Setting

Your exam question asks you to focus specifically on the setting of the short story “Eel” by Stefanie Seddon, which was published in 2016.

The time of the action is not specified but is probably set somewhere in the 1920’s, as the author based her story on her grandfather Archie’s childhood adventures on the West Coast of New Zealand. The historical era is also indicated by the narrator’s reference to the kerosene lamplight (l. 157) found in his family’s kitchen. The events take place during one day of late spring or early summer – this is indicated by the reference to the spring shearing (l. 9) and the cicadas (insects that usually come out between April and June) (l. 56).

Physical setting

The events in the short story take place on the West Coast (l. 41) region of the South Island in New Zealand, where the main character goes eel fishing with his brothers. Other places are mentioned as well: the small town of Hokitika (l.9), where Ted, the oldest brother, participated in the spring sheep shearing, and the city of Christchurch. (l. 123).

The main physical setting is the bank of an unnamed river, near a bridge, where the four brothers set up their fishing spot: “We found a good spot on a mossy bank, about twenty yards upstream from the bridge. […]” (ll. 12-13). Later, the fishing spot changes as the main character, Archie, spots a big eel downstream.

After his brothers prank him and Archie falls into the water, he decides to float downstream, where he “clambered ashore between the old wooden piers” (l. 39).

The narrator describes the weather and the place where he f...