How setting(s) can affect a narrative and how we can make sense of it

Setting In its simplest form, we may think of this as where the story takes place.

Setting There are plenty of contexts within which the narrative takes place. They aren’t just locations that we might find on a map.

Kinds of Settings Geographic location: something we might locate on a map Whether a story is set in the mountains or New York City or rural Virginia or the slums of Bombay or the fantasy world of Narnia is very important

Kinds of Settings Natural settings: the particular blend of landscape and climate Is the setting harsh and hostile? comfortable and nurturing? obliterated by buildings and roads?

Kinds of Settings Cultural context: what values, opportunities, expectations, conventions, and the like are available in this setting? Is it a setting where religious fundamentalism dominates? where sexism is rampant? where people are free to shape their lives? where the past is very important?

Kinds of Settings Social context: how do the people here tend to think and behave? What pressures do they put on people (or not)? Suspicion of strangers or education or new ideas; great importance placed on being conventionally respectable; casual disregard for common morality.

Kinds of Settings Familial setting: what do the values, expectations, traditions, pressures, and natural tendencies of the people in this family tend to be? Can be much the same as social. What baggage does one carry as a result of coming from a certain family?

Kinds of Settings Architectural setting: what sorts of buildings (if any) do events take place in? A vast mansion, a small shed, an office building, an opera house, a barn, a subway station—any construction brings certain meanings and expectations to the story—and others can be added by characters and events.

Why setting matters usually contributes to atmosphere usually helps us make sense of what is going on (Robinson Crusoe makes no sense without setting) often helps us understand characters and their choices contributes to our understanding of the themes of the narrative

More abstract notions of setting a narrative is set in a world in which God (or the gods) behave in certain ways or in which nature or fate or economic forces behave in certain ways or in which time’s passage is fundamentally important

More or less important Physical setting can be absolutely central to what happens (Robinson Crusoe, The Wizard of Oz) or much less so (High Fidelity—moved to Chicago) But the other settings are usually very important and worth our attention

More or less important Integral Setting: action, character, or theme are influenced by the time and place in important ways Backdrop Setting: time and place are not essential to our understanding of plot and character (but may still contribute in significant ways to the work)

To recap: geographical natural cultural social familial architectural

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