【3.2】 The Function of Setting Setting in fiction is called upon to perform a number of specific functions.Among them are the following. 1.Setting as a background for action Everything happens somewhere.For this reason,if for no other,fiction requires a setting or a background of some kind,even if it only resembles a western stage set. Sometimes this background is extensive and highly developed.In other cases, including many modern stories,setting is so slight that it can be dispersed with in a single sentence or must be inferred altogether from dialogue and action.When we speak of setting as background,then,we have in mind a kind of setting that exists largely for its own sake,without necessary relationship to action and characters,or at best a relationship that is only tangential and slight. 2.Setting as antagonist Often,the forces of nature function as a causal agent or antagonist,helping to establish conflict and to determine the outcome of events.The Yukon wilderness with which Jack London's nameless tenderfoot tries unsuccessfully to contend in his famous story To Build a Fire (cf.P.65)is an example of a setting that functions as antagonist 3.Setting as a means of creating appropriate atmosphere Many authors manipulate their settings as a means of arousing the reader's expectations and establishing an appropriate state of mind for events to come.No author is more adept in this respect than Edgar Allan Poe,who not only provides the details of setting,but tells the reader just how to respond to them. 4.Setting as a means of revealing character very often the way in which a character perceives the setting,and the way he or she reacts to it,will tell the reader more about the character and his or her state of mind than it will about the setting itself.This is particularly true of works in which the author carefully controls the point of view.In My Kinsman,Major Monlineux (cf.P.【3.2】 The Function of Setting Setting in fiction is called upon to perform a number of specific functions. Among them are the following. 1. Setting as a background for action Everything happens somewhere. For this reason, if for no other, fiction requires a setting or a background of some kind, even if it only resembles a western stage set. Sometimes this background is extensive and highly developed. In other cases, including many modern stories, setting is so slight that it can be dispersed with in a single sentence or must be inferred altogether from dialogue and action. When we speak of setting as background, then, we have in mind a kind of setting that exists largely for its own sake, without necessary relationship to action and characters, or at best a relationship that is only tangential and slight. 2. Setting as antagonist Often, the forces of nature function as a causal agent or antagonist, helping to establish conflict and to determine the outcome of events. The Yukon wilderness with which Jack London’s nameless tenderfoot tries unsuccessfully to contend in his famous story To Build a Fire (cf. P. 65) is an example of a setting that functions as antagonist. 3. Setting as a means of creating appropriate atmosphere Many authors manipulate their settings as a means of arousing the reader’s expectations and establishing an appropriate state of mind for events to come. No author is more adept in this respect than Edgar Allan Poe, who not only provides the details of setting, but tells the reader just how to respond to them. 4. Setting as a means of revealing character very often the way in which a character perceives the setting, and the way he or she reacts to it, will tell the reader more about the character and his or her state of mind than it will about the setting itself. This is particularly true of works in which the author carefully controls the point of view. In My Kinsman, Major Monlineux (cf. P