Setting

Here, we will focus on the setting of “Noel” by Michael Plemmons.

Time and physical setting

The exact physical and time setting of the short story are not mentioned, but we can assume the events take place in a city in the US, perhaps New York as the references to “South Side” (p. 58, l. 3) indicates. The time of the events is Christmas Eve.

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Social setting

In the story, children are not regarded as human beings but as items to be rented to “shoppers” who are childless people. We do not know if the whole enterprise is legal, but it is clear that there are little affection and child concern in the short story. All that matters for the matrons is that the children look good and are attractive to potential clients.

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