The Things They Carried

by Tim O’Brien

The Things They Carried: 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:

Since The Things They Carried is about the Vietnam War, the principal geographic setting is Vietnam, out in the bush (what the soldiers often call the "boonies"). The reader is introduced to this setting in the first and titular story of the collection, in which the men march "up the hills and through the swamps." In some of the other stories, the narration slows down, as the narrator focuses more on moments in which the soldiers remain still in a single setting, like at foxholes or on listening operations.