Examples of Body Paragraphs on Setting:
Sample 1: Focuses solely on setting
…The fox farm where the narrator lives is an environment that reflects the ingenuity of her father. The pens for the foxes are arranged in orderly rows inside a high guard fence that resembles a “medieval town” where her father rules as the king of her life (par. 19). Acting as her father’s domain, the farm is a place of hard work and creativity, a place where the narrator feels at home, working as her father’s “hired hand.” Inside the home, however, is the mother’s domain, a place portrayed in an entirely different light by the girl. She sees the upstairs as a darker, unwelcoming place where she is forced to assist her mother in boring chores and engage in lady-like activities. She confesses to hating “the hot dark kitchen in summer, the green blinds and the flypapers, [and] the same old oilcloth table” (par. 13). It is no wonder that when the chopping of onions or the jarring of preserves are finally finished, she would “run out of the house, trying to get out of earshot before [her] mother decided what she wanted [done] next” (par.13). The contrast between the freedom and vitality in the father’s labor and the tedium and confinement in her mother’s house demonstrates the conflict the girl experiences as she …
Sample 2:Discusses setting but also imagery, diction, tone
The imagery of the setting underscores the contrasting elements of the boy’s grim reality with his vivid imagination, playing against the romanticized diction that the narrator adopts as he falls in love with Mangan’s sister. The narrator describes his neighborhood, North Richmond Street, as a “quiet street,” full of houses “with brown, imperturbable faces” (par. 1). Behind the houses are “dark, muddy lanes,” “dark dripping gardens where odours [arise] from the ashpits” and “odourous stables”(par. 3). Under the influence of an idealized love, however, the narrator’s diction moves far beyond the bleak streets of Dublin. Although he has “never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, her name is like a summons to all [his] foolish blood” (par. 4). This is the first time the narrator refers to his feelings for the girl, and the strong image establishes that not only are his feelings for her intense, but also that these feelings are far removed from their setting. In fact, they are much more at home in the aforementioned novels of romance and intrigue than on a dead-end Irish street corner. The romanticized language both exhibits how the narrator feels about the girl, and how the narrator views himself…
You can organize your paragraphs by topic (one paragraph on setting, one paragraph on character, one on symbol, etc.)
Or you can organize paragraph by idea/moment (setting, character and symbol in the beginning; setting character, symbol at climax; setting, character, symbol at conclusion). Your choice of story might dictate what’s most logical and effective.
In either case, you must be supporting your observations with text and you must link elements back to theme.