Setting

The short story “Tin Man” by Jennifer Kerslake takes place close to a small town, probably somewhere in the UK. 

The most important setting is the house where the narrator lives with her father. The place is outside the town, close to the forest, offering the sensation of isolation. The narrator lives apart from her classmates, which might increase her desire to fit in at school.

The house also seems to be in poor condition now that the mother has died: “Inside, the cottage is cold and dank; there’s no fire in the grate, and it smells of his cigarettes and the black mould creeping up the kitchen wall.” The lack of fire, the smell of cigarettes, and the mold suggest that the father is unable to take care of the house, probably because he is grieving the death of his wife.

The father has a workshop close to the house “at the edge of the woods”. It is close enough for the father to be able to hear the narrator calling from the house, but it still offers a sense of isolation. The father is...