Life in the Iron Mills
by Rebecca Harding Davis

Life in the Iron Mills: 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:

"Life in the Iron Mills" takes place in a small, smoky town in the southern United States in the mid-19th century. As industrialization rapidly changed the world of work during this time, there were very few restrictions on how companies could treat their workers. As such, “milltowns” like the one in this story often exploited their inhabitants into a kind of indentured servitude, where they became trapped in debt and couldn't leave. In this tale, the iron mill dominates both the physical and social landscape of the town. No matter where one goes, the socioeconomic divides the mill engenders remain clear and present.