Guide on How to Write an Essay on Setting
The setting is the most important point to consider when creating a good story. The setting of a story helps readers connect better with the story’s characters; it helps readers visualize the story. This article provides helpful insight on how to write the setting of a story that’ll effectively capture your audience’s attention.
What is a Setting Analysis Essay?
A setting analysis essay is a type of writing that focuses on the location of a story with reference to time and place. A setting analysis essay is focused on exploring the role played by location in a story. An effective way to write a setting essay is using clear textual examples to illustrate specific ways the location influences the story.
How Do You Write an Essay on Setting?
To write an essay on setting, there are certain important details to consider. That includes the mood of the story, characters in the story, and the setting of the story. Below is a guide on how to write an essay on setting:
- The Mood and Symbolism
This is where you determine the role setting plays in the story, which is to create the atmosphere most of the time. It can also be a symbol of a certain idea within a story.
- Setting and Character
Asides from the mood, you can write about how settings affect a character in the story. The setting of a story can also double as the story’s antagonist.
- Thesis
This is where you state clearly the role setting plays in your story and how that was determined. Your thesis should be formulated using three important details: the character, symbolism, and mood.
- Body
This refers to the essay’s body paragraphs, including topic sentences and then an explanation with textual evidence.
- Conclusion
The conclusion of a literary setting essay includes reviews of the elements of setting and how they relate to the thesis. It shouldn’t just be a summary of the essay but should tie the whole essay together and provide some new objects of consideration for readers.
What Is the Importance of Setting in Literature?
Setting in literature has a huge effect on the plot, characters, and story perception. For instance, think about your favorite movie or novel, the plot and characters, and the emotions that followed. Now, imagine that happening somewhere else, say on the moon. Would it still make sense to you? We would be safe to assume that it wouldn’t. That’s how important setting is in literature; it allows readers to relate with characters within a story.
A Guide on How to Write a Setting
Below is a guide on how to effectively write a setting:
- Read the story with reference to the setting, starting with the place, time of action, and recurrent details and objects.
- Think about the story, what it is about and what the point is.
- See if the setting you’ve jotted down follows a pattern, interesting shifts, or contrasts.
- Establish how the setting relates to the main point or some parts of the story.
- Create an outline showing the aspects of the setting you want to elaborate on and what you aim to say concerning them.
5 Examples of a Setting
Some common setting examples include:
- Shakespeare’s story of “Romeo and Juliet” set in Italy.
- The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” set in a small Alabama county.
- The novel “Lord of the Flies,” set in an uninhabited Island.
- A civil war story in the early 1800s set in a rural area of the south.
- A story of a young girl who was bullied at school set in Atlanta.
Each setting example listed allowed the readers to connect with and understand the writer deeper.
In conclusion, the role of setting in a story cannot be overemphasized. Without a vivid literary analysis setting, the story won’t make sense to the audience.
