the father’s childhood home once a safe haven turned into an isolated corner of the land where memories have faded into pieces of furniture. This contrasts with an unfamiliar location where the boy and father are at ease; the waterfall. Entering unknown territory would naturally make the reader feel cautious yet the duo let their guard down and go swimming. McCarthy always keeps the reader, father and son on their toes when introducing a new location, never allowing anyone to know whether a site is going to be safe or hazardous.
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