By Meghan Dunlap

While watching a show or movie, my roommate and I always chuckle when an allusion to Wisconsin is made, because usually it's related to the stereotypes everyone in Wisconsin is familiar with. It is especially interesting when writers and filmmakers attempt to set their stories in Wisconsin.

When you think about it, it is states like Wisconsin that are often misrepresented in film and television. They usually don't even take the time and/or money to film on site, so movies like "The Prince and Me" stick out like sore thumbs to anyone who has been to Wisconsin. I do not know if there is any Wisconsinite that hasn't laughed at the green-leafed trees or cringed over some of the horrible stereotypes used, like tractor racing.

Maybe it's the hard, cold winters, but I think people from Wisconsin have developed a thick enough skin to no longer feel offended by every jab made at Wisconsin and Midwestern culture in general. If we didn't, we would be missing out on a lot of quality comedy. As in "That 70's Show," which is set in Wisconsin, the meaning of the setting is often to establish some kind of context for the characters we are watching.

It has been by pure chance that I have come across a few books over the past few years that take place in the very state that is the source for so many jokes and puns. These books are refreshing because the authors do not feel it necessary to throw the old stereotypes into their work. Authors of this caliber tend to have a more important theme or message to get across.

However, at the same time, the setting of a story is an important enough component of literature that we take time to identify it when analyzing a book. Since the early years of our education, we have learned to identify the setting, characters, plot, rising action, falling action, climax, etc. as main parts of a story. In its most basic of definitions, the setting is the background, or context and environment in which a situation is set. More specifically, it can also be the time, place, and circumstances in which a narrative, drama, or film takes place.

In the past few years there have been quite a few novelists who have chosen to use Wisconsin as the setting for their books in a way that Wisconsin natives can be proud of. We can find redemption in the work of these highly acclaimed authors who have at one point or another lived in this state and chosen to incorporate it into their novels.

There are three more recent novels that I would like to discuss briefly and while the setting is not the main aspect of the story, the authors do excellent jobs of not over generalizing what it means to live in the Midwest. The setting of the stories is just a starting place of interest and only one of many connections readers will be able to make with the powerful stories these authors produce.

Ann Packer is a writer who has worked in journalism and moved on to writing novels. She spent two years here in Madison on a writing fellowship. In those two years the city must have had an impact on her because she set her first novel "The Dive from Clausen's Pier" in Madison. Readers will be surprised by how accurate Packer's depiction of the city is, from Picnic Point to State Street. It is a fun thing when you can recognize the different streets and landmarks of a place that holds significance for you.

"The Dive from Clausen's Pier" is well written and poignantly brings up questions of loyalty and self-knowledge. The novel is about a young woman who abandons her quadriplegic fiancé and moves to New York. Readers will find themselves experiencing many different motions throughout the book in accordance and discordance with the decisions Carrie makes.

Minus the abandonment, many readers may be able to relate to Carrie's desire to see bigger places. She has lived in Wisconsin her whole life, has had the same friends and boyfriend. Mike's accident ironically offers her an escape, but is her ability to leave during a situation like this a sign of strength or weakness on her part? What may seem to start out as a selfish act gradually becomes a path to self-discovery that takes some unexpected turns.

Author Jane Hamilton has been a Midwesterner all her life. Born in Illinois, she moved to Minnesota for school and then later found love and a home in Wisconsin. She has written many well-known novels, including "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World," which was a member of Oprah's Book Club and is set in a fictional suburban town in Wisconsin.

Although "A Map of the World" begins on a peaceful summer's day, the tranquility the main character Alice feels soon evaporates and is replaced by her daughter's hysterical temper tantrum. Brought on by the slightest thing, Emma's tantrums expose Alice's resignation toward being a parent at times and begin to build up the tension that this story is not going to be a cheerful one.

Considered hippies, Alice and her husband have never been fully accepted into their town despite having lived on their farm for six years. The one close friendship she does have is ruined when her friend's daughter drowns in her pond. The investigations lead to an incident from Alice's past that resurfaces a load of guilt that begins to tear this family apart. This is a heartbreaking, but masterfully written story that will have readers turning the pages with trembling fingers.

Kris Radish, the last of the authors featured today, was born and raised in a small town in Wisconsin, but has gone on to do great things in literature. She began her writing career as a journalist/columnist, but has since moved to writing novels. She has garnered both praise and criticism for her novels because of how she represents her point of view, as the only acceptable one. My one criticism is that she tries too hard to make a monumental point in her writing that the story does not come to full fruition.

A thoroughly feminist novel and her first, "The Elegant Gathering of White Snows," chronicles the actual journey that eight friends begin one winter night after an evening of wining, dining and sharing secrets. A friend's personal crisis ignites a need in all of the women to shed their responsibilities and take a walk down one of their rural Wisconsin roads, a walk that will continue for several days.

As the walk continues, each woman draws her own conclusion for why she is walking and what she hopes to accomplish. What they do not realize is they are not only inspiring change in themselves, but in the people who are following their story as it becomes more and more publicized.

Kris Radish provides such a wide array of characters and stories that reader will be able to relate with at least one and everyone will come away with the idea of how valuable friends are and how important they are to our lives.

I hope some of these novels or authors were of interest and that they will be sought out.

Their familiar settings offer a good base on top of which readers can learn and experience so much outside of film and television.

Setting composes merely the base on top of which complicated relationships and conflicts arise. While Ann Packer, Jane Hamilton and Kris Radish have provided excellent examples of this, it is also nice to see the state of Wisconsin in a form of entertainment that is enjoyed by many and still represented in the way many of us see it.

Meghan Dunlap is a junior majoring in Spanish and elementary education. If you agree that Wisconsin takes a beating in the public forum or just have an idea for a future column, please e-mail her at [email protected].