Setting and Mood in Literature

Goal: Understanding that setting contributes to mood.

Read: 
You should be working toward the halfway point of your group novel.

Setting and Mood: 

• The term MOOD in literature refers to how the setting of the story makes the reader feel. 
• It is the emotional feeling of the place where the events are taking place. 
• Sometimes the mood of the place matches the characters mood and sometimes it is in contrast to it. 
• Word choice and the details an author includes help to create the mood of a setting. 

Example:

Thick darkness swam over the building. The surrounding oak trees stood so tall that even in at this time of day their shadows turned the area to night. One of them appeared to have fallen over onto the house. The roof caved in around the diseased trunk. The tree was so rotten it had to be years since it stood with its brethren.

Other than the roof the house itself was in horrible conditions. All the blue paint had chipped off, leaving it a stained yellow color. The porch’s column was broken in half, at first glance looking like the tree did it but when examining closer other dents cast all around the porch, with a baseball bat sitting in the middle, only causing one to wonder.

The yard itself was pure dirt, somehow weeds managed to grow in the hard ground, dried paint flew around the yard somehow even though the trees blocked all wind.

The front door opened and slammed shut every few seconds, due to the unknown wind and the its lack of a door knob. The windows were all completely smashed, below some the glass still sat. Only a few were boarded up with cardboard, others let the cool air drift in.

Why it is a strong example:

        This scene portrays a scary emotion through the look of the house. From other parts of the book you would know that this is the house of a kidnapper, and in this setting I feel I have shown it. The more obvious examples are the army of trees surrounding the building, let alone the one that crashed through the roof. But the eerie wind that blows the door open and shut, and dried paint around the yard starts to make you slightly scared. And while some factors like the tree seem a bit obvious, it makes you think, why would someone not get that repaired? What do they not want people to see inside?

Reminders: 

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