Literature Circle 2: Setting 


1.     “I came here to meet you and to warn you.” “To warn me?” “Yes, to warn you about the firm.” “I’m listening.” “Three things. Number one, don’t trust anyone. There’s not a single person in that firm you can confide in. Remember that. It will become important later on. Number two, every word you utter, whether at home, at the office or anywhere in the building, is likely to be recorded. They might even listen to you in your car” … Number three, money don’t grow on trees” … In the meantime, just remember those three things, and be careful.


Mitch and an FBI agent are talking in this quotation. The agent is trying to warn Mitch about the dangers of the firm. Two lawyers have already died suspiciously, and every word Mitch says is probably being recorded. This quote shows that Mitch lives in a dangerous setting, and his life is in danger. Mitch is impacted because he is being watched and recorded, and he has no privacy. Mitch is beginning to feel insecure and scared and fearing for his life.

 
2.     “How many hours are you working a week?” “Between eighty-five and ninety. I could bill seventy-five if I wanted to.” “I wouldn’t suggest it, at least not now. It could cause a little jealousy around here. The younger associates are watching you very closely."
 

Mitch works a job with high expectations. He works 85-90 hours a week, which is double the amount of hours a normal person would work. The firm expects him to work that hard, and Mitch is tired from working and worrying about being recorded and followed. The setting needs to be dangerous and unexpected in a suspense book, and the setting of "The Firm" is definitely exciting and tense. 


Physical Objects:

 

BMW (environment): The BMW symbolizes that the firm expects its employees to look rich and live in a rich environment. The firm buys Mitch a BMW, country club memberships and helps him get a house. They also use these things to control Mitch. They want him to stay with the firm, but they also use these things to watch him.


Suits (occupations): The lawyers have to wear their suits to their jobs. The suits represent the business and occupations in the setting. The lawyers work very long hours and very hard. The lawyers don’t have a lot of time for going out, and they work hard to make lots of money. The suits represent the social class that the lawyers are in. 
 

Bugs/Wires in Mitch’s house (time period): The bugs and wires in Mitch's house symbolizes that they are in the 90's because they dont have modern technology. If the story took place now-a-days, they would track us down with GPS's and people working for the NSA. 


Lear Jet (Geographical Location): The Lear Jet represents that Mitch always has to fly for work for his firm. They flew him in from New York to Memphis for the interview and he goes to Cayman Islands and Baltimore. The Geographical location of Memphis is sout-east of the United States, so he needs to fly to Memphis and around the United States when he travels. 

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