The setting in all short stories is a very important part, setting is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event happens. The setting is important in the stories “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’brien, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. It is important to establish a setting in the story so the readers can visualize and experience what is happening. The settings in the stories are all very different.The things they carried by tim O'brien takes place in the jungle of Vietnam whilst Sonny's blues takes place in the city of Harlem. Lastly Hills like white elephants takes place at a train station.
The setting in the Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien takes place in the jungles of Vietnam. The army soldiers are in a violent war between them and vietnam. All the soldiers carried Intangible items and tangible items ranging from packets of Kool aid to sewing kits and loved ones in there hearts. The soldiers are always on the move because they are in a constant fight with Vietnam. They are trying to survive even though there fellow soldiers are dying left and right. “They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity”(O’Brien _). Since there are a lot of traps everywhere all the troops are feeling very paranoid. Once the troops go back home to their own town they aren't used to it because of the war.
The Setting in Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin takes place in Harlem New York. Sonny feels that he is being locked in his neighborhood so that's why he starts doing heroin. Without Sonny feeling stuck he wouldn't of made his music and art. “He had been picked up, the evening before, in a raid on an apartment downtown for peddling and using heroin”( Baldwin _). Sonny loses himself in his music, which is the only thing that keeps him from going back to jail and doing more heroin and experiencing poverty in Harlem.
Lastly the setting in “Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway takes place at a train station. The story is between the girl and the american.There is one train going to Madrid, Spain and one going to Barcelona,Spain. The choice that the girl makes by going on either train is if she is going to have the abortion or the baby . But if I do it then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants and you’ll like it”(Hemingway ). She chooses if she wants to keep their relationship or never see eachother again.The white hills and the valley is what she sees which helps her make her choice either from the abortion or life.
The setting in all short stories is a very important part, setting is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event happens. There is a vast variety of setting in each of the stories.