Ethan Frome Essay

1382 Words6 Pages
Outline Controlling Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader how the plot and setting are relevant in the novel “Ethan Frome” by Edith Whorton. A. An introduction and brief summary of the book 1. The type of atmosphere 2. The events that make the setting and plot relevant. B. How the farm isolated Ethan from society 1. Taking care of his mother 2. Taking care of the farm C. How the marriage and sickness of Ethan’s wife secluded them from the world 1. How he met his wife 2. Taking care of his wife D. How the setting ruined Ethan’s dreams and future career dreams 1. What he wanted out of life 2. What stopped him from achieving this E. How the setting shaped the town people and their minds 1. The harsh winter 2. The small town F. Why the author wrote the novel 1. To show the landscape of the area G. The themes of the story and how they relate 1. How isolation and loneliness relate to the setting H. The reason the author uses the characters she chose 1. To show bright and colorful in this dark town I. How the setting express isolation. 1. How the town is always cold and lifeless “Ethan Frome” Ethan Frome is a story that the setting takes place during the winter in a rural New England town of Starkfield. Ethan is a farmer that is marries to a sick woman that he has been taking care of for six years now. Ethan and his wife, Zenna, live on his isolated and failing farm. Ethan and his wife hired Zenna’s cousin, Mattie Silver, to help care for Zenna. Mattie is a young, youthful lady that brings brightness to not only the town but especially to the Frome farm. This causes Ethan to remember his lost opportunities as a young and become more unhappy with his life and his empty marriage. Ethan and Mattie continue to fall more in love every day. The town is a small town filled with a small town atmosphere. It
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