Exploros | Analyzing the Setting

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Overview

In this experience, students identify the setting of a photo of a county fair at night. Then, they read and respond to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Next, they explain how setting relates to characters’ values and beliefs. Finally, they apply what they have learned to a story they know and like.

Objectives

Identify the setting of a work of fiction.
Explain how the setting influences the characters’ values and beliefs.

Duration

One class period. You may choose to have students read the short story before beginning the experience.

Vocabulary Words in “The Minister’s Black Veil”

sexton: caretaker of a church
phenomenon: (1) any event or circumstance; (2) something unusual
preceded: gone before
congregation: group of worshipers
withdrawn: taken away
tinged: colored slightly; tinted
polluted: made unclean or impure
spiritual: (1) having to do with the spirit; (2) religious
scandal: an event or condition that shocks the community
ambassadors: officials who are sent on a mission
convert: (1) to switch from one belief to another; (2) someone who converts from one belief to another
shunned: avoided
pious: having deep religious faith
aghast: horrified

The setting of a story is the time and place where it occurs. In this experience, you will find out how the setting can be critical to understanding the characters.

Objectives

Identify the setting of a work of fiction.
Explain how the setting influences the characters’ values and beliefs.

Not every country or culture has county fairs. In fact, county fairs are especially associated with one country and its culture: the United States. Even if you have never been to a county fair, there’s a good chance you have an image in your mind of what that cultural phenomenon is like.

A country fair, then, is a setting. It occurs in a particular time and place—for example, the Comal County, Texas Fair of 2018. Imagine that you are about to write a story set at a county fair. What would the setting include?

Write things that might be found in a story about a county fair. To list more than one, separate your ideas with a comma, like this: football, baseball

Post your answer

The takeaway for this activity is that setting influences fictional characters’ beliefs and values just as in real life. Tell students that in this experience, they will read a story whose setting, and the beliefs and values of the characters, are an important element of traditional American culture.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.