The American Dream In John Grisham's A Painted House

2 SETTING AND THE IDEA OF THE AMERICAN DREAM IN JOHN GRISHAM’S NOVEL A PAINTED HOUSE

Setting in Grisham’s novel A Painted House is significant because it is set in the rural South of the United States, in the 1950s, and it covers six weeks of one summer. The motive of the American Dream is also present in the novel as some characters, such as the protagonist’s mother Kathleen, have dreams of a better life. This section discusses how the protagonist’s family and other families are portrayed in the novel, and how setting influences the life of the characters.

2.1 Setting in Literature

To begin with, setting is what basically any narrative has and it is an essential part of a narrative. Setting is “the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs” (Abrams 284). Setting is also “an interactive aspect of [the] fictional world that saturates the story with mood, meaning, and thematic connotations” (Carpenter). Setting provides the story with weight and gives significance to the plot. The role of setting is important because it gives a frame for the story: “We use setting to give characters a place to play out their actions and dialogue, so they don’t become talking heads adrift in the mists of a vague nowhere land” (Hill). It not only refers to place and time, but also helps the author to develop the story by paying attention to the place where the main action takes place and secondary subplots evolve.

Furthermore, setting can be