STORY

Under the sea, far beneath the waves where the sunlight didn't reach, was a cove. That's where they sealed me off from the rest of the world. As powerful as I was, I couldn't break the magical barrier that enclosed me. For 5 years I was surrounded by nothing but this watery grave. How I longed to go back Nyria, the land of mages and druids. It had been so long since I brought destruction and chaos. Suddenly there was an explosion and I felt life rushing into me. 'Could this be?' I mumbled to myself. I tried to teleport back into Nyria and there I was, above in the air looking down at the people there, the placed looked the same. I grinned from ear to ear. The sunlight felt so good and the breeze kissed my skin as it went by. I am free and everyone knew it because they were panicking. "Good after 5 years they still fear me" I thought to myself. "Dolen is free, the barrier is broken, we're gonna die". Music to my ears, "time to get revenge", I chuckled. I teleported into the palace. Those weak shields couldn't keep me out. The palace was no different though some of the posts were still broken from our last battle. The walls had carvings of the ancient war and the sculptures were breathtaking, the longer you looked, the more details you saw. "I might as well visit Venura, while I'm here", I thought. Venura belonged to the most powerful mage. A divine dragon who brought death and destruction and was a weapon against the enemy. Now Artur was using my dragon as a guard dog. She was happy to see me. This was too easy, Artur knows I'm coming for him, that's why there were no guards. Trap or not I will kill him and burn Nyria. I freed Venura, "Go, burn them", we touched foreheads and she flew away. I teleported to Ainsleigh. I stood on the battleground, surrounded by the strongest warriors. That's when I saw Artur. "Do you really need so many men to kill one man", I smirked. "I will kill you with this sword, these men are back up", he said as he drew his sword. I used Dark Influence and killed everyone except Artur. I ran towards him and our blades collided. If he didn't have the magical armor he would've been dead. I used every technique, but Artur was still standing. "Why don't you summon Eritra", teased Artur. I smiled, I sacrificed my sword and the half snake, half-human goddess appeared behind me. I stood by and watch her make Artur regret sealing me. I didn't want to summon her but he deserved it. I recalled Eritra and I walked towards him. A white lily fell on his chest as he laid on the ground. "You were always too kind", I whispered. I took his sword and ended him. Artur is dead. I got the last laugh.  

 

literary devices;

IRONY being basic

symbolism a lily 

theme; betrayal

 Books You Must Read:

• 6  Months Later
• Me and Mr. Darcy
• Pride and Prejudice 
• The Fault In Our Stars
• Always You
• The Boy Who Sneaks Through My Bedroom Window
• Bloodline
• The Lovely Bones
• Just Listen
• That Summer
• This Lullaby
• My Secret To Tell
• The Truth About Forever
• The Boss's Special Delivery
• Debutantes and Daggers
• Moby Dick

Analyzing the Setting of a CSEC Story

BREATH, EYES, MEMORY -     BY EDWIDGE DANTICAT

The novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory tells the story of a Haitian girl, Sophie Caco. She is a child of rape and as the novel progresses she learns to deal with her mother's trauma and experiences motherhood. This novel shows how the customs and traditions of a country can affect the way someone grows into an adult. Some major themes of the story are trauma, migration, patriarchy, and womanhood.

The story takes place in Croix Des Rosets, Haiti during the 1980s. The Duvalier Regime was occurring during this time in Haiti. During this time period, Francois Duvalier and his son, Jean Claude Duvalier ruled Haiti under dictatorship. Ton Ton Macoutes were thugs loyal to them and were used to keep any opposition towards Francois and his son under control. Ton Ton Macoutes had the freedom to rape, torture, and murder whoever they pleased. Martine, Sophie's mom, was raped by one of them. From knowing what went on in Haiti at this time, an idea can form of how the setting affects the characters and their actions. In the 1980s women were still told that their worth depended on if they were a virgin, wife, and mother. Their voices were silenced and they were expected to do as the men said.

Martine, Tantie Atie, and Sophie were all tested because, during this time, women were seen as a vessel for honor and purity for their families. They all had the inability to speak up for what they wanted. Women were robbed of their education because they were forced to stay at home in the kitchen where they "belonged". Their potential were wasted behind house chores. Even if they were given a chance to have an education and pursue a career, they could not. As a result of the Duvalier regime, the country was kept in poverty and illiteracy, so it would be nearly impossible to grant these females a different life. In addition to this, girls were in danger of being raped by Ton Ton Macoutes, this is exactly what happened to Martine. 

Sophie migrated to New York when she was 12 years old to live with her mother. During the 1990s in New York, racism was very prevalent and there were a lot of immigrants coming to America. Being a person of colour living in New York in the 1990s, Sophie was subjected to racial remarks and stereotypes. Some stereotypes listed in the book were that Haitians had body odour and the "Four Hs" got AIDS—Heroin addicts, Hemophiliacs, Homosexuals, and Haitians. New York was a dull, gray, depressive place whereas, Haiti was home and a place of memories for Sophie. It was the place Sophie needed to revisit to find herself again. For Martine, it was a place of bad memories and trauma and New York was her escape. 

In conclusion the setting of the story; country and time directly affected the characters and their actions in Breath, Eyes, Memory. Living in Haiti gave Sophie a sense of freedom and happiness, but in New York felt as though she were caged. Moving countries and living in a new environment either had a negative or a positive effect on them. The setting also saddened the mood of the story which aided in making the story very realistic.

Setting In Literature

WHAT IS SETTING?

A setting, in literature, is the description of the environment and time of the event that occurs in a literary piece. Social conditions, time, geographical locations, and weather are all various features of settings. (LiteraryTerms.net, 2017)

TYPES OF SETTING

• Backdrop Setting

A backdrop setting emerges when it is not important for a story, and it could happen in any setting but is not significant to the plot of the story. Backdrop settings are commonly used in Nancy Drew's novels. (EnglishLiterature,2020)

• Integral Setting

This type of setting influences the theme, character, and action of a story. It controls the characters. An integral setting is described in detail and is important to the plot as it helps to move the story along. Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" can be used as an example. (EnglishLiterature,2020)

IMPORTANCE OF SETTING

"Why do we need setting?"  "Why is it important?"

It is essential to create a setting for a story, it aids the reader in visualizing the story and makes them feel a part of it. Not only are settings needed for the reader, but it is also needed to influence the mood, tone and provide foreshadowing. Tone is the writer's attitude towards a subject and the nature of the setting they are trying to place you in. Mood is all about how the reader feel as a result of the setting. (MaterClass,2020)

Setting provides the reader with hints and helps the reader to connect and understand the actions of the characters.

Some places that can be used as setting:

Example:

It was dark and quiet, a cool breeze sent a shiver down my spine. All the stores were closed and I could hear police sirens in a distance. I looked over my shoulder to see the figure of a man lurking in the corner. My grip on the pepper spray in my hand tightened, I refused to be a victim of the night. 

From reading those few lines above, the narrator of the story is alone in the night. The mention of stores and police sirens suggests that the narrator is in a city. As the scene progresses, the mood of the story is influenced and becomes tense as the mysterious man is introduced. It can also be assumed that the narrator is a female, due to the pepper spray, being followed, and the words "victim of the night" referring to assault. This can be a foreshadowing of what might happen next. All of this has not been directly said but the setting gives it away.

REFERENCES:

 MasterClass staff.(2020).Tone vs. Mood.MasterClass.

retrieved from  https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tone-vs-mood

 Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2016). Setting. Encyclopedia Britannica.  retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/setting

 Nina Munteanu.(2021).Importance of Setting in a Novel. Scribophile. 

retrieved from  https://www.scribophile.com/blog/importance-of-setting-in-a-novel/

 Nancy L. Erickson.(2018).The Importance Of Setting In Your Story. 

retrieved from  https://blog.bookbaby.com/2018/02/importance-of-setting-in-your- story-/.

Editors of EnglishLiterature.Net.(2020). Setting definition and example literary device. EnglishLiterature.Net

 retrieved from https://englishliterature.net/literary-devices/setting

Literary Terms. (2015). Setting. Literaryterms.net  

 retrieved from https://literaryterms.net/setting/.