Analysing settings in fiction

In a nutshell

A text will nearly always include the time and place in which the story is happening. This is called the setting. Settings are important because they can create mood, reflect themes and reveal characters.

Recognising and understanding settings

The time and the place where a story is set can reveal a lot in a narrative. Settings are usually very descriptive and can alter the mood and atmosphere of a story very quickly. A character getting on an empty train with flickering lights might create a sinister effect, as opposed to getting on a train that is brightly lit with people laughing and talking with each other.

Context

The time of day or year that the event is taking place also adds to the effect of the narrative. It can give us extra context. Context refers to the setting in which the narrative was written and takes place. Context can give the narrative clarity and add meaning to its intended message.

Example

'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens is set in 1840's England. This was a time of poverty, and this is a key theme that Dickens portrays in his novel. This historical context is important when understanding the setting of a piece of fiction.

Pathetic fallacy

Another important aspect of the setting of a story not to be overlooked is the weather. Writers often use setting to reflect or emphasise the emotions of characters. When an inanimate object or animal is ascribed human emotions, this is called pathetic fallacy. Pathetic fallacy often describes the weather in this way to reflect the mood of the characters.

Example

The moody clouds eclipsed all sunlight as the rain continued to beat down gloomily on roof.

Tip: Personification is the attribution of any human quality to an inanimate object. Pathetic fallacy is just about giving human emotions to an inanimate object.

How setting is used

Settings can create mood, reveal information about characters and they can also play an important part in revealing key themes of a story.

Example

'The dining room of a fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer. It has good solid furniture of the period. The general effect is substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike.'

(From 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B. Priestley)

This setting reveals that the Birlings are middle-class and that they live comfortably. The theme of social class is reflected in this setting. It is also stated that the house is 'not cosy and homelike', suggesting that everything is done for show rather than for comfort. These are some of the subtle clues that the Birlings are in fact not a happy family.

Analysing setting

Here is an example of an extract from Khaled Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner'. The narrator's description of his house portrays a wealthy and luxurious atmosphere.

"Everyone agreed that my father, my Baba, had built the most beautiful house in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, a new and affluent neighborhood in the northern part of Kabul. Some thought it was the prettiest house in all of Kabul. A broad entryway flanked by rosebushes led to the sprawling house of marble floors and wide windows. Intricate mosaic titles, handpicked by Baba in Isfahan, covered the floors of the four bathrooms. Gold-stitched tapestries, which Baba had bought in Calcutta, line the walls; a crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling."

(From 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini)

Analysis

Amir's description of his house reveals his father's wealth and implies how much status the size and location of his house give him in the community.
His father uses expensive material such as 'marble' and 'crystal', and the house has four bathrooms, which is luxurious!
The presence of rosebushes, which need a lot of care, indicates that Baba has servants and gardeners to look after and maintain them.
Baba is wealthy enough to travel to all of these different places, such as Isfahan and Calcutta, to buy all the materials for his home.