Literature: A Reflection of Life
Phase 5 Individual Project
February 11, 2014

As defined by thefreedictionary.com, literature is “Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value” literature. (n.d.), now many could say that literature is anything that is printed on paper so it could be coupons, flyers, an invoice, a novel, a poem; however I am of those that believe like the definition above that literature is an art. Throughout this class “Literature: A Reflection of Life”, I have learned to study, examine and dissect literary art to search for its deepest treasures and meanings. The first literary art studied was short stories and we were given the following tools to analyze it: setting, characters, point of view, plot, symbolism, themes, tone and irony. Setting could be further divided into two types: physical and chronological setting. The physical setting as the name implies is the place where the story takes place. For example in the story “Trifles” the setting takes place in a kitchen as describe by the author “The kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Wright, a gloomy kitchen, and left without having been put in order — unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish towel on the table — other signs of incompleted work” Meyer, M. (2011), this specific description of the physical setting creates the ambience or the atmosphere for the rest of the story to develop upon. On the other hand chronological setting is the “when”. It is very important to note this type of setting as it gives clues as to why the characters in the story speak, behave, act or react in the ways they do. For example in the same story “Trifles”, the women are diminished by their counterpart husbands or males and this was because during the time the story took place women didn’t have as much rights as now and were