Definition of Setting
Key Examples in The Rocking-Horse Winner
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" is set in England during the 1920s. D. H. Lawrence wrote and published the story during this same time period, so the problems he addresses in his writing are problems he himself would have faced at the time. Lawrence is considered a Modernist writer: during this literary period, in post-WWI society, many authors felt a sense of nihilism and fear for the future of society, and these concerns imbedded themselves into the literature of the time. England, in particular, lost an entire generation of young men in WWI. Lawrence himself would have lost many friends, colleagues, and family members. This tragic loss contributes to the gloomy and foreboding mood in "The Rocking-Horse Winner."