Setting

Physical setting

The short story “After You, My Dear Alphonse” by Shirley Jackson takes place somewhere in the US in a state that is not racially segregated. 

The events take place inside Mrs. Wilson’s house. The story does not offer many details about the physical setting; however, some parts of Mrs. Wilson’s house are briefly described when the two boys play war: 

Mrs. Wilson caught Boyd’s glass of milk as Johnny’s napkin ring, suddenly transformed into a tank, plowed heavily across the table. (…) Mrs. Wilson, with the speed born of long experience, took the gingerbread off the shelf and placed it carefully between the tank and the foxhole. (p. 3, ll. 11-16)

The frequent references to war suggest that the time setting is meant to be contemporary to when the sto...