7.6.2

Symbolism of Settings in Crime Texts

Test yourself

Symbolism of Settings in Crime Texts

When thinking about the significance of the settings in Atonement and other set texts, you could reflect on how settings often work on a symbolic level in crime texts.

Illustrative background for Corruption and criminalityIllustrative background for Corruption and criminality ?? "content

Corruption and criminality

  • In Brighton Rock, the physical decay of the seedy backstreets of 1930s Brighton is symbolic of the moral decay which lies at the heart of the novel.
  • Likewise, the reference to Hamlet’s Denmark as being “rotten” symbolises the corruption at the heart of the Danish court and state.
  • In Oliver Twist, Dickens creates a gothic landscape of “black mist… slime and darkness” to represent the criminal underworld of London’s East End.
Illustrative background for Isolation and guiltIllustrative background for Isolation and guilt ?? "content

Isolation and guilt

  • The vast emptiness of the sea in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner emphasises the Mariner’s feelings of isolation and guilt.
Illustrative background for Façade for criminalityIllustrative background for Façade for criminality ?? "content

Façade for criminality

  • The upper-middle-class settings of Kings Abbott and Fernly Park depicted in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd symbolise the respectable façade which conceal the criminal impulses (greed, blackmail and betrayal) within.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction to Atonement

2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One

3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two

4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three

5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four

5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371

6Key Character Profiles

7Key Themes

8Writing Techniques

9Context

10Critical Debates

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