Elements of Fiction: Setting The Author’s Playground

What is Setting in fiction? Is it the time in which a story takes place? Is it the place where a story occurs? Is it a complete set of dishes and silverware? Is it a complete set of dishes and silverware? Take a few minutes either with a partner or on your own to come up with a defintion. Take a few minutes either with a partner or on your own to come up with a defintion.

Setting: a Workable Definition Setting is the time and place in which a story (fiction or non-fiction) takes place. The setting is not only the background for the story, but it can influence the type of characters that appear in a story as well as what events occur in the plot. Setting is the time and place in which a story (fiction or non-fiction) takes place. The setting is not only the background for the story, but it can influence the type of characters that appear in a story as well as what events occur in the plot.

Setting includes the following: Geographical location (for example: Wyoming, London, Cairo, Vancouver) Geographical location (for example: Wyoming, London, Cairo, Vancouver) Time period (for example: 1865, during WWII, today) Time period (for example: 1865, during WWII, today) Socio-economic Characteristics of the location (for example: wealthy suburbs, depression dustbowl) Socio-economic Characteristics of the location (for example: wealthy suburbs, depression dustbowl) Specific building, room, etc. (for example: prep school, log cabin, bus, military base) Specific building, room, etc. (for example: prep school, log cabin, bus, military base)

Uses For Setting: Setting can be used to tell readers about the characters: That evening T.J. smelled the air, his nostrils dilating with the odor of the earth under his feet. “It’s spring,” he said, and there was a gladness rising in his voice that filled us all with the same feeling. That evening T.J. smelled the air, his nostrils dilating with the odor of the earth under his feet. “It’s spring,” he said, and there was a gladness rising in his voice that filled us all with the same feeling. “It’s mighty late for it, but it’s spring” …We were all sniffing at the air, too, trying to smell it the way that T.J. did, and I can still remember the sweet odor of the earth under our feet. It was the first time in my life that spring and spring earth had meant anything to me. “It’s mighty late for it, but it’s spring” …We were all sniffing at the air, too, trying to smell it the way that T.J. did, and I can still remember the sweet odor of the earth under our feet. It was the first time in my life that spring and spring earth had meant anything to me. “Antaeus” by Borden Deal

Uses For Setting (cont.): Setting can be used to set the atmosphere for the story: “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country.” “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country.” “The Fall of the House of Usher” By Edgar Allan Poe

Consider this … On the next slide, you will see a picture of Vincent VanGogh’s painting, “Starry Night.” Examine the setting depicted in the painting and determine what kind of characters and stories might exist in the painting. On the next slide, you will see a picture of Vincent VanGogh’s painting, “Starry Night.” Examine the setting depicted in the painting and determine what kind of characters and stories might exist in the painting.