Setting

The short story “Tea with the Birds” by Joanne Harris is set in the UK, probably in the city of Bradford as the reference to the borough of Stanbury indicates (l. 18).

Physical setting

Elements of the physical setting include the houses on the street, the narrator’s flat, and Mr Tamaoki’s flat. The description of the houses on the street suggests a crowded, impersonal area:

It's one of those places; busy without being comfortable; crowded without being friendly. The big stucco-fronted houses at the far end are too remote; the ones of us who live in the terraces feel diminished by them, even though they are past their best, like a row of wedding cakes left out in the rain. (ll. 4-7)

The narrator’s home is only briefly described with the purpose of emphasising her preference for solitude:

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Social setting

The narrator lives on a street where people are not friendly but like to gossip about others. Because she is different she feels rejected by the street community. However, the narrator has some psychological problems and she contributes to her own isolation and alienation by refusing to socialise with others on the street.  She refuses to babysit and prefers to let her neighbours believe that she is a student rather than communicating with them.

The same isolation and alienation are conveyed through Mr Tamaoki’s character, a Japanese man, who moves into the same building as the narrator.

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