Setting

The short story “Eating Sugar” by Catherine Merriman is set in modern Thailand, as indicated …

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Physical setting

The main physical setting is the Elephant-Island, where Alex and his family are vacationing: “…was one of the Thais own nature-reserve resorts. A single cost road with short, inland spurs and minimal development—no structures higher than a palm tree, nothing inland from the beach strip at all.” (p. 19, ll. 20-24)

The physical setting of the forest area is depicted in detail on sev…

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Social setting

The social setting focuses on the paradoxes of Thai society as seen through the eyes of Westerners. In other words, it illustrates the cultural gap between two different societies - British and Thai - as well as xenophobic attitudes. The way Alex (as a British man) perceives Thai society is conveyed at length using contrasts:

Modest Thai women covered their shoulders (…). W…