3RD MEETING

SETTING
 Introduction
Everything that happens somewhere
at some time that element of fiction
which reveals to us the where and
when of the events we call setting. In
other word, the term “setting” refers to
the point in time and space at which
the events of the plot occur
Type Of Setting :
1. Neutral Setting
2. The Spiritual Setting
3. Setting as Dynamic
4. The Element of Setting
1. Neutral Setting
Often the setting a work of fiction is little more than a
reflection of the truth that things have to happen somewhere.
When this is true, we may speak of the setting of the story as
“neutral”. There is no reason to single out whatever qualities
may make the inns and barnyards in one part of England
different from their counterparts in other parts of the country.
Limit of Neutrality : even in the work of writer like Fielding,
however the neutrality of the setting is not absolute. If a story
in one of the monthly women’s magazines has a rural setting,
this sets up in the reader certain expectations regarding
character and plot.
2. The Spiritual Setting
The setting is only vaguely and conventionally rural, the
values suggested are likely to be vague and conventionally
rural as well. But as the physical setting becomes more
specific and more vividly rendered, so does the spiritual
setting.
Refining the spiritual setting : by precise observation and
careful rendering, refine the setting until we aware of the
complex of conflicting values that may in here in a
particular place and time.
3. Setting as Dynamic
Setting may thrust itself
dynamically into the action,
affecting events and being in turn
affected by them, until setting
seems to assume the role of a major
character.
4. The Elements Of Setting
What are the elements of which setting is composed ?
1)The actual geographical location, including
topography, scenery, even the details or a room’s
interior.
2)The occupations and modes of day-to-day existence
of the characters.
3)The time in which the action takes place, historical
period, and season of the year.
4)The religious, moral, intellectual, social, and
emotional environment of the character.
Functions Of Setting :
1. Setting as Metaphor
2. Setting as Atmosphere
3. Setting as Dominant Element
4. Time as Dominant Element
5. Place as Dominant Element
6. Setting in Nonrealistic Fiction
7. Setting and The Whole Story
1. Setting as Metaphor
We have seen that the fog serves as a metaphor for the spiritual and
emotional state of principal character.
For instance, the fog that lingers so oppressively in Charles Dicken’s
Bleak House serves as a kind of metaphor for the spiritual malaise and
confusion of the characters, since it extends only to the observable if
intangible, effects that time and place may have on character and event.

2. Setting as Atmosphere
Atmosphere has been more talked about than defined because it refers
to the suggested rather than the stated. Atmosphere as the air breathed by
the reader as he/she enters the world of the literary work.
A cheerful atmosphere created by a bright, sunlit setting may contrast
with the inner disturbance of the character. Hawthorne’s “Young
Goodman Brown” is an example of a gradual and subtle shift in
atmosphere.
3. Setting as Dominant Element
Like character, setting may be the element of primary
importance in a particular story or even in the work of a particular
author.
4. Time as Dominant Element
Time may be of great importance even in works of fiction that
are not intentionally historical.
5. Place as Dominant Element
Spatial setting, or place, dominates are generally classified
as examples of local color or regionalism. The regionalist seeks
to investigate the effects on character of a particular
geographical setting.
6. Setting in Nonrealistic Fiction
Setting applies to fiction in a more or less
realistic mode.

7. Setting and The Whole Story

Setting may be an artistic flaw if it
destroys the overall design of the work. It
can tell them of other times and other places.
It is always part of an artistic whole and
must be understood as such.
 Setting by Robert Louis Stevenson

Setting of Place and Time :

includes all the circumstance material
and immaterial, which surround the action
and determine the condition under which it
takes place.
Setting of Atmosphere/Environment
Setting by Kelly Griffith
Definition:
Setting include several closely related aspect of a work of
fiction. First setting is the physical, sensuous world of
the work. Second it is the time in which the action of the
work takes place. Third it is the social environment of
the character: the manners, customs, and moral values
that govern the characters society. The fourth aspect
“atmosphere” is largely, but not entirely, an effect of
setting.