Setting and narrator

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Setting

Published in 2011, the short story does not have a precise time and physical setting. We know the events take place during a hot midsummer in a town or village through which a river passes, but we cannot know the year or the exact location. Considering that the author is British, we can assume that the story also takes places in the UK.

Physical setting

The physical setting is one of the most important elements in the short story as it conveys hidden meanings (symbols). First, the author sets the atmosphere with a general presentation of the setting: 

The alders' at the river’s edge stand motionless in the midsummer heat. In the fields, the twisted cattle beans are black. A car buzzes out of sight, its engine muzzled by the thick air. Above it all, the sky is a bleached starling’s egg blue. Three weeks of wi…

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Narrator

The short story is conveyed by a third-person narrator who is outside the action. The narrator only follows the point of view of the protagonist. This implies that the storyteller’s knowledge is limited to the character’s knowledge. …