Graphic. Punctuation
Phonetic Stylistic Devices
English Vocabulary
Lexical Stylistic Devices
Syntactical Stylistic Devices
Decoding Stylistics
Biographies
Guidelines
Analysis
Texts
Guidelines
Setting
Where does the story take place? What kind of world do the characters live in? The term we use to refer to the general locale and the historical time in which a story occurs is the setting. The term is also used to refer to the particular physical location in which an episode or scene within the story takes place. The general setting of a novel may be, for example, a large city like London, while the setting of the opening scene may be the kitchen of the main character. Some settings are relatively unimportant. They serve simply as a decorative backdrop helping the reader to visualise the action and adding authenticity to the story. Other settings are closely linked to the meaning of the work: the author focuses on elements of setting to create atmosphere or mood, or the setting plays a major role in shaping the characters' identity and destiny.
Broadly speaking, there is a direct ratio between the attention given to the setting and its importance in the total work. If the setting is sketched briefly, we can assume that it is of little importance, or that the writer wishes us to think that the action could take place anywhere and at any time. If, on the other hand, the passages describing the setting are extensive and highly developed, or are written in connotative or poetic language, we can assume that the setting is being used for more profound or symbolic purposes.
Some of the main functions of setting are:
Setting as a mirror
The setting may reflect a prevailing mood or reinforce the emotions felt by a character; barren landscapes may mirror despair and desperation; stormy weather may provide a suitable backdrop for emotional turmoil. However, the setting may also be ironic or comment on the characters' state of mind or behaviour in an indirect way.
Setting as an antagonist
The setting of the story often shapes the characters' identities and destinies -making people what they are. Someone growing up in an inner city slum is likely to have a different outlook on and approach to life than someone who has grown up in wide open rural spaces, in close contact with nature. Stories sometimes show us characters that are direct products of their environment, reflecting its moods and values. Often, however, stories depict characters who rebel against their restrictive settings and fight to break free of their stifling environment.
Setting as a way of revealing character
The manner in which a character perceives the setting may tell the reader more about the character and his or her state of mind than about the setting itself. When, for example, an urban landscape is described by a character as 'desolate' and 'ominous', the writer may be telling us more about how the character is feeling rather than accurately describing the setting. The writer is using the outer world setting to give us an insight into the character's inner world.
Setting as a means of reinforcing theme
The setting may also reinforce and clarify the theme of a novel or short story. The physical setting in which the action takes place may symbolically represent the central ideas of the work. A solitary house in bleak, hostile surroundings may reinforce the theme of man's struggle against nature. Many modern novels take place in what are termed 'alien settings', where even the familiar seems unfamiliar. The characters are often exiles, tourists or expatriates, and the inhospitable setting reinforces the theme of loss of roots and loss of home which is common to much modern fiction.
Setting in time
The historical period, time of year and time of day are all important features of the setting. The fact, for example, that most of a story's action takes place at night may create an atmosphere of mystery, violence or conspiracy. Authors often use the traditional associations with the seasons and the cycle of the day to create appropriate time settings for their work, for example spring-morning-youth.
Social setting
While the setting refers to the time and place in which the action occurs, the term social setting is used to indicate the social environment in which a story takes place. The social setting of a novel or story may be explicitly indicated by the author or it may be conveyed through the use of social or class markers, i.e. the way the characters talk, where and how they live, the clothes they wear, how they eat, and so on. Like the physical and temporal setting, the social setting may be relatively unimportant or it may play a determining role in a novel or story. In many novels characters are presented as products of their social class, and many authors have explored the themes of conformity to or rebellion against the values and mores of specific social settings.
