#SETTING ELEMENTS OF FICTION MOVIE#

Example 1Įlie Wiesel wrote “Night” in the 1950s, but his biography has been read by millions through the decades and is still a popular book in schools. No story can exist without an element of time or place. Without a setting, readers and viewers cannot follow a story plot.Īll good literature uses setting.

The time of day, time of year, and ages of the characters will also affect how they act and what they say.Īll forms of literature will have some form of setting even backdrop settings have an age range of the characters, which is part of time, and a location, either indoors or out, for example. It’s easier to understand why the characters in the story are doing what they’re doing when we know where the they are. It can also create the mood (how the reader or viewer feels). Setting gives context to the characters’ actions in a story line. This will have a direct impact on the events of the story, especially if there is distance involved. A story that happens in the 1800s will not have technology, so the characters will have to write a letter, ride a horse or take a carriage to visit each other they cannot travel long distances in one day as we do now with cars, buses, and planes. For example, a story dealing with a historical setting will have a direct impact on the plot. With an integral setting (integral means to be a part of or important to), the time and place are important to the story. It could also be any town or country, which means children anywhere can relate to it. Since the lessons that the characters learn is the point rather than the time period, it’s hard to tack a “past, present, or future” on the time aspect of the setting. Many fairy tales and children’s stories have backdrop settings. The focus is on the lesson or message being delivered. The story is timeless and can happen at any point in history or anywhere. Have you ever read a story, but found it difficult to figure out what time period in which the story was written or where it is? The story probably had a backdrop setting. There are two types of setting, each having its own purpose. Place: Malcolm’s home, and possibly the suburbs or country (his brother has gone to the city for school). Time: evening, senior year of high school, and modern times (they have a TV) It was lonely at times, but Malcolm felt it was rather nice to not be in James’ shadow during his senior year of high school.

James was home from his first year of college in the city. Through the window, he could see his older brother James watching a football game on the TV. Read this example below to see how setting is written into a story.Īs the sun set in the evening sky, Malcolm slowly turned and walked toward his home. Place: Cinderella’s home in a kingdom, in her bedroom and in the kitchen Example 2 Time: Cinderella as a young woman, long ago in the past Understanding this change in time helps in keeping up with the story. Place: Cinderella’s home in a kingdom far awayĪfter her father dies, the time aspect of setting changes, skipping roughly ten years into the future. Time: Cinderella as a young girl, long ago in the past

#SETTING ELEMENTS OF FICTION MOVIE#

The environment includes geographical location such as beach or mountains, the climate and weather, and the social or cultural aspects such as a school, theatre, meeting, club, etc.Ī simple example to understand setting is the Disney movie “Cinderella.” The setting starts out as The setting of a story can change throughout the plot. Place also covers a lot of areas, such as a certain building, room in a building, country, city, beach, in a mode of transport such as a car, bus, boat, indoors or out, etc. Time can cover many areas, such as the character’s time of life, the time of day, time of year, time period such as the past, present, or future, etc. There are various ways that time and place indicate setting. The setting may also include the environment of the story, which can be made up of the physical location, climate, weather, or social and cultural surroundings. It’s a literary element of literature used in novels, short stories, plays, films, etc., and usually introduced during the exposition (beginning) of the story, along with the characters. Setting is the time and place (or when and where) of the story.

Setting elements of fiction