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Motifs
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis:
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Southern Alabama during the 1930s, at the height of the Great Depression. Maycomb, Alabama, which is where the majority of the novel takes place, is a small, rural farming town fraught with period-typical racism.
Multiple physical locations within the novel have important symbolic meaning. The Radley House, for instance, represents the prejudice and bias that are often dealt out in ignorance. The house itself is derelict, leading people to believe that anything inside must be similarly problematic.
Much like his house, Boo Radley is judged based on what he presents externally to the world. Note the following description Scout gives of the Radley House:
The shutters and doors of the Radley house were closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb’s ways: closed doors meant illness and cold weather only. Of all days Sunday was the day for formal afternoon visiting.
The house appears alien to townspeople because its inhabitants choose to shutter it, making it stand out and attract negative attention in the neighborhood. Boo, like his house, is judged harshly on his appearance, the narratives people create about him, etc. People make these assumptions, both about Boo and the Radley House, without ever taking the time to look inside.
Related Themes:
