Travel and Place in Toni Morrison's 'Jazz' and Walter Mosley's 'Devil in a Blue Dress'

Essay from the year 2020 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, Swansea University, language: English, abstract: This essay examines Toni Morrison's 'Jazz' and Walter Mosley's novel 'Devil in a Blue Dress' with regard to the significance of place and travel. Many people nowadays deliberately choose their place of residence according to their personal priorities and, as more opportunities and different preferences evolve, may move several times. According to statistics by the UN, more and more people are migrating into urban areas. A city beckons with a broad range of possibilities, anonymity and jobs. On the other hand, ever since bigger cities developed, people have also been idealising the countryside and its picturesque and peaceful quality. This indicates that both cities and rural areas have different effects on people and trigger certain emotions, depending on previous experiences and personal relations. However, not only the choice between towns and countryside, but also the setting on the meso- and micro-level affects people just as much. This includes their actual houses and homes as well as institutions and social structures. Some fiction authors purposely let a certain setting and place shape their characters.