Indonesia as a Setting for Literature Indonesia is made up of over seventeen thousand islands that span the Pacific and Indian Ocean and bridge the continents of Asia and Australia. As such, it is the largest archipelago, or island chain, in the world. Sumatra, where ‘‘The Fence’’ is set, is one of the five main…
Tag: SETTING
End of the Game – Setting
When ‘‘End of the Game’’ was published, Cortazar lived in Paris, where he enjoyed a rich cultural life among other writers and artists. He had left his native Argentina in 1951, five years after Juan Domingo Peron became president of Argentina for the first time. In 1944, while Cortazar was teaching at the University of…
A Devoted Son – Setting
Population Trends After India was granted its independence from Great Britain in 1947, the country became a republic in 1948. While India became a democracy at that time, certain aspects of society remained relatively unchanged underwent limited changes by the late 1970s. For example, a majority of the population lived in rural communities. Most rural…
Daughter of Invention – Setting
Although ‘‘Daughter of Invention’’ is a fictional story, it involves real people and political events. It takes place in 1961, shortly after Rafael Trujillo, the Dominican dictator, was assassinated. The Garcia family has fled the dictator’s violent regime to settle in New York City, where they watched the violence in their country on television. In…
By the Waters of Babylon – Setting
The Spanish Civil War At the time Benet wrote ‘‘By the Waters of Babylon,’’ a civil war was raging in Spain. In the first decades of the twentieth century, Spain was a country in conflict with itself. Toward the end of the nineteenth century the country was governed as a republic, but this quickly gave…
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? – Setting
Vietnam War The United States’ combat involvement in Vietnam began in 1964 with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon. During the Cold War (the period of strained relations between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II), many in Washington were convinced that there…
Suzy and Leah – Setting
Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany Germany was defeated in World War I (1914– 1918), and in the ensuing years, the politics of this country swung widely between extreme right wing and extreme left wing philosophies. It was during this time that the German Workers’ Party was formed. In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined this party and…
A Problem by Anton Chekhov – Setting
Reform and Upheaval in Nineteenth-Century Russia Chekhov was writing during a period of great social, cultural, and political upheaval. The uncertainty of the times can be felt in much of his work, as his characters often struggle to find their place in a social order that they no longer understand. This period of flux began…
The Pit and the Pendulum – Setting – Historical Context
The Spanish Inquisition By the time Poe wrote ‘‘The Pit and the Pendulum,’’ the Spanish Inquisition was over. The Inquisition began in 1478 as a way to punish Jews and Muslims who had converted to Roman Catholicism rather than having been born into it. Thousands of people were put on trial, pronounced guilty, and sentenced…
Ha’penny – Short Story – Setting
Apartheid Apartheid officially began in South Africa in 1948, when the National Party gained office in an election that gave the right to vote only to white people. With the passing of the apartheid laws in the same year, racial segregation and discrimination became part of the institution of government. It was through these laws…