The North Devon Crematorium

Matthew's father's funeral takes place at the North Devon Crematorium. The setting is significant because it helps characterize Matthew and Dennis. It also supports the meaning of the title and the narrative's genre.

As Matthew is a police detective, his job involves death. However, this time the death is personal because the deceased is his father. The setting characterizes Matthew as a person who feels pain because his father has died. Moreover, he learned about his death by chance, and he cannot openly attend his funeral. The title symbolizes the pain he feels because he thought that the long call of the herring gull sounded like a "howl of pain" (6).

The setting also shows that Dennis has a position of power within the Brethren. During the funeral service Matthew hears him "rousing his troops" (1). This piece of information adheres to the genre as it provides...