Transcript Setting When and where a story takes place

Setting
When and where
a story takes place
• As the place of fiction, setting is generally
a physical locale that shapes a story's
mood, its emotional aura or quality.
• Real or imaginary, concrete or symbolic, a
moment or an eternity, setting is the
dramatic backdrop for a story.
Why is Setting Important?
Setting is important because...
Setting reveals prevailing
atmosphere or mood
If the time or place setting of the story changes,
consider how the changes alter the outcome of the story.
Setting is important because...
• setting shows internal and external
conflicts
• setting highlights potential contrasts
between characters or ideas
Setting is important because...
• setting can determine the fate of the protagonist
• setting reflects character and often embodies
theme.
If Victor Frankenstein
does all of his experiments
in "a solitary chamber, or
rather a cell, at the top of
the house, and separated
from all the other
apartments by a staircase"
we might conclude that
there is something antisocial, isolated, and stale,
maybe even unnatural,
about his project and his
way of learning.
Roles of Setting
How does Setting function in literature?
Roles of Setting:
• as a mirror to
reflect what is going
on inside the
characters
• as a mold to shape
the characters into
who they are
Setting may also act...
• as a challenge providing a test for the
character to reveal his or her true self
• as an alien setting that creates a sense of
exile and loss
Setting may also act...
as an escape which allows more
whimsical and fantastic parts of
the character to be expressed.
Another impact of setting:
• An external
force may enter
the setting and
change it, causing
conflict for the
characters.
Setting may also act...
As an antagonist,
causing conflict with the
main character
Two settings may also come into conflict with each
other, causing conflict in the characters who must live
in them and perhaps have to choose between them.
Types of Setting
• Physical Setting
• Geographical Setting
• Cultural Setting
• Historical Setting
Physical Setting
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Time of day
Season
Weather / Temperature
Indoors/Outdoors
Physical Setting:
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Type of room/building
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Objects
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Colors
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Imagery—5 senses
Geographical Setting
Location, including
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country (Japan, Mexico, Scotland)
region (north/south, upper/lower end)
state/ city
neighborhood
street
floor/level (basement, attic etc...)
urban / rural / suburban
Cultural Setting:
the values, ideals, and attitudes of a place
• Physical Cultural Setting
&
• Non-Physical Cultural Setting
Physical Cultural Setting:
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Dialogue
Clothing
Iconography
Routines
Decoration
All of these factors
establish the
physical cultural
setting
Non-physical cultural setting:
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Education
Social standing
Economic class
Religious belief
These factors
establish the nonphysical cultural
setting
Historical Setting
Time period/Year
Role of government
Reign of a leader or President
Major historical events
These historical factors can establish a
psychological or sociological understanding
of behaviors and attitudes.
Historical Setting
More Historical factors:
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Transportation
Crop yield
Epidemics
Wars
Economy
Natural disasters
A note about time:
Clock time: this can be used to
provide suspense or create certain
moods or feelings—time is also an
important literary symbol.
Seasonal time: the seasons or a
span of time associated with a
particular activity may be important
as a symbol.
"Every story would be
another story, and
unrecognizable if it
took up its characters
and plot and happened
somewhere else...
Fiction depends for its life
on place. Place is the
crossroads of circumstance,
the proving ground of,
What happened? Who's
here? Who's coming?..."
--Eudora Welty
How will your setting function?
End of presentation.