At first glance, Newfoundland is just the setting for E. Annie Proulx. But more fundamentally, Newfoundland plays a determining role in the action, characters and ideas of the novel. The robustness of Newfoundland generates the unique conditions in which the development of the protagonist, Quoyle, is possible. There he finds a community to which he fully belongs and, in turn, develops a resilience and sense of self that allows him to overcome the past. The contrast between Mockingburg and Newfoundland also allows Proulx to address more obvious contemporary issues, such as rural decline and modernization.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayBefore examining how Proulx uses place to develop the characters and themes of the novel, it is important to examine place in as a literary technique to provide insight into characters and foreshadow impending events. Descriptions of the weather, natural environment, and sea are consistent and often begin with chapters or sections (including chapters 11, 15, 19, and 24). This creates a striking impression of the remoteness and harshness of Newfoundland. Rather than explaining in a didactic way why Newfoundland is so important, Proulx uses these snapshots to provide a more nuanced sense of significance. These descriptions also add depth to the characters. When Agnis discusses sexual assault at the hands of her half-brother Guy, she remembers "clouds in thin rolls like gray pencils in a box... The deepest silence, the steam of his breath floated from her mouth… She was eleven or twelve years old. ' (p.225) His comparison of clouds to "gray pencils in a box" or the image of his breath in the air is not only haunting, but also very childish. The vividness of his memories suggests that the impact of this event on Agnis was very serious. Additionally, Proulx uses the location to foreshadow the action that is about to occur. Just before Billy Pretty and Tert Card argue over the future of Newfoundland, Quoyle describes the bay teeming with "white heads like maggots boiling in a large wound." A difficult morning. (p.197). The image of the rough seas echoes Quoyle's difficult morning, finding himself in the middle of Pretty and Card's argument. Likewise, before Nutbeem's feast, "a warm fluke, a tongue of sweet air, came from the continent and tempered the creeping margins of ice." (p.250) Despite the unfortunate events that occur during the party, this rare and pleasant change in weather portends a rare and above all pleasant night. The first idea of ​​The Shipping News, inextricably linked to the place, is the need to overcome the past. In Newfoundland, Quoyle develops his resilience, his acceptance of the nature of life and death, and his understanding of his ancestors, which allows him to better deal with trauma. The Killick-Claw community demonstrates to Quoyle that life is a constant struggle that requires adaptability. A small example of this is Quoyle's changing approach to local food. At first he finds the coffee "dirty" (p. 53), but by the end of the novel he admits that "fried bologna is not bad" (p. 252). This adaptability is reinforced by the behavior of the other characters. around him. The aunt embodies practicality; in how she moves to Newfoundland, trains for a whole new career, and even makes tea in used pop cans when they arrive (p. 41). Similarly, when Quoyle asks Nutbeem why he is so calm about the wreck of his boat, hereplies “there’s no point crying in my beer” (p. 268). This is a lackadaisical response to an understandably devastating event. The influence of these people on Quoyle results in a change of feeling towards Petal. When the aunt first arrives, Quoyle tells her that Petal was simply "hungry for love" (p. 23) – he even attaches sentimental value to the eggs she gives him instead of a real gift. Christmas (p.281). Finally, Quoyle recognizes "something he didn't know a year ago... Petal wasn't good for anything." (p.308) This is largely thanks to the role models he finds in Killick-Claw, who guides him, by example, through his grief. One specific problem that prevents Quoyle from moving forward is his inability to accept death. This is especially evident in his inability to properly explain Petal's death to Bunny. When he tells Wavey that "children should be protected from the knowledge of death" (p. 332), she asks him how, if they don't understand death, they can possibly understand "the deeper part of death." life ? (p. 332). Newfoundland plays an instrumental role in helping Quoyle come to terms with both death and the deeper part of life. Quoyle is constantly surrounded by the sea and its dangers. The Buggits, who become close friends with Quoyle, lost their eldest child and nearly lost Jack at sea. These losses normalize death to some extent. Even Mrs. Buggit is “surprisingly calm” (p. 329) upon learning of her husband's death, as she has expected Jack to die at sea since their first marriage. But it's not just the Buggits who face this fear every day – as Billy Pretty acknowledges at Jack's wake, "the water is a dark flower and the fisherman is a bee in his heart." (p.332). Proulx uses this metaphor to illustrate both the danger and lure of the sea, as well as the fishermen's dependence on it. Quoyle is also helped to accept death by facing his own mortality. He nearly dies while recovering Herman Melville's body (p.211), and could have died if he had remained in Mockingburg at the time of the mass shooting at the Mockingburg Record offices (p.291). In this way, death becomes a paradox: by being in Newfoundland, Quoyle came closer than ever to death, but was also saved from it. Quoyle's return to Newfoundland is another paradox, because while he wants to reject everything the old Quoyles were, he is also accepted into the Killick-Claw community thanks to them. Quoyle is desperate to avoid following in his family's footsteps. He does this first by avoiding Cousin Nolan as much as possible, and also by addressing Bunny's alternative behavior. Quoyle fears that his “weird child” (p. 132) has in fact inherited some of the negative traits of his own father and of Quoyles before him. These characteristics are personified in Quoyle's Point house, in which Quoyle never really feels comfortable. He thinks “the house was wrong.” He had always been wrong, he thought... That was all. In the house, he felt like he was... swallowed up by the screams of the past. (p.263). Proulx uses the destruction of the house as both a symbol of Quoyle's acceptance of the past and his victory over the personality he seeks to escape. The second major idea of ​​The Shipping News is belonging, which Quoyle finds in the Killick-Claw community in a unique way. The impact of different communities is illustrated by the contrast between Mockingburg and Killick-Claw. In Mockingburg, Quoyle has no friends except Partridge; in Killick-Claw he befriends the Buggits, Nutbeem and Billy Pretty to name a few. In Mockingburg, Quoyle is emotionally abused by Petal; at Killick-Caw, he.