American Pastoral

by Philip Roth

American Pastoral: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

The predominant geographical setting of American Pastoral is New Jersey. Like Philip Roth himself, the Swede is born in Newark and grows up in a majority-Jewish area of the city. In adulthood, the character continues to work in Newark while living with his family in western New Jersey, near a hamlet called Old Rimrock. Although there's no place in New Jersey with this name, it's widely considered to be a fictionalized version of a real town called Brookside.