Setting

When we talk about setting, we talk about the placement of a certain moment in time and space. In the case of the short story “Ghosts”, the spatial setting is clear: the author mentions the name of the real city in which the action takes place, Bethnal Green, and she also describes the different place names Pia encounters on her road back home: “Mare Street” ( l. 23), “Queensbridge” ( l. 36), “a pawn shop, a sportswear store, an off-licence” ( ll. 40-41), “Dalston Junction” ( l. 45), “Canonbury” ( l. 64).

It may be worth analysing how Pia’s mood changes as she passes through different streets and as she sees different places. She goes from wanting to feel safe and protected from the outside world in her car, to wanting to feel alert and alive. There is a noticeable difference between the wa...