Chapter 3 & 4 Study Guide
SETTING: an important ELEMENT OF LITERATURE
 Setting is both time and place—it is where and when the story takes place.
 A realistic setting is believable—even if it is fantasy or science fiction. Sure, it helps
if the author is creative, or if the reader is familiar with the setting. But ultimately, the
reader has to be drawn in because the author makes the time and place seem real
and believable.
 Effective settings also include customs that fit the time and place. You wouldn’t
have a horse-drawn carriage in a futuristic science fiction novel! The customs of the
time help make the setting more believable.
 Settings are important—they are not just backdrops for the story. Sometimes the
setting can cause the story’s conflict—think of a story like Hatchet, where Brian
fights against the wilderness for his survival.
 Sometimes the author doesn’t tell you the setting outright--you have to guess the
setting from the author’s clues—you make an inference based on details in the
story.
 The setting can have many functions:
o It can be a character in the story—like in “Soft Rains Will Come”
o It can be a symbol—the setting in “Soft Rains” might be considered symbolic
of what the world will come to; a story that takes place in a prison cell might
symbolize loneliness or feeling trapped psychologically.
o It can create the main conflict in the story—recall the story Hatchet.
 A story’s setting can play a key role in creating the mood, tone or atmosphere of the
story.
o Tone usually refers to the way a writer feels about something. It is revealed
through word choice. A writer can use words that reveal his love for the “twisty
streets” of his neighborhood, or he might reveal his disgust of the “putrid odor”
of the pig pens on his farm. Words that describe the setting affect the tone
o Mood/ Atmosphere is also affected by the setting. You might feel cheerful if
the writer tells you it’s a sunny day, or depressed if the weather is cold and
gloomy. A writer chooses the setting—including the weather—to help create
feeling/mood/atmosphere. If the story takes place in an old, abandoned
house, the atmosphere/mood is creepy.
THEME: DIFFERENT MEANINGS FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE
 The theme of a story is the statement it makes about people and life. It is an
idea or insight—that is , a deeper meaning—about life and humanity that we can
find in literature.
o Theme is NOT the plot, subject or setting of a story.
o Theme is NOT a one-word statement (war, life, love, betrayal).
o Theme is NOT the subject, but rather the idea the writer wants to convey
about that subject: war hurts all parties; life is full of change; be careful who
you trust
o Some universal themes are: good will triumph over evil; innocent people
suffer; many lessons can be learned from death; persistence pays off; human
instinct for survival is strong…
 Themes are not stated directly. Usually a reader has to think about the situation in
the story and use them to make an inference about the story’s meaning.
 Theme is NOT the topic—it is the feeling about the topic.
 Theme is the meaning, significance, message of the story.
 Themes can be
o Stated outright by the author. For example, if an author reflects on a
learning experience, he could talk about the theme. In a story about the
holocaust, an author could comment on how innocent people suffered, or that
he learned strength through suffering.
o Implied by the character’s actions. If a character learns, grows and
changes because of what happens to him, we can guess at the theme of the
story.
o Suggested by details in the story. In “Soft Rains” the author makes us think
about the problems of nuclear weapons and the power of nature.
 You can try to infer the theme of a piece of literature by
o Deciding what the characters have learned or discovered
o Focusing on key passages and trying to figure out what the author is trying
to say
o Analyzing the setting to see if it adds meaning to the story
o Thinking about the title of the story/poem. This will often give clues to the
author’s meaning…especially in poetry.
 Themes do not necessarily change over the years. The same themes recur in
different works of literature by different authors throughout all cultures. Authors who
write young adult lit repeatedly focus on themes that relate to young adults. Themes
don’t get worn out—they can be restated in many different ways.
 A reader must understand the theme to grasp the author’s main idea or point.
o A story can be read for pure enjoyment, but oftentimes we miss a lot if we
don’t think about what the story really means. If we understand the theme, we
can understand the writer’s main idea.