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Personification
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:
In Passing, the settings of New York (in the present) and Chicago (in Irene’s flashbacks) are important to the novel’s narratives around identity, race, and social dynamics. The book’s primary setting is Harlem during the 1920s. During this time, which historians now call the Harlem Renaissance—a significant literary and musical epoch in Black American culture—the US saw the flourishing of Black arts, literature, and music. Irene’s neighborhood is a cultural hub of Black pride and creativity in the 20th century, which Larsen juxtaposes with the relative whiteness of the rest of Manhattan. Harlem and other areas of New York actually seem to occupy separate worlds for much of the novel, which aligns with the book’s preoccupation with duality and contrast.
Related Themes:
