Setting

Time setting

Stephen King’s short story “Strawberry Spring” happens across two separate time periods: the narrator speaks about events that happened during his time in college and about events that happen to him at the current time of narration.

The events from the narrator’s past take place over the span of several days, starting on 16th of March, 1968 (l. 14) and ending on 24th of March (l. 229). The time of narration is set eight years after these events (l. 3): in 1976.

Physical setting

The story is set in the United States, in the fictional town of New Sharon, in the region of New England (l. 10). The first murders happen on the grounds of the New Sharon Teachers' College, which is located “twenty miles west of the beaches” (ll. 15-16). The Animal Sciences parking lot, the mall, and the Civil War cannons are some of the places where the murders happened.

A place frequently mentioned in the story is The Grinder, a local student bar. It is described as “juke-thumping, brightly lit” (l. 26), and the usual customers are “hordes of hamburger-happy students on study break from the library” (ll. 212-213). One of the victims, Adelle Parkins, worked here (ll. 210-212). The sinister name of the bar adds to the sinister atmosphere.

The weather has a significant effect on the setting of the ...