Authors use different setting elements when portraying the general theme of

a particular work. The short stories “Cat in the rain”, “Lamb to the slaughter”,
“Lindo Jong” and “The danger tree”, all deal with emotional suffocation. Authors
often use figurative language to depict and highlight the emotions and inner state
of the characters.
In the story “Cat in the rain”, Hemingway set the scene in Italy, in one of
the hotels. This type of setting and the imagery he uses are crucial in understanding
the rest of the story. “War monument” or the fact that it rains throughout the whole
story foreshadows the fact that something unpleasant is about to happen. Setting
plays a huge part in the climax too. As we see the American wife going out to look
for the cat, she is met with heavy rain and in the need of help. The climax is then
met by a falling action when she acknowledges the need for a new life.
There is a different type of setting in “Lamb to the slaughter”. We see an
American family living their normal life until the disaster happens. The story is set
in a town in times when Americans viewed divorced women as something
disgraceful. In this particular case, the setting developed the climax of the story. It
is arguable what is the real climax of the story, Mary murdering her husband or the
detectives on the verge of discovering the murder weapon. Regardless, the used
imagery of a warm American household has turned into a brutal crime scene. The
author demonstrated excellent language skills by smoothly transforming a good,
warm, loving scene into something horrible.
The setting of “Lindo Jong” is quite different from those stories since it
takes part in the old eastern Asian era. The story itself portrays a great record of
Chinese history as it depicts the Japanese invasion in those times. The story is set
in one of the smaller towns where we see a young girl getting married to somebody
she does not love. “Lamb to the slaughter” and “Lindo Jong” are quite similar in
this case. Women had fewer rights than Men, they were seen to be maids and the
only purpose they had was to be a great housewife. Divorced families were not
common and therefore less acceptable. Compared to the other stories, families
were bigger here. The married couple lived with their parents, grandparents, and
great-grandparents. The houses were big and each contained its own element.
Using this type of setting, the author does not only express the idea of a failed
marriage but also Chinese families influenced by toxic cultural elements. The
climax of the story- the red candle was influenced by the setting as a failed
marriage is shown through cultural and spiritual elements. The setting is only
changed once Lindo moved to the west not when she fights for a divorce. This
story was an excellent way to differentiate between occidental and oriental cultural
approaches to one's life. And how such a toxic environment can influence a person
and a community.
As for “The danger tree”, the climax and the setting supporting it, is far
different from any other stories that we examined. The story of the two brothers
takes place in Egypt, in one of the military zones. The setting was highly
influenced by the author’s own life records. That is the reason why she portrays
those emotions, figurative language, story and climax perfectly. The climax of
exploring Hugo’s death was greatly supported by the used imagery. For instance:
“There was no light”, “he subsided into the blackness that was like nonexistence”
and so on.