Use of setting in "The Shawl" and "The Portable Phonograph"In literature, setting is often used to enhance or develop the characters, provide realism, and create a mood or atmosphere for a story (Roberts 256). Two short stories, "The Shawl" by Cynthia Ozick and "The Portable Phonograph" by Walter Van Tillburg Clark explore the casualties of war in the vivid settings the authors created. Although both works are vague regarding geographic setting and place in time, the authors' detailed descriptions of the character's environment envelop the reader and lend an air of authenticity to the tales (Kauvar 180). “The Shawl” and “The Portable Phonograph” differ in their treatment of symbolism and characterization, but their ingenious use of setting to create a theme unites these two stories. “The Shawl” and “The Portable Phonograph” both open with intense and disturbing descriptions. ; Ozick shocks readers with his depiction of the "Holocaust in extraordinarily vivid sensory impressions" (Watson 892), and Clark devotes his first three paragraphs to describing a desolate, war-torn plain devoid of almost all life. Clark immediately creates the sensation of a dangerous and disturbing world, describing a “tormenting sensation” that “arises from the stillness of the earthly air beneath the violence of the upper air” (Roberts 260). The reader is left with an impression, full of details, but above all overflowing with emotion. "The Shawl" and "The Portable Phonograph" contain objects that are fundamental to the stories and mental states of the characters they contain. In the first story, Rosa believes the shawl protects her child from the horrors of the Holocaust, the piece of cloth gives her hope that the next generation will... middle of paper... roughen their thoughts. The settings of these two stories serve as more than just a backdrop for a tale, they are used "to create meaning, just as painters include backgrounds and objects to render ideas" (Roberts 255). Works Cited Kauvar, Elaine M. Cynthia Ozick's Fiction: Tradition and Invention. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. Magill, Frank N. ed. Critical Inquiry into Short Fiction, Vol. 2. Pasadena: SalemPress, 1993. Roberts, Edgar V. and Jacobs, Henry E. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998. Sheehy, Gail. Survival spirit. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1986. Stine, Jean C. ed. Contemporary literary criticism, vol. 28. Detroit: GaleResearch Co., 1984. Watson, Noelle, ed. Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994.