These ideas are inspired by How To Read Literature Like A Professor.
Geography Matters
1. low areas refer to mental depression, confusion, despair, death or the underworld
2. high areas usually refer to clear headed, inspiration, understanding, “seeing clearly”or purity
3. high areas can refer to isolation, fears, loneliness, or impending death
4. overcrowded cities usually refer to death, stagnated life, can't breathe, unpleasantness, mindlessness, or drone like behavior
5. farms and ranches usually refer to free thinkers, rebels, toughness, independence, or ability to breathe
This is one of the easiest of the literary tools because it is such a part of our general vocabulary. For example we say, “We're down in the dumps” or “We've had a mountain top experience” and most people know exactly what we mean. Going back to the story of Heidi, we see the purity of being on the mountain and the corruption of being in the low city. In fairy tales innocent virgins are put in high towers, while evil queens have their lairs in the dungeon.
Utopias are almost always found “in the country.” Examples I can think of are The Village, Lost Horizon, Swiss Family Robinson and Peter Pan. Whereas “living hells” are very crowded, noisy and usually dirty. A few examples, Minority Report, Crash, The Good Earth (fits both categories), 1984 and Brave New World. Then you have the authors who flip our perceptions around like in Lord of the Flies, Logan's Run, and Wizard of Oz.
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