1. Is the setting important in itself or is it merely a backdrop to the action. In other words, could the action be set just as effectively elsewhere? If so, why? If not, why not?
- Crow Lake, which is the setting of this novel, is very important to the overall story. To start off, small town settings add a calm dynamic to the story. For example, in smaller towns, there is no sense of rushing around, where occurs constantly in the city. The slow pace and quite lives of townsfolk leads to simpler lives, but everyone is very personal with each other. Genuine conflict can occur, where it affects all members of the town, and not just a small amount of individuals. This can be seen when Calvin Pye kills his son Laurie, and then kills himself. This
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Does the reader’s attitude toward the protagonist change as the narrative develops? Are we supposed to feel differently toward the protagonist at the end of the narrative than we did at the beginning? How so? How do you know?
- At the beginning of the novel, I remember feeling pity towards Kate, as she had lost her parents and how “the Pye nightmare was destined to become entangles with the Morrison dream” (Lawson 7). As the book progressed, it became clearer that the “Morrison dream,” which was for everyone to get a university education, was actually Kate’s dream. Later on, Matt decided to marry Marie Pye instead of attending university. When Kate looked back on this moment, she felt pity for Matt, as he didn’t attend university. At this moment, it became obvious that Kate thought happiness was primarily based on education. In a sense she was being selfish, as she didn’t want what Matt wanted, and continued to feel bad for him even though he accepted his choices. By the end of the novel, Kate realizes her faults and accepts that she was wrong to pity Matt. As the reader, it is good to see Kate progress in a positively as a character. She went from being ignorant to being able to see how her actions affected her brother