The elements of literature are the common structural elements that should be included in every story. The elements of literature are Characters, Setting, Narrator, Perspective/Point of view, Plot, Conflict/Problem, Mood, and Theme. Good writers make sure each element is included in the stories that they write to make them interesting and understandable. Good readers learn to recognize each of the elements to understand the meaning/message or the moral of the story. These elements create the foundation of good stories and if they are missing, the story will feel incomplete and unsatisfying. Also, it will not be very entertaining for the readers.
Setting
Setting is a literary device that allows the writer of a narrative to establish the place, time, and environment where the story happens. It is an important element in a story because the setting lets the reader know when and where the action and the events happen. Many stories have more than one setting. The setting can be real or imagined, past or present, or a combination of both. The setting can function to create the mood, atmosphere, conflict, or symbolism. Real or Imagined The enchanted forest is a main setting in the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and is understood to be real. However, the magical kingdom of Fantasia featured as a setting in the fantasy film The NeverEnding Story (1989) is not real.
Past, Present, or Future The Flintstones animated cartoon series is set in a fictional town called Bedrock during the Stone Age which is the past. The houses in Bedrock were made of large stone-cut and carved rocks, and they had a dinosaur for a pet.
The antics of Popeye the Sailor Man as he fought Bluto to defend his love of Olive Oyl began in a comic strip in 1929. Most of the action in the strip and later the cartoon series happened on a ship out at sea or in a coastal town near an island. A search for the names of these places include the coastal town of Sweethaven and Scab Island.
The action and events in The Jetsons animated cartoon series happened in outer space. The setting of The Jetsons is a futuristic place called Orbit City in the year 2062 where they lived in elevated houses and had a robot as a maid.
Five Aspects of Setting
The setting of a story can also be described in five different ways: physical place/locale, time, climate, according to geographical features, and by population/society/culture.
Physical Place/Locale The setting of a story can be described according to a physical place or a locale. This means that the story can have events that happen in a particular country or the region in the world, on an island, on a ship at sea, in a war zone, in outer space, in a forest/woods, a jungle, a zoo, a village, a wilderness, in a house, or in an office. Examples of setting in a particular physical place or locale include The Smurfs cartoon series and the Animaniacs animated cartoon series.
The Smurfs animated cartoon series This animated fantasy-comedy children's television series originally aired from 1981 to 1989. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, it is based on the Belgian comic series of the same name. The setting of the cartoons is a fictional place in a city in Europe primarily in a village in a forest where they live in mushroom-shaped houses.
Animaniacs animated cartoon series Animaniacs is an animated comedy television series that aired from 1993 to 1998 and later as reruns in syndication. It was inspired by real-life Warner Bros. and its setting is mainly the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, California. This is evident with an image of the Warner Bros. Water Tower that is usually featured in the show’s introduction and in many of the scenes. The video below shows the iintroduction and includes the theme song, which is sung by the show’s main characters. Some of the lyrics of the theme song are as follows: Come join the Warner Bros. and the Warner sister Dot, Just for fun we run around the Warner movie lot. They lock us in the tower whenever we get caught, But we break loose and then vamoose and now you know the plot. We’re Animaniacs, Dot is cute and Yakko yaks, We’re zany to the max, there’s blologn in our slacks We’re Animaniacs!
Time A setting of a story described based on time is one in which time is a significant feature. This includes the time of day/night, month, year, century, season (i.e. winter, spring, summer, fall, Christmas, etc.), and periods in time (i.e. Stone Age, Ice Age, the Crusades, etc.). Examples include the films Ice Age (2002) and Mulan (1998)
Ice Age (2002) This American animated adventure comedy film is set during the days of the Pleistocene ice age. The Pleistocene age is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations.
Mulan (1998) This American animated musical coming-of-age action-adventure film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. The story is set in the country of China during an imperial dynasty of an unspecified time period that could be between 221 BCE - 1912 CE. This means it could have been set in a time between 2,247 and 114 years ago. Ther are also scenes of the film set in snowy mountains in China.
Climate A setting described according to a particular climate includes those such as snowy areas like those close to the North/South Poles, deserts, and tropical rainy habitats. Examples include the films Frozen (2013) and The Lion King (1994).
Frozen (2013) This American animated musical fantasy film is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1844 fairy tale "The Snow Queen". It is set in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle, a Scandinavian-inspired coastal realm surrounded by fjords, rugged snow-capped mountains, and forests in the country of Norway. The climate is cold with lots of ice and snow. Other settings include specific locations such as the Royal Castle, Elsa’s Ice Palace, the village, and a harbor.
The Lion King (1994) The setting of this American animated musical drama film is the Pride Lands, a fictional kingdom inspired by the African savanna, particularly the Serengeti region in Tanzania and parts of Kenya. The kingdom is ruled by a lion named King Mufasa from Pride Rock, which serves as the central sanctuary and symbol of authority and majestic royalty.
Geographical Features A setting described according to geographical features are those that include mountains, the ocean, the beach, urban cities with skyscrapers/tall buildings, rural areas with farmland or described as the countryside, or a bayou.
Superman: The Animated Series The Superman animated cartoon series aired on television from 1996 to 2000. Produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation, it was created many years after the superhero character debuted in a comic strip back in 1938. Born Kal-El on the fictional planet Krypton, his parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship as a baby shortly before his home planet was destroyed in an apocalyptic cataclysm. He landed near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, where he was found, adopted and given the name Clark Kent. He began working as a journalist at the Daily Planet newspaper in the fictional city of Metropolis where after finding out about his superhuman abilities (which included being able to fly), he defeats crime and evil where he lives.
The Princess and the Frog (2009) This American animated musical fantasy comedy film is inspired in part by the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, and is a modern adaptation of the German folk tale "The Frog Prince" as collected by the Brothers Grimm. Set in New Orleans, Louisiana during the 1920s, specifically in and around the Louisiana swamps and bayous as the story focuses on Tiana and Prince Naveen who are turned into frogs and get to know one another and fall in love.
Population, Society, and Culture Population, society and culture can describe the setting in a story such as a Southern plantation in America, the Ton in British society like in the Netflix series Bridgerton, or a village in Africa. Examples that show these descriptions of the setting include the films Song of the South (1946) and Moana (2016)
Song of the South (1946) This American live-action/animated musical drama film is set on a Southern plantation if the state of Georgia during the Reconstruction era, a period of American history after the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery.
Moana (2016) This American animated musical adventure film is set in ancient Polynesia on the fictional Island Motunui. Polynesia is a region in the South Pacific Ocean that is made up of thousands of islands, including Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa. The title of the film Moana, meaning "ocean" in multiple Polynesian languages and it emphasizes the importance of the ocean as a life force in culture and society on the islands.
Your Assignment
To complete the Setting Homework Assignment #1, read the description of each film below and look at the photos or videos of scenes from those films. Write down the setting(s) for each film. Remember that some of the films have more than one setting. Also, write what type of setting it is –p hysical place/locale, time, climate, geographic feature, or population/society/culture. Feel free to gather information for the answers by looking up each film on Wikipedia.org or you may do a general search on the internet. There are a total of 10 questions.
Question 1 - What is the setting of the cartoon series Animaniacs?
Question 6 - Aladdin (1992)
Question 9 – WALL-E (2008)
Question 10 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) television special
Have fun learning!
(Sources – Encyclopedia Britannica, Fandom, Screen Rant, Shmoop, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia)