Setting

Physical setting

The plot in “Survivor Syndrome” by Liz Jensen, which was published in 2011, is set in a fictional time when London has unexpectedly been flooded. The action is imagined to be contemporary to the time when the story was written, which is indicated, for example, by the e-mails that Dimitri receives from his boss, Alexander (p. 243, ll. 9-10). 

The action takes place in London. Dimitri mentions several locations and landmarks such as St. Paul's Cathedral and Canary Wharf (p. 242, l. 15), Wimbledon Common (p. 244, l. 1), and Croydon (p. 245, l. 15), adding to the story’s realism. Dimitri arrives in London in May, two months after the flood happened. It is unclear how much time Dimitri spends in London, but it is probably a few months: “small apartment on Wimbledon Hill, where I settled in so swiftly that within a month, I felt like a Londoner myself.” (p. 243, ll. 7-9) 

Dimitri’s descriptions of the setting reveal how London’s landscape has been changed by the flood (p. 242, ll. 12-15 – p. 243, ll. 1-3). In these conditions, Londoners’ struggles, creativity, and resilience are also highlighted: “I photographed people hobbling about on do-it-yourself stilts, donning various ingenious forms of waterproofing, and doing battle with makeshift rafts and dinghies.” (p. 243, ll. 22-24). These descriptions add realism to the story while creating a depressing and almost surrea...