Setting

Physical and time setting

The short story “Where the Gods Fly” by Jean Kwok is set in the US, but we do not know the exact place or time of the events. While the present events take place in a Buddhist temple, the text has a backstory plot which includes events that took place over about 10 years, since Pearl was in the second grade to her being 17 years old.

The Buddhist temple is not described in detail but rather in terms of what happens there: “The female monks behind me have started to beat on the prayer drums. I stand up and move to the back of the room, where a line has already started to form for walking meditation” (ll. 105-107). This setting helps suggest the religious feelings of the narrator and sets the atmosphere of the story.

Other elements of the physical setting are the Chinatown factory the characters work, their home in the US, Pearl’s school, and the place she auditions for a ballet scholarship in the 8th grade. The factory is described using negative words:  “…that clogged air, thick with fabric dust that clung to our skin like a veil, turning even our sweat the colour of the garments we worked on” (ll. 9-11). This helps suggest unsanitary working conditions and the characters’ poor working class background. The same is suggested by the depiction of their house: “…the floor strewn with the mattress...

Teksten herover er et uddrag fra webbogen. Kun medlemmer kan læse hele indholdet.

Få adgang til hele Webbogen.

Som medlem på Studienet.dk får du adgang til alt indhold.

Køb medlemskab nu

Allerede medlem? Log ind