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Satire
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
A Visit from the Goon Squad takes place over numerous decades and in various locations, all settings that are connected by the characters' interrelations.
Most of the book's 13 chapters occur in post-9/11 New York City. Certain landmarks of this setting touch on the novel's themes about time, memory, and decay: the former location of the World Trade Center in Chapter 2, for example, stands as a reminder of this changed city. Moreover, the East River emerges as another important memorial as the site of Rob's drowning and Scotty's favorite fishing spot while he lives in poverty and obscurity.
Flashbacks and flashforwards throughout provide additional settings for A Visit from the Goon Squad: San Francisco, Kenya, Naples, and, briefly, the California desert. Locations tend to have distinct time periods. Chapters 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 13 take place in New York City from the early-21st century to the near future. Chapters 3 and 5 take place in San Francisco during the 1970s and the early 21st century. Chapter 4 occurs in Kenya in 1973, the earliest setting. Chapter 11 takes place in the late-20th century in Naples. Chapter 12 is set in the futuristic California desert, the latest setting. However, these locations are all connected in the characters' lives : Sasha alone, for example, lives in New York City, Naples, and the California desert throughout the course of her adulthood.
