EWC4U – Mr. Campbell
Unit 1 – Activity 17: Setting
Setting
There are as many settings for fiction as there are places a writer can imagine. For some
authors, setting plays a major role in the story. Gatsby's mansion, the vastness of the
ocean in Yann Martel's Life of Pi, the magical world created by Tolkien in The Lord of
the Rings -- all these settings influence the behaviours of the characters who people them.
Others use setting as a backdrop so that they are able to focus on the development of
characters, theme or other fictional elements. Shakespeare's use of the Scottish heath in
Macbeth is hardly central to the play: the real story revolves around the consequences of
naked ambition. Whatever its importance, it's safe to say that no story is entirely
complete without a setting.
The setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and
social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of an episode or scene within
a work is the particular location in which it takes place.
When applied to a theatrical production, "setting" can also be referred to as "mise en
scene," a French term meaning the scenery and the properties, or movable pieces of
furniture, on the stage. The term "mise en scene" sometimes also includes the positioning
of actors in a particular scene.
How to Distinguish the Setting
The setting can be revealed through the author's use of details about one or more of the
following:
1.
Geographic location: topography (landscape), scenery, room layout (type
and position of furniture), buildings, stage set or design; the physical
dimensions of a place.
2. Cultural backdrop/social context/time period: occupations/working
conditions, way of life, way of talking and behaving, clothing, gender roles,
traditions, habits, attitudes, customs, beliefs, values, speech patterns, laws,
past, present, future.
3. Artificial environment: rooms, buildings, cities, towns, villages, futuristic
settings, and other artificially created settings.
4. Props: tools, implements, gadgets, clothing/costumes, furniture.
The Use of Setting in a Story
When you are considering the setting of your own stories, please keep the following in
mind:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How many locations are described?
How effective are the visual descriptions?
Are there connections between the locations and the characters?
What is the state of the objects, furniture, or dwellings?
What impression, mood, or atmosphere is the setting expected to convey
to the reader?
Setting As it Creates Mood or Atmosphere
Most often, people associate setting with the emotional content of a story, that is, with the
mood or atmosphere. Through details about the environment, the emotional charge of a
literary piece is created and that charge prepares the reader for what is to come.
When the writers describe light, shadow, colors, shapes, smells, and sounds, they are
using setting to create distinctive moods. The moods created can be described using
emotion-based adjectives such as "sad," "gloomy," "foreboding," "suspenseful,"
"ominous," "dreary," "brooding," "tragic," "hopeless," "happy," "romantic," or
"mysterious."
Setting the Mood – Assignment Part 1
Read the description of Simon's bower from William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies
and write a 3 paragraph (5-7 sentences each) explanation of how the author creates a
natural, serene, and peaceful mood.
Simon dropped the screen of leaves back into place. The slope of the bars of honeycoloured sunlight decreased; they slid up the bushes, passed over the green candle-like
buds, moved up toward the canopy, and darkness thickened under the trees. With the
fading of the light the riotous colours died and the heat and urgency cooled away. The
candle-buds stirred. Their green sepals drew back a little and the white tips of the flowers
rose delicately to meet the open air.
Now the sunlight had lifted clear of the open space and withdrawn from the sky.
Darkness poured out, submerging the ways between the trees till they were dim and
strange as the bottom of the sea. The candle-buds opened their wide white flowers
glimmering under the light that pricked down the first stars. Their scent spilled out into
the air and took possession of the island.'
Creating the Setting – Assignment Part 2
Select ONE of the settings below. Write a short 150-200 word description of it, using
descriptive language to create a particular mood or atmosphere. Share your completed
assignment, and respond to at least ONE other person's in your class.