Setting Part 3

Have you ever had to move in your life?  Maybe you moved from another town or state, or maybe you moved to a new house in the town you live in and had to change schools.  How did that make you feel?  What changes did you have to make to adapt and fit in?  What did you need to learn about the new place?

Notice when the setting changes in the books you read and that it is important to compare and contrast the elements of each setting.  You need to consider how a setting challenges a character or makes their life easier and how the setting makes the character feel and impacts the choices he or she will make.

A major change has happened in the setting of the Quilt Walk. Emmy and her family are moving to Golden, Colorado.  We must be alert to the fact that the character has had to leave her safe home and move to a new place.  This is a change in setting, and from the beginning of the book, we can see how it affects her.

We need to remember that the setting Emmy is in now represents the change in setting. Let’s think back to chapters 4 and 5.  One of the major changes that impacted Emmy and her family is living out of the prairie schooner.  They don’t have enough room for all their belongings, so Emmy and her mother are actually wearing every dress they own.  It seems like the trip is very hard on them, both physically and emotionally.

Think about how their journey is much different than their life in Quincy.  What other things are impacting the characters right now?  It is difficult for the family, both physically and emotionally.

Now that we have noted all the changes that impact the characters, we are going to think about how these changes affect the characters emotionally.  Each character has a different reaction to going west and living in this way.

As you read, begin to be alert to these changes in setting.  Stop and think about how the settings are different physically, but also, more importantly, think about how each setting impacts the character.

You can read for the remainder of the time.