Atticus by Ron Hansen
One of the main settings of Ron Hansen's novel "Atticus" , is a town called Resurrection, Mexico. The word "Resurrection" is defined as "the act of rising up after death". Forgiveness, and the love between the father and son, live again, after this time spent in the town of Resurrection. Ron Hansen ascribes many insightful and detailed attributes to the setting in the novel. He also allows the characters to see Mexico in their own ways; as a haven of irresponsibility, a place to live and be happy, a place to bring out their true self. The Native setting of this novel contributes to the main theme of the story. Mexico and its' people serve greatly as a portrait of forgiveness. Hansen speaks of many of Mexico's qualities throughout the novel. His extreme detail in describing the setting of the story evokes vivid attainable pictures in the minds of even the most un-travelled readers. He often relates Mexico's attributes to those of the main character's home place. This contrast serves to deeply depict a clear view of the setting and all of its even minor details. Through Atticus' eyes as he travels to Mexico, Hansen describes the setting and look of the surroundings and its people. Having just entered Mexico, Atticus l
The setting of the novel also aids in adding to the theme of forgiveness. Mostly, Mexico in itself is a tremendously forgiving place. The idea of no rules, and living on the edge leads this setting to be nothing but a place of forgiveness. Mexico is very quickly and easily explained as forgiving when Scott tells his father of an incident he had while driving in the native state. After splashing some kids with mud, he became stuck. While thinking he was then helpless, the people came over and pushed him out. "I got out of the car to thank them, but the kids walked ahead without saying a word. You have no idea how Indian that is" (p. 13). In that, Scott reveals to the reader, how it is that Mexico is forgiveness. Another issue pertaining to the symbolism of Mexico, is the language spoken there. "A great thing about Spanish is that there is so little responsibility in it. You don't have to take the blame. You don't say 'I cracked the plate.' You say 'The plate cracked'."(p.20). By not using blame, it isn't even necessary to have forgiveness. Bad things are not by fault. Leaving forgiveness to be apart from language. Also, the strictly physical setting of the environment depicts forgiveness. The geography quickly changes in Mexico; from desert, to swamp, to jungle, to ocean. These extreme differences let the characters essentially be in what ever type of physical nature they like. This adds subtly to the theme because with such vast areas to roam through, their surroundings are "
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Approximate Word count = 1013
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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