Both of these readings use place to enhance the stories plot. For instance in Joyce's, "An Encounter", the setting is Dublin and by describing the place Joyce makes the story more realistic. Place is important to the plot becasue they skip school to go to a place called Pigeon House and in order to get there they must take a boat and travel through somethign like a countryside. This is where they encounter the "queer' old man. I think it is important that they are outside, far from their school in a rural setting because it give the story a good tone and direction. It also makes it beleiveable. As for Gopnik's story, "Winter Circus", the place is equally important but more for setting a tone or feeling than directing the plot. Circus's tend to have certain connotations attacked to them such as; weird people or carnies, animals, odd smells, and even scary things. This is important to the tone of the story. It makes the reader feel a certain way while Gopnik describes what each charater is doing. For instance when the narrator describes taking Luke to the circus in the winter at the Winter Circus. Also the fact that this takes place in Paris holds a certain connotation. Paris is the city of love and it is associated with sex, or at least it was. The narrator goes into an explanation of this reputation and the fact that the place defines so many things about this city is important. Place is a large part of stories and in life. The story wouldnt hae been as effective if it took place in Kansas City. That is why place is important to people. It makes things realistic and believeable.

After reading this piece I decided to focus on the section labeled "Finding your way". This section is focused on why, as writers or even not writers, should write down a narrative of their lives and memories. The opening paragraph really spoke to me because I can relate. One moment I will be focused on the terrible stress of my minimal pay and high cell phone bill, or the fact that my fridge had been bare for weeks and all I have eaten is a Quaker Chewy Bar my best friend gave to me. T Then the next I am all smiles because the sun is setting and the sky is orange and purple. "The world is a hard place." ( Pagnucci).
I completely agree, this is why people tend to enjoy the smaller things like watching a baby laugh. However, the bad things are memories that are important to our character and recording them can do many things. For instance Pagnucci refrences Tim O'Brien, who happens to be one of my favorite authors. The Things They Carried is an amazing novel and its powerful. This is why it is a good example of narrative writing and the good that can come out of it. It can be thereapudic or simply there to record the goings on of your life.
"To live the narrative life, then, is to open yourself up to the possibilities of stories, to give yourself over to them, to trust them. Stories are a kind of magic. Simple magic, really, but magic all the same. If we tell our own stories, preserve them, study them, we can find in our stories some of the answers for which we're looking." (Pagnucci). This last paragraph made me decide that I want to record my life in a narritve and see what kinds of stories can surface. It is interesting that most people do not realize that as humans we are born storytellers, it is just a matter of documenting and writing down these stories/ memories that posses a problem.
I want to begin leading a narrative life.

While reading this piece I was drawn to the affection for “place” that Berry had. It is apparent that place is significant in our formation into adulthood and our decisions. 
 In the beginning when Kentucky is being described as where all of his memories are from and that they are seemingly interconnected in such a way that one cannot exist without the other, I immediatly felt like it made perfect sense.  "Since I did most of my growing up here, and have had most of my most meaningful experiences here, the place and the history, for me, have been inseprable, and there is a sense in which my own life is inseprable from the history and the place." (Berry)
This made me think of my own memories and my own fondness for a place similar to Kentucky and I decided on Florida. It is where I grew up, where I spent most of my childhood and teen years. I tell myself I am going to move back because all of my memories there seem bright and happy. I feel like the city I grew up in is very much a part of my character and history. The fact that it was always warm in my city and the beach was 10 minutes away have made the ocean a significant part of my life. I enjoy the salt water and sand. Similar to the way Berry describes the sceenery in Port Royal. 
My adoration for Florida is similar to Berry deciding to take a job at a college in Kentucky, giving up his place at NYU. He felt the need to be there becasue it was connected to him and he called it his "fate", whether pleased with it or not, it was fate. It makes me wonder why people like certain places more than others. Is it simply becasue of a connection to memory and the interconnectedness one feels with the place?
I like to think that this is mostly true. I enjoy the beach becasue I grew up playing in the sand and watching seagulls steal food from peoples hands in Florida. I enjoy the library becasue my Mom would always take me to the library to check out a romance novel for her to read to me before bed. I love going to New York becasue my grandparents live there and i can remember passing over the GW bridge and seeing the New York skyline. Each of theses fond memories I have from my childhood relate directly to the places in which the took place. It's all interconnected.