What are contributing factors of some locations relevant to the plot of "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona"?Locations: the reservation,...

Let's start by narrowing in on plot a bit better. Plot is
the progress of events that develop conflict and lead to conflict climax and conflict
resolution. So what you are essentially asking is: How do the setting locations
contribute to the development of the plot conflict, conflict climax, and conflict
resolution? The first setting is fairly clear after a bit of
thought.

At the reservation, several conflict related
things happened. (1) Thomas told the story (i.e., prophesy) that Victor's father would
leave and never return. (2) Victor beat Thomas up and Thomas's stories stopped. (3)
Victor's father did indeed leave, never to return. The conflicts are self against self
and self against environment. These events at the reservation began the conflict as
Victor reacts to Thomas's story and to his father's
departure.

Another example of how the setting's locations
contribute to the development of the plot relates to Nevada. In an ironic twist, Thomas,
the teller of life changing (or not) stories is the one who hits and kills "the only
living thing in Nevada." When Victor sees no living thing all through Nevada, he
demonstrates the conflict of self against environment. Symbolically, in his experience,
the environment is devoid of life, empty, barren. Thomas connects with the environment
and brings forth life, the jackrabbit. Symbolically, Thomas crushes the rabbit
demonstrating that where life exists, the opportunity for a painful end also
exists.

This incident is the beginning of the resolution to
the conflicts: Victor accepts that pain and disappointment abide with life; he makes
peace with his own distress; he forgives his father and Thomas. Thomas tells a second,
redeeming story about Victor's father and gets his living stories
back:

Thomas
went into his house, closed the door behind him, and heard a new story come to him in
the silence afterwards.