Another Country

by James Baldwin

Another Country: 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:

For the most part, Another Country is set in mid-20th-century New York City. The neighborhoods of Harlem and Greenwich Village are the main backdrops for its action, though characters sometimes travel to the French countryside or the American South. The island of Manhattan, in Baldwin’s world, has a distinct social climate that either tightens or loosens the pressures characters face to conform. Racial segregation and the struggle for Black Americans' civil rights cast a long shadow over Harlem's Black artistic community. New York is both welcoming and threatening to its Black population, as some neighborhoods feel comparatively safe for Black people, while others are deeply dangerous.