Setting
Setting is the time and place in a narrative. It can present obstacles that influence or determine the action. Setting is generally a physical location that shapes a story's mood. Depending on how it is used, setting might be integral to the theme of the story. It can also influence the outcome of a story.
Read the passage below from All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.
"That night he dreamt of horses in a field on a high plain where the spring rains had brought up the grass and the wildflowers out of the ground and the flowers ran all blue and yellow far as the eye could see and in the dream he was among the horses running..."
What images create the setting? Using your mouse, select the details in the passage above that create the setting. When you hover over a detail, its background color will change to green.
Some settings incorporate personal and detailed knowledge that an author has acquired firsthand; for instance, the author may write about his or her hometown. However, some settings require careful research, especially if an author can't or doesn't intend on experiencing the setting firsthand. Authors may rely on histories, artifacts, architecture, journals, and geographical resources. Setting isn't just time and place; it also can be weather, time of day, and season.
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Types of Setting
The setting may include a general background and time like spring, or the setting could be as specific as May 12, 2020. Often the author doesn't say the story takes place in a certain location at a specific time because he or she includes details to paint a picture for the readers. Setting is important because it shapes the story's mood or atmosphere. A certain time and place can affect the outcome of the story. There are four types of settings: physical, geographical, cultural, and historical.
1. Physical
- time of day
- season
- weather
This picture illustrates the weather. It is a cold winter's day.
2. Geographical
- location
- country
- region
- street
- neighborhood
This setting shows the house and street where the character lives. It also reveals the season is fall by the changing of the leaves and fallen leaves from the tree.
3. Cultural
- values
- ideals
- attitudes of place
- clothing
- dialogue
- education
- religion
- economic class
- social standing
This setting shows the costumes worn during a traditional ceremony by four Indigenous men in Xcaret Park, Cancun, Mexico.
4. Historical
- time period
- government
- events
- leaders
- transportation
- natural disasters
This setting demonstrates a certain time period through the battle scene.
There is also a setting known as the archetypal setting. This setting has a time, place, or landscape feature that has similar significance for people. These settings are usually symbolic, for example, a paradise like the Garden of Eden or a great flood that tests mankind.
Setting can add layers of meaning to the story. Writers use imagery along with setting to paint a vivid picture for their readers.
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