Setting

Which questions about the story will the setting answer?

• What is the author's attitude toward the characters?
• Where and when does the story take place?
• Who are the people the story is about?
  Why and why did the author write the story?

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Which of the following might describe the setting of a story?

• a frog and a witch
• happy and loving 
• a high school in 1956
• love is stronger than fear

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What is the setting of the passage below?
One summer day, Randolph the Bright slept alone in his room in the castle at Reddington. The light of the morning seeped slowly through his curtains. Randolph blinked against the day, smiling as his dream came to a peaceful conclusion. 

• winter in a train station of a busy city
• a hospital in the future
• a summer morning in a castle
• a grocery store in the 1980's

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In the passage below, what can you infer about Randolph using clues from the setting?
One summer day, Randolph the Bright slept alone in his room in the castle at Reddington. The light of the morning seeped slowly through his curtains. Randolph blinked against the day, smiling as his dream came to a peaceful conclusion.

• Randolph is a mean person.
• Randolph is a prince or king. 
• Randolph has an older sister. 
• The setting doesn't give me any clues about Randolph. 

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Which description of a setting would best create a mood of loneliness for a story?

• "The sun was bright, and the breeze was warm in the park. In the distance, there was the pleasant noise of children laughing."
• "The restaurant was packed. The waitress balanced three dishes on her arm and moved carefully around the large, round tables. Everyone's plates were full."
• "At the amusement park, the ticket counter hadn't opened yet. It was still too early. But the warm smell of hot dogs and pretzels was already filling the air with the promise of fun."
• "The sky was gray that cool November afternoon in the empty playground. The swings were rusted. The wood was rotted. There was silence except for the wind blowing through the dead leaves."

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In the passage below, what  can you infer about the setting of the story?
When the men reached Oregon, they stepped out of their wagons and embraced. The journey was long and dangerous, but they made it. Soon, their families would follow their trail in their own wagons, leaving their homes in the East to meet them in this brand new land: the West. 

• The story might take place on a different planet. 
• The story might take place in the past. 
• The story might take place in a desert. 
• We can't make any inferences about the setting from this passage. 

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Setting can also affect the plot, or the events that make up the story or novel. Some plots can take place only in certain times and places.

Which option describes a plot that can only take place in a specific setting?

• A selfish child tries to be a better person.
• A young woman falls in love with her family’s enemy.
• A ship’s captain chases a whale across the sea.
  
• A poor, hardworking woman becomes a successful chef.
  

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Setting can often be connected to theme. A theme is a universal message of a story or novel. Themes are about big topics, like exploration, freedom, love and loss. Themes can include morals or lessons. So how is setting connected to theme? Certain times and places lead to explorations of certain big topics. If a novel is set during a war, for example, it might have themes about freedom and loyalty.

Which option is the most likely setting for a story with the theme "humans often have divisions between them."

• a nice library on a college campus

• A middle school with a football field

• A railroad track separating two parts of town

• a home with several similar houses close to it

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TRUE OR FALSE:

Setting includes sounds.

• True

• False

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TRUE OR FALSE:

Setting includes smells.

• True

• False

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