Setting

Time setting

Tamara Jones’ short story “Waiting for Spring” was first published in 2015, and the setting is probably meant to be read as contemporary to the time of publishing, as there is no indication of a different time period, and homelessness is a current social problem in the UK.

The action of the story takes place over the span of several days or weeks. The story begins at the end of February, when the flower beds in the park are still barren (ll. 49-50). The story ends when William sees a dozen of snowdrops sprouting from the flower beds (ll. 140-141), most likely in early March. The story also includes backstories, as William has been coming to the park “nearly every day for the last four weeks, since the end of January” (l. 39).

Physical setting

The story is set in the United Kingdom. Although the geographical location of the story is not directly stated, the text contains cues that reflect British culture. The language used by the characters contains slang words commonly used in Britain, for example, “bloody” (l. 77) and “mate” (l. 98). The text also alludes to the book Life, the Universe and Everything (l. 91) by Douglas Adams, a popular British author. The characters also have English names, which they shorten to nicknames...